City of Oak Creek, Wisconsin - Inspection Services Department

City of Oak Creek, Wisconsin

city

8040 South 6th Street, Oak Creek, WI 53154

Not required

Required

STATE UNIFORM DWELLING CODE, ADOPTED BY A FLOATING REFERENCE, PLUS THE CITY'S OWN PERMIT AND MINOR-REPAIR SCHEME. One- and two-family dwellings in Oak Creek 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. City of Oak Creek Municipal Code SEC. 15.13 STATE UNIFORM DWELLING CODE ADOPTED provides: "The Administrative Code provisions describing and defining regulations with respect to one- and two-family dwellings in Chs. ILHR 20-25, Wis. Adm. Code, are hereby adopted and by reference made a part of this Section as if fully set forth herein... Any future amendments, revisions or modification of the Administrative Code provisions incorporated herein are intended to be made part of this Section to secure uniform statewide regulation of one- and two-family dwellings in this City." Chs. ILHR 20-25 is the old chapter numbering from before Wisconsin renumbered "Industry, Labor and Human Relations" chapters to "Safety and Professional Services" chapters in the early 2010s; today's equivalent is chs. SPS 320 to 325. Because the City's own adoption clause names future amendments as automatically incorporated, this is a floating reference, not a code frozen at its 1970s-80s numbering - so the current SPS 320-325 text governs a Oak Creek house. SEC. 15.13(b) Existing Buildings is the City's own answer to whether the state dwelling code reaches an existing or altered building: "The 'Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code' shall also apply to buildings and conditions where: (1) An existing building to be occupied as a one- or two-family dwelling, which building was not previously so occupied. (2) An existing structure that is altered or repaired, when the cost of such alterations or repair during the life of the structure exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the equalized value of the structure... (3) Additions and alterations, regardless of cost, made to an existing building when deemed necessary in the opinion of the Inspector, shall comply with the requirements of this Section for new buildings. (4) Any addition or alteration, regardless of cost, made to a building shall be made in conformity with applicable Sections of this Chapter." That is Oak Creek's own extension of the state code's reach; this record does not attempt to resolve it against the state rule's own applicability provisions at Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05, which could not be opened this session (repeated fetch failures) and is not quoted or characterized here for that reason. On the general permit and repair scheme: SEC. 15.10 through 15.12 set out the City's Building Code. SEC. 15.10(c) Scope reaches "the design, construction, alteration, erection, installation, addition, demolition, moving and repair of all buildings and structures." SEC. 15.12(a)(2) distinguishes "Alterations," which include work to "the structural members of floors, roofs, beams, girders, columns, bearing or other walls," from "Repairs," defined as work "for purposes of maintenance, or replacements in any existing building or structure which do not involve the structural portions of the building or structure... and which do not increase a given occupancy or use," which "shall be deemed minor repairs." SEC. 15.12(b)(1)a then states: "A permit shall be obtained by the owner or his agent from the Inspection Division for any of the following: a. Structure. All additions, alterations, or new construction of any building or structure, except minor repairs." SEC. 15.13(c)(1) then states specifically that "Replacement of roof coverings shall be considered a minor repair... No building permit is required for work to be performed which is deemed minor repair." Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages (SEC. 15.01 through the Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Impact Fee and Fire Prevention subchapters), and contains no separate roofing chapter and no roof-specific sheathing, drip edge, wind, snow or impact-resistance provision anywhere in it. A separate portion of Chapter 15, headed Property Exterior Maintenance Code, requires existing roofs to be kept "sound, tight, and not have defects that admit rain" with roof materials "maintained in good repair and free from alternative materials, such as tarps." That is a property-maintenance obligation on an existing roof, not a roofing-installation or permit requirement, and is not the basis for any field in this record. Commercial, industrial and larger buildings run on a separate code track: SEC. 15.14 adopts "The Wisconsin Building, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Code, ILHR 50 through 64 and Barrier-Free Design, ILHR 69" (today's SPS 361 to 366) for those occupancies. That commercial track is not the subject of the residential fields recorded here.

Not required — No drip edge is required by code on an Oak Creek 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," covers general drainage and fasteners, underlayment for shingles, asphalt shingles, ice dam protection, other roof coverings, reroofing and every flashing paragraph, and no provision of it requires a drip edge at an eave or a rake. On the City side, the Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and it contains no roofing provision requiring one either. Wisconsin bars a municipality from making or enforcing a dwelling ordinance that does not conform to the state dwelling code (Wis. Stat. 101.65(1c)), so Oak Creek could not add a differing drip edge requirement for a one- or two-family dwelling in any event. Practical point for a bid: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer's installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes binding by requiring shingles to be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, so read the wrapper before leaving it off. About drip edge

Required — STATE-SET AND SLOPE-CONDITIONED - the trigger is the roof slope, not the climate zone. 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 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: it "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." A steeper Oak Creek roof is not covered by the requirement at all, although the shingle manufacturer's own instructions may still call for it - SPS 321.28(3)(a) requires shingles to be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Wisconsin measures from the roof edge rather than from the exterior wall line the way the IRC does, so do not substitute IRC ice-barrier language on an Oak Creek job. Oak Creek adds nothing to this: the City's Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and contains no ice barrier or ice dam provision. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No mid-roof, tear-off or roof-deck inspection stage is published in Oak Creek, and for most reroofs the reason is more basic than a missing stage: an ordinary shingle tear-off, replacement or two-layer overlay needs no permit at all in Oak Creek (see roofing_permit_required), so no inspection attaches to it. Where a permit IS required - re-decking, a structural change, or a roofline alteration - the City's Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and names no roofing-specific or mid-construction inspection stage anywhere in it; the City's own Inspection Services page was checked separately and names no inspection types (footing, rough, framing, roof or final) at all. Inspections are block-scheduled by telephone on 414-766-7002, morning (9 a.m. to noon) or afternoon (noon to 3 p.m.), with requests taken on a first-received, staff-availability basis and no same-day requests honored - so where deck or structural roof work does pull a permit, ask Inspection Services directly which stages that permit will carry rather than assuming a distinct roof inspection exists.

Not required — No impact-resistance or hail-rating mandate applies in Oak Creek. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sections governing weather protection, roof design and framing (SPS 321.27 and SPS 321.28) contain no UL 2218 requirement, no Class 4 or Class IV impact rating and no FM 4473 reference; SPS 321.28(5)'s catch-all for roof coverings not otherwise addressed sends the installer to the manufacturer's instructions or a national standard recognized by the department, which sets no impact class. On the City side, the Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV, FM 4473 or hail requirement appears anywhere in it. Impact-resistant shingles are an insurer-driven upgrade in this market, not a code obligation. One caution for reading paperwork on an Oak Creek 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.

THE LINE IS DRAWN AT STRUCTURE, NOT DOLLARS OR SQUARE FOOTAGE, AND THE CITY'S ENACTED CODE AND ITS OWN FAQ SAY THE SAME THING FROM OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. The City's Residential Alteration page answers the roofing question directly: "A permit is not required for a shingle tear-off and replacement. A permit is not required for a shingle overlay if there will be no more than two layers of shingles. A permit is required for any re-decking, structural change, or alteration to the roof line." The codified Building Code reaches the same result by its own general rule. SEC. 15.13(c)(1) states that "Replacement of roof coverings shall be considered a minor repair... No building permit is required for work to be performed which is deemed minor repair." SEC. 15.12(a)(2)b defines a minor repair as work "which do[es] not involve the structural portions of the building or structure or which do[es] not affect room arrangement, light and ventilation, access to or efficiency of any existing stairways, or exits, fire protection, or exterior aesthetic appearance and which do[es] not increase a given occupancy or use." Re-decking and structural roofline work fall outside that definition, and SEC. 15.12(a)(2)a names "the structural members of floors, roofs, beams, girders, columns, bearing or other walls" as the kind of alteration that pulls a project back under SEC. 15.12(b)(1)a's general rule: "A permit shall be obtained... for... All additions, alterations, or new construction of any building or structure, except minor repairs." The two-layer figure in the FAQ tracks the state ceiling at Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(6)(c), which bars a new roof covering over an existing one that already carries two or more applications of any permanent roof covering - see the roof_layer_limit field for the two further conditions that can force a tear-off even at a single existing layer. Confirm scope with Inspection Services at 414-766-7002 before treating any part of a roof job as outside the permit, particularly where deck replacement or a roofline change is involved.

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." Fastening is governed by SPS 321.02(3)(h): "All building components shall be fastened to withstand the dead load, live load, snow load, and wind load," per the fastener schedule at Table 321.02-2. Snow is the one input that varies geographically: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2 provides that roofs shall be designed to "support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map," Figure 321.02, a statewide zone map, so an Oak Creek 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 for Oak Creek, and the 20 pounds per square foot figure must not be converted into one. Oak Creek adds nothing of its own - the Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and states no wind or snow design criterion for a building anywhere in it.

TWO LAYERS IS THE CAP, ON BOTH THE STATE RULE AND THE CITY'S OWN RESTATEMENT OF IT. The state rule is Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(6) Reroofing: "New roof coverings may not be installed over existing roof coverings 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. (c) The existing roof has 2 or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering." So at most two total layers, and less than that where the deck or covering is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials. The City's own Residential Alteration page states the headline figure in its own words: "A permit is not required for a shingle overlay if there will be no more than two layers of shingles" - which reads as the City's administrative line for when an overlay may proceed without triggering the permit process, not a separate legal standard; a roofer relying only on the City's one-line summary will miss the two further conditions in SPS 321.28(6)(a) and (b). A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by this rule at any layer count. Oak Creek adds no layer rule of its own in either direction: the City's Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and contains no separate layer, shingle-count or overlay provision of its own outside the Residential Alteration guidance already quoted. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but Wis. Stat. 101.615 draws its own general vintage line: the subchapter "applies to a dwelling the initial construction of which was commenced on or after December 1, 1978," while by 101.615(3) the contractor-certification requirements at 101.65(1m), 101.65(1r) and 101.654 apply regardless of when the dwelling was built. This record does not reach the administrative rule's own applicability provisions at SPS 320.05, which could not be opened this session; see adopted_code for Oak Creek's own SEC. 15.13(b), which extends the state code to a range of alteration and repair situations on existing buildings without regard to the building's age.

STATE-SET. Oak Creek adds nothing of its own to the roof deck - the City's Municipal Code Chapter 15 was read in full, all 50 pages, and contains no roof sheathing, decking or nailing provision anywhere in it. So Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9) governs, 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," shall be "laid so that no continuous line of joints will occur except at points of support," and shall "be nailed or fastened to each beam." 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 an Oak Creek job. Replacing deck is structural work and needs its own permit scope under the City's Building Code - see repair_permit_threshold.

5.9% on materials - the Wisconsin state sales and use tax of 5% plus Milwaukee County's 0.9% county sales and use tax, which took effect January 1, 2024 and replaced the 0.5% the county had levied since April 1991. THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE RATE DOES NOT REACH OAK CREEK. Milwaukee is the only municipality in Wisconsin that imposes a city sales and use tax - 2%, effective January 1, 2024 - and the Department of Revenue's own rate page states plainly that the city tax applies only within the City of Milwaukee itself, not to other municipalities in Milwaukee County such as Oak Creek. A Oak Creek job is 5.9%, not the 7.9% that applies at a City of Milwaukee address. No premier resort area tax applies here, and the baseball stadium district tax ended in 2020. How the tax falls on a roofing job matters more than the rate. Wisconsin treats a roof as real property - the Department of Revenue's own contractor guidance, Publication 207, lists "Roofs" as real property for both residential installation and residential repair, so the roofing contractor is the consumer of what it installs. Under the "When Is a Contractor a Consumer" discussion in that publication, "A contractor is a consumer of taxable products... that it uses when performing real property construction activities, such as improving, altering, installing, repairing... real property," and "a contractor who performs a real property construction activity 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 itself; the contractor instead pays sales or use tax when buying the shingles, underlayment and other materials. The exception runs the other way: Publication 207 lists "Selling lumber, roofing materials or other tangible personal property, without installation" as a taxable retail sale. So the rate is a cost input on the material purchase rather than a line on the homeowner's invoice.