Jurisdiction
Schoolcraft County, Michigan (1 city and 8 townships on the county building program)
Address
300 Walnut Street, Courthouse Room 207, Manistique, MI 49854
Contact
- url: https://www.schoolcraftcounty.net/departments/building-code-administration
- phone: 906-341-3678
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Michigan licenses residential maintenance and alteration contractors under the Occupational Code, and that licence "includes the following crafts and trades" among which it names roofing (MCL 339.2404(3)); "A person shall not engage in or attempt to engage in the practice of an occupation regulated under this act" without the licence (MCL 339.601(1)). MCL 339.2403 lists who may work without one, including a project whose "aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00". This record does not decide whether a given roofer falls inside an exemption.
- county_level: The Schoolcraft County building permit application asks for the contractor's licence number and expiration date and says "MUST BE LICENSED BY THE STATE OF MICHIGAN" for anyone doing residential work for a set price or on terms other than hourly wages only. The pages read for this record name no separate county registration for building contractors.
Permit process note
Schoolcraft County's Building Code Administration publishes nothing specific on reroofs. Its page lists the Building Inspector's telephone, 906-341-3678, and links a Building Permit Application and a Residential Building Permit Fees sheet. The application says "ALL WORK MUST BE INSPECTED PRIOR TO BEING ENCLOSED OR COVERED UP", "FOR TIMELY INSPECTIONS PROVIDE TWO WORKING DAYS NOTICE" and "PERMITS WITH NO ACTIVITY FOR 180 DAYS WILL BE EXPIRED", and it asks the contractor for a licence number, expiration date, and federal, MESC and workers' compensation details. The fee sheet lists "Plan Review $50.00 per hour", "Inspection fees $75.00 per inspection" and "Working without permit fee is double cost of permit price", with building fees by square foot (for example "SF RESIDENTIAL $0.47 X SQ FOOT") and no roofing line. The office is in Room 207 of the Courthouse, 300 Walnut Street, Manistique, MI 49854; the county serves the units LARA assigns to it (any unit that enforces for itself is not covered), and Township of Manistique is on the county program for building but handles its own electrical.
Adopted code
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 assigns building code enforcement in 1 city and 8 townships of Schoolcraft County to the county. The Building Code Administration page and forms name no residential code edition, and no county building ordinance was found on the county's website, so none was read for this record.
Drip edge
Required — 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 Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet were read for a local rule and were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Required — 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 Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet were read for a local rule and were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." The Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet were read for a local rule and were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
Schoolcraft County publishes no size or cost point below which roof work needs no permit, and its pages, building permit application and fee sheet name no roofing work and no repair exemption. The application lists "REPAIR/REMODEL" among its types of improvement, and the fee sheet charges by square foot of new construction and prices no roofing line. State law supplies the general rule: "Except as otherwise provided in the code, before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." (MCL 125.1510(1)), and "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510(7)), without a definition of ordinary repairs. For a roof repair of any size, ask the Building Code Administration at 906-341-3678 before starting.
Roof layer limit / recover
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." The Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet state no layer rule of their own. No county building ordinance was found on the county's website, so none was read for this record.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. 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 must 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 may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "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" (R908.2). The Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet were read for a local rule and were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof decks or sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing in the Schoolcraft County Building Code Administration page, building permit application and residential building permit fee sheet were read for a local rule and changes this.