City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin - Building Inspection

City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin

city

900 Quay Street (Manitowoc City Hall), Manitowoc, WI 54220

Required

Required

Manitowoc runs permitting through the MyGov portal and requires a local registration before a contractor can apply. The City states that "The City of Manitowoc provides online permitting services to contractors via MyGov. All Contractors and Tradespeople working in the City of Manitowoc shall create a MyGov User Account AND complete a MyGov Contractor Registration. There is no charge for Local Contractor Registration." A property owner who is not going through the portal may instead submit the paper application to the Building Inspection department at 900 Quay Street or by email. The account name matters on a roofing permit: "For Wisconsin state credential/license holders, the User (Collaborator) account's First and Last Name must match those of the credential/license holder, as this name will appear on the permit," and applicants "must choose a Manitowoc Registered Contractor when a State Credentialed or Licensed person is required." On inspections, the City asks for at least 24 hours notice counted in business days, and warns that "Work shall not be concealed until approved by an inspector." On closing the job out, the City is explicit about the cost of forgetting: "If a final inspection is not requested for a project and the permit has expired, the project will be archived as 'incomplete' and the work deemed 'unapproved'," and the fee schedule carries a 50 dollar charge for failure to call for a final inspection plus 75 dollars a reinspection. Permits expire if the work is not commenced within six calendar months of the permit date or 12 months from the start date of issue, and a subsequent permit then costs half the original fee subject to the minimum. Building Inspection is at City Hall, 900 Quay Street, on 920-686-6940.

STATE CODE, ADOPTED BY THE CITY, WITH A SECOND LOCAL BUILDING CODE ALONGSIDE IT. One- and two-family dwellings in Manitowoc are built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, chs. SPS 320 to 325 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. That code is Wisconsin's own text rather than an adoption of the International Residential Code, which is why its roofing rules read differently from the IRC and why no IRC edition year applies to a house here. Municipal Code section 16.010(2) adopts it: "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320 through 325 of the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, as prepared by the State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Division of Industry Services, and future amendments thereto, are hereby adopted by reference." The words "future amendments thereto" make the adoption a floating one, so the City enforces the state code as it stands rather than a frozen edition. Manitowoc also adopts a second instrument most Wisconsin cities do not, at section 16.010(1): "The Wisconsin Uniform Building Code, prepared by the Building Inspectors' Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, as amended from time to time, including future amendments, is hereby adopted by reference," with a copy kept on file in the office of the Director of Building Inspection. Section 16.010(2) settles which wins: "In the event there is any conflict between the applicability of the Wisconsin Uniform Building Code and the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, the provisions of the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code shall apply." So on a house the state dwelling code governs. Section 16.010(3) adopts ch. SPS 327 for camping units, and section 16.010(4)(a)2.A. records that the City has adopted Appointed Agent Municipality status under Wis. Admin. Code SPS 361.60 and 382, which is the commercial track and is not the subject of the residential fields recorded here. Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full - all eighteen sections - and it adds no roof-assembly requirement of its own; the only roofing text in it is a maintenance standard at section 16.150, "Roofs and Drainage," requiring that "The roof and flashing shall be sound, tight and not have defects that might admit rain."

Not required — No drip edge is required by code on a Manitowoc roof, at either level of government. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code, unlike the International Residential Code, carries no drip edge requirement: SPS 321.28, "Weather protection for roofs," was read in full - general drainage and fasteners, underlayment for shingles, asphalt shingles, ice dam protection, other roof coverings, reroofing, and every flashing paragraph - and no provision requires a drip edge at an eave or a rake. The only drip edge language anywhere in the Wisconsin dwelling chapter is a masonry chimney cap rule, which is not a roof edge requirement. On the City side, Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full - all eighteen sections - and the words drip edge do not appear in it; the City permit requirements handout sets no roof-edge detail either. Manitowoc could not add one for a one- or two-family dwelling in any event, because Wisconsin bars a municipality from enforcing a dwelling ordinance that does not conform to the state code. Practical point for a bid: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes binding for asphalt shingles, so read the wrapper before leaving it off. About drip edge

Required — STATE-SET AND SLOPE-CONDITIONED - read the trigger carefully, because it is narrower than the International Residential Code rule used in most other states. Wis. Admin. Code 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 shall be provided with ice dam protection in the form of sheet metal or a product labeled as meeting the requirements of ASTM D 1970." SPS 321.28(4)(b) sets the extent: the 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." The trigger is the roof slope, not the climate zone, so a steeper roof is not covered by the requirement at all - although the shingle manufacturer instructions may still call for it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles. Manitowoc adds nothing to this: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no ice barrier or ice dam provision, and the City could not add one for a one- or two-family dwelling in any event, because Wisconsin bars a municipality from enforcing a dwelling ordinance that does not conform to the state code. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. Manitowoc has not been shown to have taken that step: Title 16 of the Municipal Code, the building chapter, was read in full - all eighteen sections - and it contains no provision extending the Uniform Dwelling Code to dwellings built before June 1, 1980, and no reference to that date at all. Section 16.010(2) adopts chs. SPS 320 through 325 and future amendments without an existing-dwelling extension. Whether some other part of the City code does it is not established here, so ask Building Inspection on 920-686-6940 rather than assuming either way on an older house. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No mid-roof or roof-deck inspection stage is published. The City Inspections page lists its building inspection types in full - Footing, Foundation, Slab On Grade, Rough In, Insulation, Final and Final Occupancy - and none of them is a roof, roof-deck or tear-off stage; the Rough In stage is defined as performed "after framing work, before insulation, sheet rock, paneling or other materials cover any construction." The City adds that "Required inspections are listed on the issued permit document," so the stages a given job must stop at are the ones written on its own permit, and the general rule is that "Work shall not be concealed until approved by an inspector." On a straightforward reroof that leaves the Final inspection as the operative one, and the City charges 50 dollars for failing to call for it. Where a tear-off turns into deck or framing replacement, ask Building Inspection on 920-686-6940 which stages that permit carries rather than assuming the Final is still the only one.

Not required — No impact-resistance or hail-rating mandate applies in Manitowoc. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code contains no UL 2218 requirement, no Class 4 or Class IV impact rating and no FM 4473 reference anywhere in the chapters that govern one- and two-family dwellings, including the roof coverings section; its catch-all for coverings not otherwise addressed sends the installer to the manufacturer instructions or a national standard recognised by the department, which sets no impact class. Impact-resistant shingles are an insurer-driven upgrade in this market, not a code obligation. One caution for reading paperwork on a Wisconsin job: a Class A, B or C designation, or a reference to ASTM E108 or UL 790, is a FIRE rating and says nothing about hail, and ASTM D3161 or D7158 is a WIND rating. Only UL 2218 or FM 4473 answers impact. On the City side, Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 requirement - its only use of the word impact is a stormwater nuisance clause about downspouts - and the City permit requirements handout sets no shingle rating at all.

A PERCENTAGE THRESHOLD, NOT A DOLLAR ONE - AND MANITOWOC IS ONE OF THE FEW WISCONSIN CITIES THAT PUBLISHES A FIGURE AT ALL. The City Building Inspection permit requirements handout, under its GENERAL heading, lists: "Roofing. New or replacement roofing. No more than two layers allowed. Replace 25% or less no permit required." The same list treats siding the same way and carves out one further case: "Detached garage maintenance. Replace roofing, siding, door / window (size for size) no permit required." So a partial repair of a quarter of the roof or less on a house, and any like-for-like reroof of a detached garage, is unpermitted work in Manitowoc, while a full tear-off is not. Two cautions on relying on that. The handout carries its own limit on the first page: it "is intended as a simplified reference and is not a comprehensive list of required permits for all 1 or 2 family dwelling projects," and it is stamped Revised 3-2013. The Municipal Code itself carries no percentage: section 16.010(4) requires a permit before anyone shall "erect or construct any building or structure, or shall add to, enlarge, move, improve, alter, convert, extend, or demolish any building or structure," with no small-job exception anywhere in Title 16, which was read in full. The current fee schedule, version 10/28/2025, does still carry Reroofing as its own line, at 10 dollars per 1,000 dollars of project value with a 50 dollar minimum and a 500 dollar maximum per building, which is the same rate the City charges for a residential alteration. Note also that the permit fee is doubled where the application was not submitted before the job started. Confirm the 25 percent line with Building Inspection on 920-686-6940 before treating a partial repair as exempt.

STATE-SET, AND EXPRESSED AS A PRESSURE RATHER THAN A DESIGN WIND SPEED IN MILES PER HOUR. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.02(1)(c) provides that dwellings "shall be designed and constructed to withstand either a horizontal and uplift pressure of 20 pounds per square foot acting over the surface area or the wind loads determined in accordance with ASCE 7-05, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures," with a published note that ASCE 7-05 allows for substantial reduction from 20 psf as applied to the surface area. SPS 321.02(1) requires a complete load path capable of transferring all loads from point of origin through the load-resisting elements, and SPS 321.02(3)(h) requires all building components to be fastened to withstand the dead load, live load, snow load and wind load. Snow is the one input that varies geographically: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2. provides that roofs "shall be designed and constructed to support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map," which is Figure 321.02, a statewide zone map, so a local ground snow figure is read off that map rather than stated as a single statewide number. IMPORTANT for anyone used to International Residential Code jurisdictions: because Wisconsin works in pounds per square foot and a zone map, there is no ultimate design wind speed in miles per hour here, and the 20 pounds per square foot figure must not be converted into one. Manitowoc adds nothing of its own - Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no wind provision; every occurrence of the letters in it is the word window.

TWO LAYERS, AND THE CITY SAYS SO ITSELF. The Manitowoc Building Inspection permit requirements handout states, under Roofing: "No more than two layers allowed." That matches the statewide rule rather than adding to it. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code bars installing a new roof covering over the existing covering in three situations: where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated so that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. So at most two total layers, and fewer than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by that rule at any layer count. Neither the City handout nor Title 16 of the Municipal Code, which was read in full, offers a route to a third layer by calculation or by permission, so a roof already carrying two applications is a tear-off in Manitowoc. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. Manitowoc has not been shown to have taken that step: Title 16 of the Municipal Code, the building chapter, was read in full - all eighteen sections - and it contains no provision extending the Uniform Dwelling Code to dwellings built before June 1, 1980, and no reference to that date at all. Section 16.010(2) adopts chs. SPS 320 through 325 and future amendments without an existing-dwelling extension. Whether some other part of the City code does it is not established here, so ask Building Inspection on 920-686-6940 rather than assuming either way on an older house.

STATE-SET. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9) sets the deck standard for one- and two-family dwellings in three parts. For structural sheathing, "The allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel." For roof boards, where the rafter spacing is 24 inches on center or less, "roof boards may be used that have a minimum thickness of 5/8-inch for solid sheathing and 3/4-inch for spaced sheathing," and where the rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on center, "roof boards shall be tongue and groove, at least 1.5 inches thick." For roof planks, they "shall be tongue and groove or splined and at least 2 inches, nominal, in thickness," shall "terminate over beams unless the joints are end matched," and shall be "laid so that no continuous line of joints will occur except at points of support." Wisconsin expresses this as a panel grade-stamp and board-thickness rule keyed to rafter spacing rather than the International Residential Code formulation used in IRC states, so do not carry an IRC sheathing specification onto a Wisconsin job. Manitowoc adds nothing of its own: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no roof sheathing, decking or roof-nailing provision. Note that the City schedules a Rough In inspection "after framing work, before insulation, sheet rock, paneling or other materials cover any construction," and states that work shall not be concealed until approved by an inspector, so replacing deck on a permitted job is work the City expects to see before it is covered.

5.5% on materials - the Wisconsin state sales and use tax of 5% plus Manitowoc County's 0.5% county sales and use tax. THE COUNTY TAX IS NEW: the Department of Revenue rate chart lists Manitowoc, county code 36, at 0.50% with an effective date of 1/25 and flags the row as New, so the county began levying it on January 1, 2025. Any price list, estimate template or tax note written before that date will show Manitowoc County at no county tax and will be 0.5% short. The Department of Revenue sales tax rate chart, Guidance Document 100047 dated January 16, 2026, is the authority for those components. No municipal sales tax applies: the city of Milwaukee is the only municipality in Wisconsin that imposes one, and no premier resort area tax applies - the Department of Revenue list of the ten municipalities that impose it does not include Manitowoc. How the tax falls on a roofing job matters more than the rate. Wisconsin treats a roof as real property - the Department of Revenue contractor guidance answers it by name, listing roofs as real property for residential installation, residential repair, commercial installation and commercial repair alike - so the roofing contractor is the consumer of what it installs. The contractor pays sales or use tax when buying shingles, underlayment and other materials, and "is not permitted to collect sales tax from its customers on its sales price from sales of real property construction activities," meaning neither labour nor materials are taxed on the reroofing contract. The exception runs the other way: selling lumber, roofing materials or other tangible personal property WITHOUT installation is a retail sale and is taxable. So the rate is a cost input on the material purchase rather than a line on the homeowner invoice.