Peters Township - Planning Department

Township of Peters, Pennsylvania (Washington County)

city

610 E McMurray Road, McMurray, PA 15317

Required

Peters Township's Planning Department issues building permits, and the Township's code and permit pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs one. Chapter 165 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (read October 7, 2026), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's municipal building code (Section 165-1) and as its "municipal residential code for one- and two-family dwellings" (Section 165-10). The local provisions it keeps in force, the fire-protection systems text of Attachment A to Ordinance No. 499 (Section 165-2 E) and the plot plan, footing, design-professional, patio home, radon and sewer provisions of Section 165-11, name no roof work and add no permit requirement for repairs or alterations. Chapter 195, Fees, as amended through Ordinance No. 920 of December 22, 2025, charges building permit fees "where permits are required pursuant to any ordinance, regulation or other official action of the Township" and has no roofing line; its residential categories are new construction or additions and "Interior renovations or accessory buildings/structures." The Planning Department's Residential Permits page and documentation checklist say nothing on roofing; the checklist describes a Residential Alteration as one that "Includes interior renovations requiring structural work or changes to the means of egress." So no Township ordinance or statement read for this record names roofing or reroofing as permit work or as exempt, and none brings residential repairs into the permit requirement beyond the Uniform Construction Code's own terms. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." This record does not state whether the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Planning Department before starting. Permit applications go through the Township's SDL online portal, and "All Building, Zoning, Fence, and Demolition permits are required to be accompanied by a plot plan and/or survey that includes the entire scope of work, drawn to scale." Section 165-2 C sets a fine of "not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution" for violating Article I. The Township says electrical, energy compliance and exterior sanitary inspections "required for all commercial and new residential construction" are done by listed third-party agencies. Read for this answer: Chapter 165 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Articles I to III, Sections 165-1 to 165-12, with Attachment A of Ordinance No. 499), in full; Chapter 195, Fees; Chapter 134, Building and Grading Activities; Chapter 229, Grading; Chapter 315, Property Maintenance; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Planning Department's Permits and Applications and Residential Permits pages; the residential documentation checklist; and the list of third-party inspection agencies. The Municipal Building is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm; the Planning Department's telephone is 724-942-5005.

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Peters Township administers the code itself: Section 165-1 of the Township Code says "Peters Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Planning Department, at the Municipal Building, 610 E McMurray Road, McMurray, takes building permit applications through its online portal; its permit pages say "UCC reviews for new single-family dwellings and all other projects are done in-house by Peters Township staff," with commercial plan reviews sent to Code-sys. Sections 165-1 and 165-10 adopt the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," but Section 165-11 still adopts "Appendix F-Radon Control Methods, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings 2003" and lists "Amendments to 2003 ICC International Residential Code," and the Township's permit pages name no code edition; this record has not read the 2003 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies. Chapter 165 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.

Peters Township's code adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference and names no roof work. Chapter 165 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (read October 7, 2026), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's municipal building code (Section 165-1) and as its "municipal residential code for one- and two-family dwellings" (Section 165-10). The local provisions it keeps in force, the fire-protection systems text of Attachment A to Ordinance No. 499 (Section 165-2 E) and the plot plan, footing, design-professional, patio home, radon and sewer provisions of Section 165-11, name no roof work and add no permit requirement for repairs or alterations. Chapter 195, Fees, as amended through Ordinance No. 920 of December 22, 2025, charges building permit fees "where permits are required pursuant to any ordinance, regulation or other official action of the Township" and has no roofing line; its residential categories are new construction or additions and "Interior renovations or accessory buildings/structures." The Planning Department's Residential Permits page and documentation checklist say nothing on roofing; the checklist describes a Residential Alteration as one that "Includes interior renovations requiring structural work or changes to the means of egress." So no Township ordinance or statement read for this record names roofing or reroofing as permit work or as exempt, and none brings residential repairs into the permit requirement beyond the Uniform Construction Code's own terms. State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Peters Township administers the code itself: Section 165-1 of the Township Code says "Peters Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Planning Department, at the Municipal Building, 610 E McMurray Road, McMurray, takes building permit applications through its online portal; its permit pages say "UCC reviews for new single-family dwellings and all other projects are done in-house by Peters Township staff," with commercial plan reviews sent to Code-sys. Chapters 165 and 195 of the Township Code, quoted at the start, set no threshold for roof work, and the Township's permit pages state none.

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Peters Township administers the code itself: Section 165-1 of the Township Code says "Peters Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Planning Department, at the Municipal Building, 610 E McMurray Road, McMurray, takes building permit applications through its online portal; its permit pages say "UCC reviews for new single-family dwellings and all other projects are done in-house by Peters Township staff," with commercial plan reviews sent to Code-sys. Chapter 165 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's permit pages say nothing on roof layers. So whether a Township ordinance brings a house reroof within the Uniform Construction Code is not stated here. Sections 165-1 and 165-10 adopt the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," but Section 165-11 still adopts "Appendix F-Radon Control Methods, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings 2003" and lists "Amendments to 2003 ICC International Residential Code," and the Township's permit pages name no code edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2003 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record.

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Peters Township administers the code itself: Section 165-1 of the Township Code says "Peters Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Planning Department, at the Municipal Building, 610 E McMurray Road, McMurray, takes building permit applications through its online portal; its permit pages say "UCC reviews for new single-family dwellings and all other projects are done in-house by Peters Township staff," with commercial plan reviews sent to Code-sys. Chapter 165 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions; Section 165-11 requires design-professional construction documents for "new construction, additions or structural modification," which the Code Official may waive for work "of a minor nature," and draws no separate line for roof sheathing. Sections 165-1 and 165-10 adopt the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," but Section 165-11 still adopts "Appendix F-Radon Control Methods, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings 2003" and lists "Amendments to 2003 ICC International Residential Code," and the Township's permit pages name no code edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2003 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Peters Township is in Washington County. The Township's permit pages and Chapter 195 say nothing on sales tax.