Newaygo County - Building Department

Newaygo County, Michigan (2 cities, 1 village and 14 townships on the county building program)

county

306 North Street, White Cloud, MI 49349

Required

Newaygo County's Building Department has published nothing specific to roof work. Its building permit information sheet says "One is required before any construction, enlargement, alteration, total removal or demolition is started" and "A permit is NOT required for ordinary repairs or for improvements that do not affect the integrity of the structure", and the state's general permit rule applies: "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." The same state section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs, and the department has published nothing applying either relief to roof work. Its home page says "Any work started prior to obtaining the proper permits will require the permit fee to be doubled (not to exceed $600)" and "A $100 fee will be charged for a Stop Work Order on open permits when the project scope does not match the permit issued or does not comply with code." The permit information sheet says "Building permits may be obtained by either a licensed contractor or a homeowner doing his own work, in a single family dwelling, which he owns and is living in or is about to occupy." Applications and fees may be mailed, with checks payable to the Newaygo County Building Department, and the permit applications page says "Please verify building permit fee amounts with the department before mailing." The home page says "Permits remain valid for one year as long as work is progressing and inspections are requested and conducted" and that a permit "will be closed when no inspections are requested and conducted within 180 days of the date of issuance or the date of a previous inspection." The office is at 306 North Street, White Cloud, MI 49349, with office hours of 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and its telephone number is (231) 689-7216. It serves the units the state's jurisdiction list assigns to the county; the cities of Fremont and White Cloud and ten townships enforce for themselves.

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 assigns building code enforcement in 2 cities, 1 village and 14 townships of Newaygo County to the county; the cities of Fremont and White Cloud and the townships of Barton, Croton, Dayton, Ensley, Everett, Garfield, Lilley, Lincoln, Sheridan and Sherman are listed as enforcing for themselves. The Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines, read October 11, 2026, name no code edition; the guidelines say "PLEASE REFER TO THE MRC CODE BOOK FOR SPECIFIC WORDING".

Required — 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 Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

Required — 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 Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." The Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines were read for a local rule and state no impact rule.

No size or cost threshold is published. The Newaygo County Building Department's building permit information sheet says "A permit is NOT required for ordinary repairs or for improvements that do not affect the integrity of the structure" without defining either, and names no roofing work; the department publishes no fee schedule for building permits, and its building permit application lists "REPAIR" and "ALTERATION" among the types of improvement. Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), also without a definition of ordinary repairs. For a small roof repair, ask the department (231-689-7216) before starting.

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, the Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines were read and state no layer rule. The home page says the department was established in 1974 under Act 230 of the Public Acts of 1972, and mentions a mechanical ordinance adopted September 22, 1994 and a plumbing ordinance adopted March 22, 2006; the county's pages link no building ordinance, so none was read for this record.

State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). The Newaygo County Building Department's home page, permit applications page, building permit information sheet, building permit application and worksheet, and partial building guidelines were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.

6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the Newaygo County Building Department pages changes this.