Madison County - Building Department

Madison County, Idaho

county

134 E Main, Rexburg, ID 83440

Required

Required

ALLOW TEN WORKING DAYS, AND BRING THE STATE REGISTRATION. The County's Building Permit page states that "the review process will require a minimum of ten (10) working days" and lists what must accompany an application. Two items on that list matter to a contractor: "Building Contractor State Registration - Copy must be submitted", and a fee deposit - "Accessory structures will be required to pay a non-refundable review fee of 10% upon submittal of application. Non-accessory structures will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500 that will be applied to permit fee, if approved and permitted." Applications may be started through the County's online Building Permit Portal, and PDF plans and supporting documents may be uploaded. THE COUNTY DOES NOT DO MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL OR PLUMBING. The Building Department states plainly: "Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing permits and inspections are handled through the City of Rexburg building department. These permits are no longer issued by the State of Idaho." The County's own building regulations record the same arrangement in their adoption sections, describing the County as contracted with the City of Rexburg to perform electrical inspections under Idaho Code 54-1001. So a job that touches a rooftop mechanical unit or a service mast has a second counter in it. EXPIRATION AND PENALTIES. Madison County Code section 103-60: "A building permit shall expire 180 days after its date of issuance." Section 103-61 allows an extension application before expiry, each extension itself expiring after 180 days, with no limit on the number of extensions. Section 103-58 requires a copy of the permit to be posted conspicuously on the premises during construction and the permit number to be placed by the address plate so it is visible from the nearest roadway. Section 103-59 is worth reading before starting early: "No person shall acquire or create any vested right to construct, alter, or maintain any building by virtue of money spent or work done prior to obtaining a building permit." The County's inspection checklist adds its own sanction: "Proceeding with work after failing to meet code upon inspection or skipping an inspection will lead to a 30% increase in permit cost. This cost will be due before a Certificate of occupancy will be issued, and/or a stop work order will be put into place." Section 103-62 follows Idaho Code 39-4126, a misdemeanor carrying a fine of not more than $300, up to ninety days, or both, with each day a separate offense. CONTACT. Madison County Building Department, 134 E Main, Rexburg, Idaho 83440. Building Official and Building Inspector David Decker, 208-359-6305; permit technician Cecile Wellwood, 208-359-6262; County switchboard 208-359-6200.

THE 2018 EDITIONS, STATED FIRST-PARTY BY THE COUNTY - AND ONE THING ABOUT THE SOURCE THAT A READER SHOULD BE TOLD. WHAT THE DEPARTMENT PAGE SAYS. Under the heading "Building Codes", the Madison County Building Department states that "All construction projects must comply with county building codes and ordinances. The county has adopted the following codes:" and then lists the 2018 International Building Code, the 2017 National Electrical Code, the 2018 International Residential Code, the 2018 International Mechanical Code, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code in its commercial and residential forms, the 2018 Fuel Gas Code, the 2018 Existing Building Code, the 2017 Idaho Plumbing Code, the 2018 International Fire Code and the 2013 NFPA 72 Fire Alarm & Signaling Code. The same page states that the Department has been issuing permits since 1976 and that its inspections confirm compliance "with the 2018 International Building Codes". WHAT THE COUNTY'S BUILDING REGULATIONS DOCUMENT SAYS. The County publishes one document setting out Chapter 103, Buildings and Building Regulations, of the Madison County Code. Its Section 2-1 reads: "ADOPTION: 2018 International Residential Code as adopted with amendments (if any) by the State of Idaho, as reflected at least in part in IDAPA 24.39.30 and incorporated by reference." Section 1-1 adopts the 2018 International Building Code on the same footing, and sections 3-1 through 10-1 do the same for the existing building, energy, mechanical, fuel gas, fire, electrical and plumbing codes. THE SOURCE CAVEAT, STATED RATHER THAN RESOLVED. That document's own running header reads "Madison County Building Regulations" and "Revised 4/1/24", and its Section 2-2 states that its amendments apply "For structures constructed in 2021 or later". It carries no adoption clause, no signature block and no effective-date clause. The County's website menu labels the link to it "2024 Proposed Building Code Update". Both of those facts are reported here and neither is chosen. Ask the Building Official which text of Chapter 103 is in force before relying on a detail of it, and note that the department page's own code list and the document disagree on the electrical code, the page naming the 2017 National Electrical Code and the document's Section 9-1 the 2023 edition. None of that disagreement touches roofing. WHAT STATE LAW REQUIRES. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition ... Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)- family dwellings", effective July 1, 2024, with a list of state amendments; Idaho Code 39-4116(2) requires a local government that issues building permits and performs building code enforcement to adopt those codes by ordinance, and bars it from adopting provisions of a later residential code edition the Idaho Building Code Board has not adopted. Roofing sits in Part III and is inside the Idaho residential code. Idaho Code 39-4116(6): "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received."

Required — Madison County's published building regulations, Chapter 103 of the Madison County Code, were read in full and do not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies; the word drip does not appear in them. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, does not touch Chapter 9 either. The base 2018 International Residential Code drip-edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs, Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies unmodified in Madison County. The County's own Building Permit Inspection Checklist inspects "Roofing" against sections R905.2, R905.2.1, R905.2.2 and R905.2.3 at final inspection, which is the same base-code chapter. Confirm the flashing detail and the fastener spacing against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions as well, which the code makes binding. About drip edge

Required — THE COUNTY ANSWERS THIS ITSELF, IN ITS OWN TABLE, AND THE ANSWER IS COUNTY-WIDE. Madison County's published building regulations, at Section 2-2A, state that "Table R301.2(1) shall be amended to read as follows:" and print a single-row replacement table. Its column headed Ice Barrier Underlayment carries the entry YES. That is a county-wide answer and it is not conditioned on elevation, on a map or on a snow zone. A WARNING ABOUT READING THAT TABLE FROM THE PDF. The table is drawn as a graphic and carries no text layer at all, so copying the document's text, or searching it, returns nothing from the table - the words roof, ice and underlayment each occur zero times in the extracted text of a document whose table plainly contains them. The values here were read from the rendered page. Because neither the County's amendments nor the State's touch Chapter 9, the ice barrier provisions of the adopted 2018 International Residential Code apply as written; confirm the required extent up the slope from the eave against that code and against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions before ordering material. Read this together with the source caveat under adopted code. About ice & water barrier

Not required — MADISON COUNTY PUBLISHES ITS COMPLETE INSPECTION SEQUENCE AND THERE IS NO MID-ROOF STAGE IN IT. The County's Building Permit Inspection Checklist was read in full. It has eight inspection stages, in this order: side, rear and front setback; footing and foundation; slab; sheeting; framing; insulation; drywall; and final inspection, split into exterior and interior. Roofing appears once, under "FINAL INSPECTION - Exterior", as an item reading "Roofing" cited to sections R905.2, R905.2.1, R905.2.2 and R905.2.3, beside a separate item for roof ventilation. The roof deck is looked at earlier, at the sheeting inspection, as "Roof sheathing" cited to R803.1. No in-progress inspection of the roof covering itself - a mid-roof or in-progress underlayment inspection of the kind some jurisdictions require between tear-off and completion - appears anywhere in the sequence. Do not read that as permission to skip an inspection: the same checklist warns that "Proceeding with work after failing to meet code upon inspection or skipping an inspection will lead to a 30% increase in permit cost."

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Madison County. The County's published building regulations, Chapter 103 of the Madison County Code, were read in full - all ten pages, both articles, and the two tables that carry no text layer, which were read by rendering the pages - and contain no reference to UL 2218, to a Class 4 or Class IV impact rating, or to FM 4473, and no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. The County's Building Permit Inspection Checklist contains no such reference either. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list to the International Residential Code, read in full, contains none of them. So neither the County's nor the State's adopted code imposes an impact-resistant roof covering requirement. Do not confuse this with the fire and wind ratings that also appear in roofing work: an impact rating is UL 2218, a fire classification is Class A, B or C under ASTM E108 or UL 790, and a wind rating is ASTM D3161 or D7158. An insurance discount for impact-rated shingles, where a carrier offers one, is a matter between the homeowner and the insurer and is not a code requirement.

MADISON COUNTY SETS NO SIZE, AREA, DOLLAR OR TEAR-OFF-VERSUS-OVERLAY THRESHOLD, AND ITS PERMIT TRIGGER REACHES ALTERATIONS BY NAME. Madison County Code section 103-54, in the County's published building regulations: "BUILDING PERMIT REQUIRED: No person shall, within the county, erect or construct or commence the erection or construction of, or alter or commence the alteration of, any type of building without first obtaining a building permit in accordance with the provisions and procedures set forth in Chapter 103 of the Madison County Code." A reroof is an alteration of a building, so it is inside that sentence. Section 2-4 puts the same point from the other side for the residential code: "COMPLIANCE REQUIRED: It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert or demolish, equip, use, or cause or permit the same to be done in violation of this code." THE COUNTY ADDS NO EXEMPTION LIST OF ITS OWN. The whole of the County's published building regulations - all ten pages, Article I Section 1 on building permits and Article II Sections 1 through 10 on the adopted codes, including the two tables that are invisible to text extraction and were read by rendering the pages - contains no exemption provision at all and no occurrence of the word exempt. Its only amendments to the residential code are a replacement Table R301.2(1), the deletion of the electrical and plumbing chapters 25 through 43, and the inclusion of Appendix Q, Tiny Houses. So the permit exemptions that apply are those of the adopted 2018 International Residential Code section R105.2 as amended by the State of Idaho, and the State's only two amendments to that section change a dimension in item 7 and add "11. Flag poles." Neither concerns roofing, and Idaho adds no roofing item to the exempt list. THE STATE ADDS NO ROOFING EXEMPTION EITHER, and do not rely on the hundred-square-foot roof repair figure that appears in the Idaho state building code rules. It sits inside the definition of "Minor Alteration", which that rule says "is used for the purpose of administering annual permits" - a blanket permit issued to state agencies for work on buildings they already own or operate. It is not a permit exemption for a homeowner or a roofing contractor anywhere in Idaho. WHAT IS NOT ESTABLISHED. The County's building permit application form covers "New construction, Addition, Basement Finish, Remodel, Accessory Structure, etc." and it publishes no separate reroof form and no published fee line for a reroof, so the fee for one was not established here. Ask the Building Department what a reroof is valued at before quoting a permit cost.

THE COUNTY PUBLISHES ITS OWN WIND SPEED AND PRINTS NO BASIS FOR IT. Madison County's published building regulations, at Section 2-2A, replace Table R301.2(1) of the 2018 International Residential Code with a single-row table of the County's own. Its wind column is headed Wind Speed (MPH) and the entry is 90. THE TABLE DOES NOT SAY WHETHER THAT IS A FASTEST-MILE, A NOMINAL THREE-SECOND-GUST OR AN ULTIMATE DESIGN SPEED, and those are different measurement bases for the same loading rather than different loadings. A design method, a shingle wind-rating listing or a product approval written for one basis gives the wrong answer if it is fed a number from another, so no basis is supplied here and no conversion is made. Ask the Building Official which basis the County plan-reviews to before selecting a wind-rated assembly or an enhanced fastening pattern. THE REST OF THE COUNTY'S REPLACEMENT TABLE, described rather than quoted because the table is a graphic with no text layer and its column headings and cells cannot honestly be run together into a sentence: roof snow load 35 and ground snow load 50, both printed without units; seismic design category D subscript zero; under the grouped heading Subject to Damage From, weathering Severe, frost line depth 30 inches, and termite NO; ice barrier underlayment YES; a flood hazards entry giving a 1991 date; and a mean annual temperature of 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Note that the printed table carries obvious typographical errors in two of its headings and in one cell, which is one more reason to confirm any figure from it with the Building Official before designing to it. ONE STATE FACT THAT SITS BESIDE THIS AND IS A WIND FACT. The State of Idaho deletes the model code's wind-borne debris opening-protection section statewide: IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03(d) reads "Section R301.2.1.2 Protection of Openings. Delete." That is an opening provision for windows and doors rather than a roofing one, and under Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(b) a local jurisdiction may not re-adopt a provision the Idaho Building Code Board has expressly rejected.

NEITHER MADISON COUNTY NOR THE STATE OF IDAHO MODIFIES THE MODEL RULE. The County's published building regulations - Chapter 103, Buildings and Building Regulations, all ten pages, read in full, including the two tables that are invisible to text extraction and were read by rendering the pages - amend the 2018 International Residential Code in exactly three respects, all set out at Section 2-2: a replacement Table R301.2(1); the deletion of "All electrical and plumbing requirements of Chapters 25 through 43 of the IRC"; and the inclusion of "Appendix Q - Tiny Houses". Nothing in the document touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, and the document contains no recover, overlay or tear-off rule. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the Idaho Building Code Board's own list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, seventeen items, contains no Chapter 9 amendment either. So the base 2018 International Residential Code recover-versus-replacement rule applies here unmodified. Base-code rule, 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed: a roof recover is not permitted where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces a full tear-off. A LOCAL AMENDMENT WOULD BE UNUSUALLY VISIBLE IF ONE EXISTED. Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(d) lets a county amend this part of the residential code only by ordinance, on a recorded finding that "good cause" for building or life safety exists and that the amendment is "reasonably necessary", after a public hearing noticed in the official newspaper with at least thirty days' written notice to the local chapters of the industry bodies listed in Idaho Code 39-4109(5). No such Madison County amendment is published. Read this together with the source caveat under adopted code.

NO LOCAL ROOF-DECK RULE, BUT THERE IS A SEPARATE DECK INSPECTION AND YOU SHOULD PLAN FOR IT. Madison County's published building regulations were read in full and contain no amendment to Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, which carries the residential code's roof sheathing provisions, and none to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies; the document contains no occurrence of the word sheathing. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, leaves both chapters alone as well. So the base 2018 International Residential Code roof sheathing and decking requirements apply unmodified, along with the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding. THE COUNTY INSPECTS THE DECK AS ITS OWN STAGE. The County's Building Permit Inspection Checklist has eight inspection stages, and the third of them is headed "SHEETING INSPECTION". Its four items are the fastening chart, floor sheathing, "Roof sheathing" cited to R803.1, and wall sheathing. So on a job where the deck is opened up, expect the sheathing to be looked at before it is covered. WHAT DECIDES A DECK HERE IS SNOW, AND THE COUNTY PUBLISHES A NUMBER. The County's replacement Table R301.2(1) gives a roof snow load of 35 and a ground snow load of 50; the table prints no units against those two figures. Ground and roof snow loads are conventionally in pounds per square foot, but the County's own table does not say so, so confirm the units and the design load with the Building Official before re-decking or ordering trusses. The County's building permit requirements add that any open space over 900 square feet requires engineered plans, citing 2018 IRC Table R602.10.1.3 seismic bracing.

6.0% -- the Idaho state rate, with no local add-on. Idaho Code 63-3619 imposes the state sales tax "at the rate of six percent (6%)". Idaho has only two kinds of local sales tax, and neither reaches roofing work in Madison County. The first is the resort-city local-option tax, which Idaho Code 50-1044 confines to a resort city "with a population not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)"; the Idaho State Tax Commission publishes the list of cities that levy one, and in any event a county has no such authority. The second is an auditorium-district tax, which the Tax Commission states "can charge a local sales tax only for short-term lodging (30 days or less)" and so never reaches roofing work. Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED, WHICH MATTERS MORE THAN THE RATE: the Tax Commission's contractor guidance states that "Idaho sales tax law says contractors are the consumers (end users) of all the goods they use. As a result, they must pay sales tax on all purchases", and it names roofers among the contractors it covers. The roofer pays the 6% on materials at the supply house; the homeowner's invoice carries no sales tax line at all, on materials or on labour, because "a contractor doesn't charge sales tax to the customer" and the tax is absorbed into the bid. The Commission adds that "if sales tax is charged on the bill, the customer can refuse to pay it." A customer's own sales-tax exemption does not carry over to the contractor.