Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Saville, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of Saville, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Township of Saville, PA?

The Township's Permits page lists replacement of roof shingles among work needing no permit, and the Township's 2009 Building Permits ordinance requires a Township permit for construction the Uniform Construction Code exempts. The Township's Permits page (read October 12, 2026) says "No permits are needed to replace roof shingles or to replace siding, storm doors, and windows. These are considered routine maintenance and upkeep of the dwelling or structure," and also says "As a general rule, building permits are required for any construction which changes the outside dimensions of an existing structure or adds a new structure." The page and the 2009 ordinance point in different directions for a shingle replacement: the page says no permit, and the ordinance's own words reach construction and minor repairs that the Uniform Construction Code exempts. This record does not decide which of them states the Township's requirement for an ordinary reroof, or whether replacing shingles is "construction" under the ordinance. Ordinance #04-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as "the municipal building code of Saville Township," keeps pre-July 1, 1999 building code ordinances that "equal or exceed the requirements of the Code," and adds no permit clause of its own. The Township's separate Building Permits ordinance (Ordinance 2009-01, recorded May 1, 2009, a scanned document read from its page images) says "It shall also be unlawful to undertake any construction of buildings or other eligible facilities which are otherwise exempted from coverage under the UCC unless a Saville Township Building Permit has been obtained from the Saville Township Building Permit Officer," and, of "minor repairs to existing buildings or structures and facilities that are specifically exempted under the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, Sections 403.1, 403.42 and 403.62," that "A Building Permit from Saville Township will be required for any of these forms of UCC exempted construction or facilities." It defines "Minor repair" as "the replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep." The ordinance names no roof work. 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." 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, Saville Township's enacted Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance #04-2, effective July 1, 2004) says "Saville Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, Act 45 of 1999," and assigns administration to the "Perry County COG" by intermunicipal agreement, while the Township's Permits page says the Township's "third party inspection agency certified to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the State UCC" is Building Inspection Underwriters of PA, 25 E McClure St., New Bloomfield (717-582-4483), and that the Township Secretary (717-438-3536) takes applications by appointment. The Township's page sets the fee for a building permit at "$5 for the first thousand and $1 for each thousand after that" of project cost and sets no area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Saville, PA?

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, Saville Township's enacted Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance #04-2, effective July 1, 2004) says "Saville Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, Act 45 of 1999," and assigns administration to the "Perry County COG" by intermunicipal agreement, while the Township's Permits page says the Township's "third party inspection agency certified to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the State UCC" is Building Inspection Underwriters of PA, 25 E McClure St., New Bloomfield (717-582-4483), and that the Township Secretary (717-438-3536) takes applications by appointment. Ordinance #04-2 changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions; the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers, and name no code edition.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Saville, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Saville, PA use?

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, Saville Township's enacted Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance #04-2, effective July 1, 2004) says "Saville Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, Act 45 of 1999," and assigns administration to the "Perry County COG" by intermunicipal agreement, while the Township's Permits page says the Township's "third party inspection agency certified to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the State UCC" is Building Inspection Underwriters of PA, 25 E McClure St., New Bloomfield (717-582-4483), and that the Township Secretary (717-438-3536) takes applications by appointment. Ordinance #04-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as "the municipal building code of Saville Township," keeps pre-July 1, 1999 building code ordinances that "equal or exceed the requirements of the Code," and adds no permit clause of its own. The Township's separate Building Permits ordinance (Ordinance 2009-01, recorded May 1, 2009, a scanned document read from its page images) says "It shall also be unlawful to undertake any construction of buildings or other eligible facilities which are otherwise exempted from coverage under the UCC unless a Saville Township Building Permit has been obtained from the Saville Township Building Permit Officer," and, of "minor repairs to existing buildings or structures and facilities that are specifically exempted under the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, Sections 403.1, 403.42 and 403.62," that "A Building Permit from Saville Township will be required for any of these forms of UCC exempted construction or facilities." It defines "Minor repair" as "the replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep." The ordinance names no roof work. The Township's pages name no code edition; this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.