City of Marion, Iowa - Building Services

City of Marion, Linn County, Iowa

city

1225 6th Avenue, Marion, IA 52302

Required

Required

The City of Marion roofing handout cites its authority as the "2024 International Residential Code, Marion Code of Ordinances," so residential roofing work in Marion is governed by the 2024 edition as the city has adopted and amended it. This record does not reproduce the city amendment list, which is published through the Marion Code of Ordinances and has not been read here; the roofing entries below rest on the city own published requirements rather than on the unamended model text. Iowa leaves the choice of edition to the city: under Iowa Code section 103A.12 the state building code applies only in a governmental subdivision whose governing body has adopted it by ordinance, and section 103A.22(1) provides that nothing in that chapter prohibits a subdivision from enacting its own building regulations. Iowa cities accordingly sit on different editions from one another and neighbouring Cedar Rapids should not be assumed to match.

Required — Required. Requirement 4 of the City of Marion asphalt shingle roofing handout, headed Ice Dam Protection, provides that "an ice barrier meeting ASTM D 1970 shall consist of a self-adhering polymer modified bitumen sheet (ice guard) or 2 layers of underlayment cemented together," and that "ice dam protection shall extend from the eaves edge to a point 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building." Two details in that wording are worth carrying to the job. The city accepts an alternative to a membrane - two layers of underlayment cemented together satisfy the requirement as written. And the ice barrier is the starting course for the underlayment schedule that follows it: on roofs of 2:12 up to 4:12 the handout directs "apply ice barrier as stated above," then a 19 inch strip of underlayment, then 36 inch wide sheets overlapping successive sheets 19 inches, while on roofs of 4:12 or greater the ice barrier is followed by a single layer of underlayment applied shingle fashion with a 2 inch overlap and end laps offset by 6 feet. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No mid-roof, dry-in or in-progress roofing inspection is published by the City of Marion. The inspection the city does require on a roofing permit is a final one, and it is called for by the permit holder rather than scheduled automatically: "once the project has been completed, you or your contractor will need to call the Building Division (319-743-6330) to request a final inspection." The city asphalt shingle roofing handout, which sets out ten numbered requirements covering shingle specification, sheathing, slope, ice dam protection, underlayment, fasteners, attachment, flashings, ventilation, reroofing and approved products, names no inspection stage at any point in the work. A roofer should therefore expect the covering to be closed in without an intermediate city inspection, and should plan the final call for completion.

There is no dollar threshold and no square-footage threshold in Marion; the requirement is categorical. The city states: "You must request a building permit if you plan to roof, re-roof, side or re-side any structure. You must obtain a permit prior to starting the project and a card shall be displayed on the property so it is visible from the street." Two practical points follow. The card requirement is a site obligation a roofer has to plan for, not a filing formality. And the size of the job affects the fee rather than whether a permit is needed: "the permit fee is calculated by using the valuation of the project with the dollar valuation figured by squares (one square = 100 square feet or a 10' x 10' area)," and the city roofing handout adds that the cost of the permit turns on "whether it is an overlay, a tear-off or a complete replacement of sheathing along with the roofing material." Roofing and siding permits are issued within one to two business days of application, and the permit is good for one year with an option to renew for one additional year.

Marion sets its wind requirement as a shingle rating rather than by publishing a design wind speed. Requirement 1 of the city asphalt shingle roofing handout, headed Shingle specification requirement, provides that "asphalt shingles shall comply with ASTM D3462 and meet the wind rating of 116 mph." READ THAT AS A PRODUCT SPECIFICATION FOR THE SHINGLE, WHICH IS WHAT IT SAYS, AND NOT AS THE CITY entry in Table R301.2(1) of the adopted code - the handout does not publish the table figure, and the two are established under different provisions. The practical effect for a roofer is that the shingle carried onto a Marion roof has to be a D3462 product rated to at least 116 mph, which is a question to settle from the manufacturer product data before ordering rather than on the roof. The handout reinforces the point at requirement 10, which tells the homeowner to "verify that your contractor is using shingles, felt paper, ice barrier, and fasteners that meet the ASTM numbers listed in the above article."

Two layers maximum - one overlay is permitted, and a second existing layer requires a tear-off. Marion states this twice in its own materials rather than leaving it to the adopted code. Its building permit information page says "roofing material can consist of either asphalt shingles or metal shingles. A maximum of two layers are allowed on a roof." Its asphalt shingle roofing handout repeats the limit at requirement 9, under the heading Reroofing: "no more than two layers are allowed on a roof," and states at the top of the same document that "a maximum of 2 layers of asphalt shingles on roof is allowable." The handout also confirms that all three cases are contemplated and priced - the permit fee turns on "whether it is an overlay, a tear-off or a complete replacement of sheathing along with the roofing material" - so an overlay is a recognised option in Marion rather than a practice tolerated at the margins.

Marion requires shingles to be laid on a solid deck and ties its fastener requirements to the thickness of that deck. Requirement 2 of the city asphalt shingle roofing handout, headed Sheathing, provides that "shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks." Requirement 5, on fasteners, then sets the penetration rule against the sheathing: "roofing nails are to be a minimum 11 gauge shank with a minimum 5/16 inch diameter head. If the roof sheathing is less than 3/4 inch thick, the nails should penetrate through the sheathing. If the sheathing is thicker, the nails should penetrate at least 3/4 inch. The number of nails shall be according to the manufacturers recommendations. Fasteners shall comply with ASTM F 1667." Requirement 6 adds that shingles "shall have the minimum number of fasteners required by the manufacturer" and that "for normal applications, not less than 4 fasteners per strip shingle would be required." Note that replacing the sheathing changes the permit calculation as well as the work: the city prices a permit differently for "a complete replacement of sheathing along with the roofing material" than for an overlay or a tear-off.

7% in Marion, Linn County - the 6% Iowa state sales tax plus a 1% local option sales tax, per the Iowa Department of Revenue local option sales tax tables effective July 1, 2026. HOW IOWA TAXES A ROOF IS UNUSUAL, AND IT CUTS BOTH WAYS. Iowa Code section 423.2(6) makes a list of enumerated services taxable at the state rate, and paragraph (l) of that list reads, in its entirety, "Roof, shingle, and glass repair." Against that, section 423.3(37) exempts "the sales price of services on or connected with new construction, reconstruction, alteration, expansion, remodeling." The materials side flips with the labour side. Under section 423.2(1)(b)(1), materials sold to a contractor "for the erection of buildings and other structures or for the reconstruction, alteration, expansion, or remodeling of buildings and other structures are retail sales of tangible personal property," on which the contractor pays the tax as consumer, while materials sold "for use in repairs to or for installation in existing buildings and other structures are purchases for resale." So a job characterised as a repair carries taxable labour and resale-purchased materials, and a job characterised as reconstruction or remodeling carries exempt labour and taxed materials. Which branch a particular tear-off and replacement falls into is a fact-specific question the statute does not answer, and it changes who owes the tax rather than only how much, so settle it with an accountant rather than assume it. One thing to watch on this rate: the Linn County local option tax carries a sunset date of June 30, 2034 in the Department of Revenue tables, so the 1% component is authorised for a fixed term rather than indefinitely.