Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Roscommon, MI?

Roofing questions: Township of Roscommon, MI

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Roscommon, MI?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Roscommon, MI. The Houghton Lake Building Agency, which issues Roscommon Township's building permits, posts a dedicated roofing permit form: its Forms page lists "ROOF PERMIT.pdf", and the form is headed "ROOFING APPLICATION" and "HOUGHTON LAKE BUILDING AGENCY" and asks for the project location, the township, the homeowner, the contractor's builder's license number and expiration date and a signed applicant section. The Agency's notice on requirements before obtaining a building permit (dated May 7, 2018) says "For smaller projects such as sheds, decks or roof overs, a basic sketch indicating the construction method of the deck or roof is required." No size, area or cost point below which a reroof needs no permit appears on the roofing application, the notice, the Agency's Building Permit Application (which offers "Repair/Alteration" among its types of improvement) or its General Questions page, and neither the township's pages nor its zoning ordinance publish one. Under state law: "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs. Call the Agency at 989-422-3687 before starting.

Is ice & water shield required in Township of Roscommon, 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 Houghton Lake Building Agency's pages, roofing application, building permit application and notice, and the township's permit pages, fee schedule, land use application and zoning ordinance, were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier; the Agency's notice lists "Ice and water shield" among the cross-section items a building permit drawing shows where they apply to the project.

Is drip edge required in Township of Roscommon, 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 Houghton Lake Building Agency's pages, roofing application, building permit application and notice, and the township's permit pages, fee schedule, land use application and zoning ordinance, were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Roscommon, 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, the township's Ordinance Enforcement page lists anti-noise, blight, burning, dock, cemetery, garage sale, hardship deferment, house number, short-term rental and weed ordinances and the zoning ordinance, and no building code ordinance, and the Houghton Lake Building Agency publishes no ordinance, so no building ordinance was read and no classification is declared here; the zoning ordinance was searched in full and has no reroofing provision, and the Agency's roofing application, building permit application and notice state no layer rule.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Roscommon, MI?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Roscommon, 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 Township of Roscommon as its own building code enforcer, and the township's building permits are issued by the Houghton Lake Building Agency, a five-township joint enforcement agency that its About page says is "empowered to employ an inspector to make all inspections called for by the State Construction Code Act and the rules promulgated thereunder." The Agency's pages, forms and notice name no code edition. The township's zoning ordinance (Ordinance 86, revised July 2025) refers to "the Michigan Construction Code, as amended" and to the "Building Code as adopted by the Township", naming no edition, and the township's ordinance list has no building code ordinance. No edition is named by the township or the Agency, and neither has published a statement of which residential code edition it enforces.