Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Madison, WI?

Roofing questions: Madison, WI

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Madison, WI?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Madison, WI. CITY-SPECIFIC (permit administration is not preempted by the Uniform Dwelling Code; Wis. Stat. s. 101.65(1)(a) and (1)(c) leave permitting and fees to the municipality). The City of Madison Building Inspection Division's Storm Damage guidance states that a building permit is required for replacing roofing, siding and windows, and that a permit is not required for small repairs of less than $500 in estimated value. Madison's threshold is therefore a dollar-value test on the repair, not a square-footage test - a different convention from the "one bundle / 33 1/3 square feet" style threshold used by some other jurisdictions. Madison Building Inspection can be reached at (608) 266-4551 ext. 1 to confirm scope for a specific project.

Is ice & water shield required in Madison, WI?

Yes. STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET, AND SLOPE-CONDITIONED - read the scope carefully, it is narrower than the IRC/Minnesota rule. Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 321.28(4)(a) requires that shingled or shake roofs that extend over a heated area of a dwelling or attached garage AND that have a slope of 4:12 or less be provided with ice dam protection, in the form of sheet metal or a product labeled as meeting the requirements of ASTM D1970. SPS 321.28(4)(b) sets the extent: the ice dam protection "shall extend at least 30 inches up the roof slope from the roof edge and at least 12 inches up the roof slope beyond the inner face of the exterior wall." Two cautions for Madison work: (1) on roof areas steeper than 4:12, the Uniform Dwelling Code does not itself impose an ice-barrier requirement, so a steep-slope reroof may be code-compliant without one (shingle manufacturers' own installation instructions may still require it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a) requires asphalt shingles to be installed per the manufacturer's instructions); (2) Wisconsin's "30 inches up the slope from the roof edge and 12 inches beyond the inner face of the exterior wall" is a different measurement convention from the IRC's "24 inches inside the exterior wall line" - do not substitute IRC ice-barrier language on a Wisconsin job. SCOPE -- the same Uniform Dwelling Code limits that govern the layer rule govern this one, because Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05 exempts work from the code as a whole rather than from any single section. SPS 320.05(1) excludes dwellings whose construction commenced before the code's effective date, and additions or alterations to such dwellings, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose -- whether Madison has done so is NOT established by this record. That date is June 1, 1980 for chs. SPS 320, 321, 323, 324 and 325 under SPS 320.03. Wis. Stat. 101.615 states December 1, 1978, but SPS 320.03 assigns that date to ch. SPS 322, the energy chapter; for a reroof, which is governed by chs. SPS 320 and 321, June 1, 1980 is the date that governs. SPS 320.05(3) further excludes "repairs or maintenance to dwellings or dwelling units," and SPS 320.07(61) defines "repair" to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent" fixture, system or equipment. On a dwelling built before 1980, confirm with the City of Madison Building Inspection Division that the ice dam rule applies before pricing it in or out.

Is drip edge required in Madison, WI?

No. STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code, unlike the IRC (R905.2.8.5), contains no general requirement for drip edge at roof eaves or rakes. Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 321.28 ("Weather protection for roofs"), subsections (1) through (7) - drainage and fasteners, underlayment, asphalt shingle installation, ice dam protection, other roof coverings, reroofing, and flashing - impose no roof-edge drip edge. The catch-all, s. SPS 321.28(5), reads: "Other roof coverings. All roof coverings not otherwise addressed in this section shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or a national standard recognized by the department." The only two "drip edge" references anywhere in ch. SPS 321 are s. SPS 321.30(8) on chimney caps ("Chimney caps shall have a minimum thickness of 2 inches, shall slope outwards away from the flue, and shall provide a one-inch overhang and drip edge on all sides") and a deck ledger-board flashing detail in ch. SPS 325 Appendix B - neither is a roof-edge requirement. Madison cannot add one by ordinance for a one- or two-family dwelling (Wis. Stat. s. 101.65(1c)). Practical note: drip edge may still be required in Madison as a matter of the shingle manufacturer's installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes mandatory for asphalt shingles.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Madison, WI?

STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET (Wis. Stat. s. 101.65(1c) bars Madison from a differing dwelling ordinance). Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 321.28(6) governs reroofing of one- and two-family dwellings: new roof coverings may not be installed over an existing roof covering where any of the following conditions exist - (a) the existing roof or roof covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; (b) the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or (c) the existing roof has 2 or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. Practical effect: at most one recover (overlay) over one existing layer is permitted, so a roof already carrying two layers must be torn off completely; wood shake, slate, clay, cement and asbestos-cement tile may never be recovered regardless of layer count. SCOPE -- the Uniform Dwelling Code does not reach every dwelling, and the rule above governs only the ones it does reach. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1) provides that the code "shall not apply to dwellings and dwelling units, the construction of which was commenced prior to the effective date of this code, or to additions or alterations to such dwellings." SPS 320.03 fixes that effective date for chs. SPS 320, 321, 323, 324 and 325 at June 1, 1980. The enabling statute carries its own date: Wis. Stat. 101.615 applies the subchapter to "a dwelling the initial construction of which was commenced on or after December 1, 1978." Those two dates are assigned to different chapters rather than standing against one another: SPS 320.03 gives December 1, 1978 as the effective date of ch. SPS 322, the energy chapter, and June 1, 1980 as the effective date of chs. SPS 320 and 321, which carry these roofing rules. For a reroof, June 1, 1980 is the date that governs. A municipality may close the gap itself -- the note to SPS 320.05(1) states that chs. SPS 320 to 325 "may be adopted by a municipality to apply to any additions or alterations to existing dwellings" -- and whether Madison has done so is NOT established by this record. Separately, SPS 320.05(3) provides that the code does "not apply to repairs or maintenance to dwellings or dwelling units," and SPS 320.07(61) defines "repair" to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent" fixture, system or equipment, which is a fair description of a like-for-like tear-off and replacement -- while SPS 321.28(6) regulates reroofing by name. Those two provisions are in genuine tension; this record states both and does not adjudicate between them. On a dwelling built before 1980, or on a like-for-like replacement, confirm scope with the City of Madison Building Inspection Division before relying on the layer rule.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Madison, WI?

Yes. STATE-ISSUED, NOT CITY-ISSUED. There is no separate City of Madison roofing-contractor licence for one- and two-family work; the credential is the statewide DSPS one. Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 305.31(1) provides that no person may obtain a building permit for a one- or two-family dwelling unless that person either (a) holds a DSPS-issued Dwelling Contractor certification or Dwelling Contractor - Restricted certification, or (b) "[h]olds or engages, as an employee, a person who holds a certification issued by the department as a dwelling contractor qualifier." Wis. Stat. s. 101.65(1m) is the statutory hook that makes Madison check it: a municipality "May not issue a building permit to a person who is required to be certified under s. 101.654 unless that person, on applying for a building permit, produces a certificate issued by the department or other evidence satisfactory to the department showing that the person is in compliance with s. 101.654." Madison administers that check but cannot substitute its own credential scheme. Roofing is NOT a standalone Wisconsin licence category: DSPS's Dwelling Contractor program treats roofing as one subject area within the general Dwelling Contractor / Dwelling Contractor Qualifier scheme, alongside carpentry, concrete, masonry, and siding and gutters. The Dwelling Contractor Qualifier credential requires at least 12 hours in an approved initial qualifier course in dwelling construction within the 1 year before application (DSPS form fm3097).

What building code does Madison, WI use?

STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Wisconsin's residential building code is not a straight IRC adoption: it is the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC), Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 321, promulgated by the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) under Wis. Stat. ch. 101, subch. II. SPS 321.01 (Scope) provides: "The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the design and construction of all one- and 2-family dwellings." The roof-coverings section, SPS 321.28 (Weather Protection for Roofs), was most recently amended by CR 15-041, effective 1/1/2016. Madison cannot adopt a different technical code for dwellings: Wis. Stat. s. 101.65(1)(a) permits a municipality to exercise jurisdiction over construction and inspection of new dwellings only "[s]ubject to sub. (1c)," and s. 101.65(1c) provides that a municipality "May not make or enforce an ordinance under sub. (1) that is applied to a dwelling and that does not conform to this subchapter and the uniform dwelling code adopted by the department under this subchapter or is contrary to an order of the department under this subchapter." That is a conformity (match/non-match) test with no "may be more restrictive" carve-out, so Wisconsin is a true statewide preemption model rather than the IRC-plus-local-amendment pattern. What Madison retains under s. 101.65 is administration only: jurisdiction over construction and inspection of new dwellings (1)(a), fees to defray that cost (1)(c), remedies and penalties (1)(d), the contractor-certificate check at permit issuance (1m), the owner-liability disclosure statement (1r), use of the state permit form (3), and electronic filing of issued permits with DSPS (4). NOTE: ch. SPS 321 governs one- and two-family dwellings only; commercial and 3+ unit multifamily buildings in Madison fall under the Wisconsin Commercial Building Code, SPS 361-366 (IBC-based), which is not the subject of this record.