City of Racine, Wisconsin - Department of City Development, Building Inspection Division

City of Racine, Wisconsin

city

730 Washington Avenue, Room 103, Racine, WI 53403

Required

Required

The Building Inspection Division, part of the Department of City Development, issues roofing permits from 730 Washington Avenue, Room 103, Racine, Wisconsin 53403, telephone (262) 636-9171. A reroof is applied for on the city's own one-page Residential Roof Permit Application, which asks for the project address, the owner and contractor details, a description of work and the project cost, the location of the work by tick box (house, garage, shed or other), the material (asphalt, cedar shake, steel or other), and whether the job is a complete tear-off with two or more layers being removed. The application must be submitted with the permit payment, a copy of the contractor's DC and DCQ numbers, and a signed cautionary statement where one is required; an owner or occupier acting as their own general contractor must sign that statement. The residential roofing permit fee is $100.00 per building and a commercial roof permit is 0.5 percent of the cost of the job with a $100.00 minimum. Under Sec. 18-93 a building permit is valid for eighteen months from the date of issuance, and a uniform dwelling code permit expires 24 months after issuance if the dwelling exterior has not been completed. A weather-resistant permit card signed by the chief building inspector must be posted at the job site during construction, and the permit itself becomes void if work is not commenced within four months or is suspended for 60 days.

One- and two-family dwellings in Racine are built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, chs. SPS 320 to 325 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, which is Wisconsin's own text rather than an adoption of the International Residential Code, which is why its roofing rules differ from those of the IRC. Racine has adopted that code by ordinance. Municipal Code Sec. 18-30 provides that "[t]he following state administrative codes and subsequent revisions are adopted for municipal enforcement," and the list includes "Wis. Admin. Code chs. SPS 320—325—Uniform Dwelling Code" and "Wis. Admin. Code chs. SPS 361—366—Wisconsin Commercial Building Code," the section having last been amended by Ord. No. 0003-24, adopted June 4, 2024. That same ordinance repealed Secs. 18-31 and 18-32, which had separately adopted the state uniform dwelling code and the state historic building code, so the Sec. 18-30 list is now the whole of the city adoption. A Wisconsin municipality that exercises jurisdiction adopts the dwelling code in its entirety and may not add requirements within the scope of that code without the approval of the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Racine also keeps a municipal building code of its own at Chapter 18, Article II, and its scope section, Sec. 18-27, states that the article "shall govern the design and construction of alterations and additions to all buildings and structures not subject to the state building codes, and the demolition and moving of all buildings and structures" - so the city sections and the state dwelling code reach different buildings. There is no International Residential Code edition year to quote for a Racine dwelling.

Not required — Neither layer of the roofing law that applies in Racine requires a drip edge. The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code roofing section, Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28, Weather protection for roofs, was read in full, subsections (1) through (7) including every flashing paragraph, and it imposes no drip edge at eaves or rakes; the only drip edge anywhere in that chapter is the chimney cap rule at SPS 321.30(8), which is not a roofing requirement. The city roofing section, Municipal Code Sec. 18-311, Roofs, slope and coverings, was read in full, subsections (a) through (h), as were Secs. 18-271 and 18-272 on roof decking, and none of them imposes a drip edge either. Racine is also not free to add one: under Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.06(1)(a)3. no additional requirement within the scope of the dwelling code may be adopted by a municipality unless the Department of Safety and Professional Services approves it. Practical note: a drip edge may still be mandatory on a given job as a matter of the shingle manufacturer's installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a)3. makes binding for asphalt shingles. About drip edge

Required — Required on shingled or shake roofs that extend over a heated area of the dwelling or an attached garage and that have a slope of 4:12 or less. It must be sheet metal or a product labeled as meeting the requirements of ASTM D 1970, and it must 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. The Wisconsin trigger is the roof slope and not the climate zone, so it is a narrow rule: a roof steeper than 4:12 is not covered by it at all. Wisconsin also sets its own measurement, 30 inches up the slope from the roof edge and 12 inches past the inner face of the wall, so do not carry an ice-barrier detail over from an International Residential Code job. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. Racine has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 by ordinance, at Municipal Code Sec. 18-30, but that section adopts the state codes for municipal enforcement without setting any scope of its own, and no provision anywhere in the city building chapter states that the dwelling code reaches additions or alterations to dwellings whose construction began before June 1, 1980. So whether Racine has closed that gap is not established, and it is worth asking Building Inspection before relying on the state rule for an older house. The city building code contains no ice barrier requirement of its own, but it does carry a low-slope eave condition that is easy to mistake for one. Sec. 18-311(b)(2) permits self-sealing or interlocking asphalt shingles at a slope down to 2 1/2 inches of rise per 12 inches of run only where "a double layer of 15-pound asphalt saturated felt underlayment is hot-mopped on the roof overhang and extends up to a point at least 24 inches inside of the exterior building wall." That is a felt underlayment condition attached to using shingles at low slope, not an ice and water membrane requirement. About ice & water barrier

Not required — Racine enumerates its required inspection stages and none of them is a mid-roof or roof-deck inspection during a reroof. Municipal Code Sec. 18-106 lists five: a check that the location on the premises matches the approved certified lot or plot plan and the terms of the permit; footings and foundation walls; all wall, floor and roof framing, firestopping and bracing when completed and before that work is covered, enclosed or concealed; subgrade, drain tile and forms before the basement floor is poured; and a final inspection on completion, before the building is occupied or used. The framing stage is a construction framing inspection rather than a stage inside a reroof. A roofing permit in Racine is therefore inspected at the final stage rather than at an interim point during the tear-off. Re-inspections are charged at $100.00 each, so it is worth a call to Building Inspection at (262) 636-9171 to confirm what a particular job needs before scheduling.

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Racine. The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code roofing section, Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28, carries no UL 2218, Class 4 or FM 4473 impact requirement, and no such requirement appears anywhere in chs. SPS 320 or SPS 321. The city building code was read the same way and Chapter 18, Article II sets no impact rating for roof coverings. Two things in the city code look like impact ratings and are not. Sec. 18-311(d)(1) requires asphalt shingles to be "approved Class C label (Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc.)" shingles and Sec. 18-311(e) and (f) name Class A, B and C labels for asbestos cement shingles and for built-up flat roofs, and every one of those is a fire classification rather than a hail rating; and the "Class 4" that appears in Sec. 18-147 is a class of construction, heavy timber, in the fire district rules. Impact-resistant shingles remain a voluntary and insurer-driven upgrade in this market rather than a code obligation. Racine does restrict roof coverings on fire grounds, which is a different question: Sec. 18-148(b) prohibits wood shingle roofing within the fire limits except for wood shingles carrying a fire resistant rating approved by Underwriters Laboratory or another nationally recognized testing service, and Sec. 18-128 allows wooden shingles outside the fire limits on dwellings, private garages and accessory buildings that are separated by at least ten feet from other buildings.

No minimum size and no dollar exemption for roofing work appears in the Racine building code. Municipal Code Sec. 18-81(a) requires a permit before any building, substitute for a building, or structure or any part of one is built, enlarged, altered or demolished, and Sec. 18-81(b) then enumerates the permits the article requires, item (8) of which is "Roofing." Chapter 18, Article II, Division 3, Permits, sections 18-81 through 18-95, was read in full and contains no exempt-work list and no repair threshold. Read Sec. 18-83 carefully before treating it as one, because it is not: it is headed "Waiver of certain requirements" and waives only the plans, data, specifications and survey that would otherwise accompany an application for minor alterations and repairs, and the permit itself is still required. The residential roofing permit fee is a flat $100.00 per building; a commercial roof permit is 0.5 percent of the cost of the job with a $100.00 minimum. Starting first is expensive rather than free, because Sec. 18-94(b) doubles the fee where work is started before the permit is obtained, and the roof permit application repeats the warning. One further trigger belongs in a roofer estimate, and it sits in the city construction standards rather than in the permit rules: Sec. 18-36(4) provides that "[w]henever more than 25 percent of the roof covering of a dwelling is replaced in any 12-month period, all roof coverings shall be in conformity with applicable sections of this article." That is a conformity trigger, not a permit exemption, and by Sec. 18-27 the article applies to buildings not subject to the state building codes.

State-set, and written as prescriptive pressures rather than as an International Residential Code style design wind speed. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.02(1)(c) requires a dwelling to 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. The roof gets its own uplift rule at SPS 321.27(3)(a): roofs "shall withstand a pressure of at least 20 pounds per square foot acting upward normal to the roof surface," and roof overhangs, eaves, canopies and cornices "shall withstand an upward wind pressure of at least 20 pounds per square foot applied to the entire exposed area." Anchorage follows at SPS 321.27(3)(b): roof framing members spanning more than 6 feet measured from the outermost edge of the roof must be permanently fastened to the top plate of load bearing walls using engineered clips, straps or hangers. Snow is the one input that varies geographically: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2. requires roofs to be designed and constructed to support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map at Figure 321.02, so a Racine snow load is read off that map rather than stated as a single statewide number. There is no ultimate design wind speed in miles per hour for a Racine dwelling, and the 20 psf figure must not be translated into one. The only wind speed in the city building code is the 70 miles per hour at Sec. 18-390, which applies to hoop houses and does not reach dwellings.

The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code bars installing a new roof covering over the existing covering in three situations: where the existing roof or roof covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. So at most two total layers, and less than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by this rule. Racine prints the layer condition on the face of its own Residential Roof Permit Application: "New roof coverings may NOT be installed over existing roof coverings if the existing roof has TWO or more applications of any type of permanent roof coverings." The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. Racine has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 by ordinance, at Municipal Code Sec. 18-30, but that section adopts the state codes for municipal enforcement without setting any scope of its own, and no provision anywhere in the city building chapter states that the dwelling code reaches additions or alterations to dwellings whose construction began before June 1, 1980. So whether Racine has closed that gap is not established, and it is worth asking Building Inspection before relying on the state rule for an older house. For the buildings the state codes do not reach, the city sets a different and more permissive rule in its own construction standards. Sec. 18-311(h) provides that "[a] new roof covering may be applied on top of an existing roof covering; provided, however, that no more than two layers of roof covering will be allowed. If additional layers of roofing material are requested, calculations of the roof load shall be submitted to the chief building inspector prior to commencing the reroofing." So on a building governed by the city article, a third layer is not flatly barred but has to be justified to the chief building inspector with roof load calculations submitted before the work starts.

State-set for one- and two-family dwellings. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9) sets the roof deck standard. For structural sheathing, "[t]he allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel." 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; where the rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on center, roof boards shall be tongue and groove, at least 1.5 inches thick. Roof planks 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 writes its own grade-stamp and board-thickness rule here rather than adopting the deck provisions of the International Residential Code, so do not carry IRC deck language onto a Racine job. The city carries a parallel deck standard of its own for the buildings its article reaches: Municipal Code Sec. 18-271 requires wood roof decking planks to be tongue and groove or splined, a minimum of two inches thick and a maximum of eight inches wide, continuous over at least two spans, with a maximum span of eight feet where continuous over two supports and six feet over a single span, blind and face nailed to the roof beams, and with an approved vapor barrier between deck and roof insulation where the roof deck is also the finished ceiling surface. Sec. 18-272 covers fiberboard roof decks.

5.5 percent on materials: the Wisconsin state sales and use tax of 5 percent plus the Racine County sales and use tax of 0.5 percent. The county tax is new, effective April 1, 2025, and any source published before that date shows Racine County with no county tax and is out of date on this point. Racine imposes no city sales tax; the city of Milwaukee is the only Wisconsin municipality that levies one. Wisconsin treats a roof as real property, so a roofing contractor is the consumer of the materials it installs: the contractor pays sales or use tax when buying shingles and underlayment, and does not charge the customer sales tax on the reroofing contract, for labour or for materials. Selling roofing materials without installation is a retail sale and is taxable. So the county rate reaches a Racine roofer as a cost on the material purchase rather than as a line on the customer's invoice.