Do you need a permit to replace a roof in New Buffalo, MI?

Roofing questions: New Buffalo, MI

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in New Buffalo, MI?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in New Buffalo, MI. The City of New Buffalo publishes nothing on reroofs and no size line below which a roof job needs no permit. Its Building Department page says "Permits must be obtained before beginning any construction, remodeling, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or signage work." Its Building Permits and Applications page offers a building permit application, a plan examination application and trade permit applications, and neither the page nor the Building Permit Fees schedule names roofing. State law requires that before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit (MCL 125.1510(1)), defines construction to mean "the construction, erection, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, demolition, repair, moving, or equipping of buildings or structures" (MCL 125.1502a(n)), and says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510(7)) without defining ordinary repairs; the permit exemptions in the Michigan Residential Code name no roofing. Chapter 5 of the city code designates the enforcing agency and adds no definition of ordinary repairs.

Is ice & water shield required in New Buffalo, MI?

Yes. Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). The City's codified Chapter 5, Article I designates a mechanical inspector under the Basic Building Code (BOCA); this field states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state act applies throughout the state and which the City's Building Permit Fees schedule names ("2015 MICHIGAN RESIDENTIAL CODE"); the Basic Building Code (BOCA) text was not read (see adopted_code). Chapter 5 of the New Buffalo Code of Ordinances (Building and Construction), the Building Department pages and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.

Is drip edge required in New Buffalo, MI?

Yes. Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). The City's codified Chapter 5, Article I designates a mechanical inspector under the Basic Building Code (BOCA); this field states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state act applies throughout the state and which the City's Building Permit Fees schedule names ("2015 MICHIGAN RESIDENTIAL CODE"); the Basic Building Code (BOCA) text was not read (see adopted_code). Chapter 5 of the New Buffalo Code of Ordinances (Building and Construction), the Building Department pages and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.

Can you roof over an existing roof in New Buffalo, MI?

Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, Chapter 5 of the New Buffalo Code of Ordinances (Building and Construction) was read (Article I, Construction Codes; Article II, Property Maintenance Code; Article III, Soil Erosion and Sediment Control; Article V, Hours of Construction; Article VI, Floodplain Management): it designates the enforcing agency, adopts the State Construction Code Act, adopts a property maintenance code and a floodplain appendix, has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The City's codified Chapter 5, Article I designates a mechanical inspector under the Basic Building Code (BOCA); this field states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state act applies throughout the state and which the City's Building Permit Fees schedule names ("2015 MICHIGAN RESIDENTIAL CODE"); the Basic Building Code (BOCA) text was not read (see adopted_code). The Building Department pages and the building permit application state no layer rule.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in New Buffalo, MI?

Yes.

What building code does New Buffalo, MI use?

2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of New Buffalo as its own building code enforcer. Chapter 5, Article I of the city's Code of Ordinances designates the City's Building Inspector as the enforcing agency, and the city's Building Department page names Municipal Inspection Authority as its building services contractor. The City's codified Chapter 5, Article I (Ord. No. 101, adopted 4-18-1995, as amended 2-19-2008 by Ord. No. 174) designates a mechanical inspector "Pursuant to the provisions of the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., Basic Building Code (BOCA), including all amendments and supplements thereto"; this directory has not read that text, and whether the codified reference has any effect today is not decided here. This record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state construction code act applies throughout the state ("This act and the code apply throughout the state," MCL 125.1508a) and which LARA says remains in effect while the Court of Claims order of July 7, 2025 stands. The City's Building Permit Fees schedule, posted December 13, 2024, says "r105.2 (P3 OF THE 2015 MICHIGAN RESIDENTIAL CODE)". Article II of the same chapter adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2015 Edition.