Jurisdiction
Township of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania
Address
75 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003
Contact
- url: https://www.lowermerion.org/departments/building-and-planning-department/building-division
- phone: 610-645-6200
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Lower Merion Township's Building Division states that a reroof needs a permit, and the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, Chapter 143 of its Code, says "The Township elects to enforce the Code as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, as those terms are defined in the enabling legislation, as amended." Read October 5, 2026: its online permitting page lists residential building permits "including interior demo, whole house demo, new homes*, additions*, interior renovations/repairs, roofing, solar panels" and says the Roofing Addendum is "required for ALL roofing permit applications"; the addendum itself says "This questionnaire must be filled out for all roofing permit applications"; and the Division's fee schedule carries a "Re-roofing (residential & commercial and windos [sic] and siding in Historic District or Historic structures)" line, $102.50 for a job up to $5,000, $122.50 from $5,000 to $10,000, then $122.50 for the first $10,000 plus $15.00 for each added $1,000 up to $50,000 and $5.00 for each $1,000 above that, plus a $4.50 Pennsylvania State Training fee on every permit application. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Lower Merion Township ordinance that "Requires a building permit for the alteration and repair of all residential buildings," found in compliance by an approval letter mailed November 24, 2004, with the entry "Enacted 12 / 15 / 04." In practice, expect the Building Division to require a permit for a reroof, as its forms and fee schedule state. Its fee schedule adds fees "when work requiring a permit is performed without first obtaining the required permit," from $225.00 for construction costs up to $10,000 to $1,500.00 for costs over $50,000, and Chapter 143 makes a violation subject to "fines and penalties not exceeding $1,000," adding "Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense." Residential roofing applications can be made through the online permitting portal; the page asks for the signed contract between owner and contractor, the Roofing Addendum, the Permit Compliance Form, a current certificate of insurance and the PA HIC registration, and says "Applying online for a permit is not deemed approved." The addendum asks the existing and proposed roofing layers, any decking replacement, slope, flashing, attic venting, ice shield and drip edge, and whether the property is in a historic district or on the Historic Resource Inventory, and says "All permits must be obtained prior to the start of work and must be posted in a conspicuous place where they can be seen from a public way." After hours, applications and plans can be left in the Building and Planning drop box in the East parking lot of 75 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore. The Building and Planning Department's phone is 610-645-6200; the Township lists hours of 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Adopted code
The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Merion Township administers the code itself through the Building Division of its Building and Planning Department, which "issues construction permits and inspects work for compliance with Township codes." The Division's page says "The effective date for the 2021 codes is January 1, 2026," with a six-month phase-in for contracts signed before that date; the Division's Building FAQ still lists a code standard "as of February 14, 2022" that names the 2018 International Residential Code. The Township's Uniform Construction Code chapter, Chapter 143 of its Code (Ordinance No. 3714 of June 16, 2004, as amended), adopts the state code by reference as "the building code of Lower Merion Township" and says "The Township elects to enforce the Code as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, as those terms are defined in the enabling legislation, as amended," a sentence added on December 15, 2004 by Ordinance No. 3727. Its other changes to the state permit rules concern fences, windows on historic properties, decks, air-conditioning repair and similar items and name no roof work; Chapter 62, Building Construction, which amends the International Building Code, names no reroofing rule either.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Merion Township's Building Division administers the code; its Roof Permit Application Addendum, read in full, asks for the type and manufacturer of the new roof but sets no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement. Neither Chapter 143 nor Chapter 62 of the Township Code changes the code's roof covering provisions; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in them.
Repair permit threshold
Chapter 143 of the Lower Merion Township Code, the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, says "The Township elects to enforce the Code as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, as those terms are defined in the enabling legislation, as amended" (added December 15, 2004 by Ordinance No. 3727), and its changes to the state's list of permit exceptions name no roof work. The Township also treats reroofing as permit work and states no size threshold for it. Read October 5, 2026: the Building Division's fee schedule carries a line for "Re-roofing (residential & commercial and windos [sic] and siding in Historic District or Historic structures)", priced by cost of job from $102.50 for a job up to $5,000; the Township's Roof Permit Application Addendum says "This questionnaire must be filled out for all roofing permit applications"; and its online permitting page lists residential building permits "including interior demo, whole house demo, new homes*, additions*, interior renovations/repairs, roofing, solar panels." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Lower Merion Township ordinance that "Requires a building permit for the alteration and repair of all residential buildings," found in compliance by an approval letter mailed November 24, 2004, with the entry "Enacted 12 / 15 / 04." State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Merion Township's Building Division administers the code, and its roofing fee line, roofing permit addendum and permit portal page are quoted at the start of this entry with Chapter 143 of the Township Code; neither Chapter 143 nor Chapter 62, Building Construction, sets a size threshold for roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Merion Township's Building Division administers the code, and its Roof Permit Application Addendum, required with every roofing permit application, states the Township's own policy: "In compliance with the Township's building code, a maximum of two layers of shingles are permitted to be installed on a roof. In the case of an existing wood shingle roof with one or more roofs above, all roof layers must be removed and new sheathing applied." It adds that "If the initial roof is a wood shingle roof that has never been re-roofed, a second roof may be installed," and "a new roof may not be installed over any of the following roof systems: wood shake, slate, clay, and cement or asbestos-cement tile." The two-layer figure agrees with the state rule; the wood shingle and wood shake rules are not among the three conditions quoted above. Chapter 143 (Uniform Construction Code) and Chapter 62 (Building Construction) of the Township Code, read for this record, change nothing in the reroofing section and state no layer rule of their own.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Locally, Lower Merion Township's Building Division administers the code. Its Roof Permit Application Addendum sets a minimum roof sheathing thickness by rafter spacing, including 5/8-inch sheathing with H clips where rafters are on 24-inch centers, asks whether any part of the roof decking is being replaced and with what, and has the applicant certify "that if the existing roof is to be removed, I will replace all decayed sheathing that may exist." Chapters 143 and 62 of the Township Code, read for this record, state no roof sheathing rule of their own.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Lower Merion Township is in Montgomery County. Its Building Division, which administers the Uniform Construction Code there, states nothing on sales tax on the permit pages, forms and fee schedule read for this record.