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

Roofing questions: Township of Shaler, PA

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

No, Township of Shaler, PA does not require a permit to replace a roof. Shaler Township's Building & Zoning Department says a re-roof needs no building permit unless the framing or roof panels change: its requirements document lists "Re-roof/new shingles (unless changing framing/or roof panels)" among building permit exemptions. No square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work was found. Read October 6, 2026: the Building & Zoning Department's permit page says "Building Permits are required for the following:" and lists additions, attached decks, swimming pools, solar panels, "Structural changes to the home" and commercial work; it names no roof work. The department's Building and Zoning Permit Application Requirements document, linked from that page, lists under "1.2 Building permit exemptions" "Re-roof/new shingles (unless changing framing/or roof panels)," and lists among work that requires a building permit "Structural changes, removal of load bearing walls, replacing roof panels and enlarging or decreasing the size of window/door openings that require more than minor fitment framing etc." and "All projects under the scope of the international residential code (IRC) and PA uniform construction code (UCC)." The Township's fee schedule (Resolution No. 17-2026, effective July 1, 2026), read in full, has no roofing line; it charges "Building Permit Residential (Initial/Min. Fee)" $120.00 plus $7.00 for each $1,000 in construction costs. 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. The Township's code quick reference lists its "Building Permits" provision as Section 225-169 of the Township Code, in its Zoning chapter. Section 225-169(A) says "No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended, structurally altered or demolished without a building permit therefor having been issued by the Building Inspector or a building code official"; it and Section 225-170, read in full, name no roof work. The Township Code provisions read for this record name no roof work either way; the no-permit line for a re-roof is the department's stated practice. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)). 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." Read for this answer: Chapter 90 of the Township Code, Building Construction, Articles I to IV in full (Article IV, Sections 90-13 to 90-18, is the Township's Uniform Construction Code adoption); Sections 225-169 and 225-170 of its Zoning chapter; the department's permit page and requirements document; and the Township's fee schedule (Resolution No. 17-2026), which has no roofing line. 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, Shaler Township administers the code itself: Section 90-13 of the Township Code says "The Township of Shaler hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, through its Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer, reviews the applications; its permit page says "All applications, required documents, and fees must be submitted to the Building and Code Enforcement Officer for approval." Articles I to IV of Chapter 90 and Sections 225-169 and 225-170, read in full, name no roof work as permit work or as exempt; Article I still adopts the 1998 International One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, whose text this record has not read.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Shaler, 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, Shaler Township administers the code itself: Section 90-13 of the Township Code says "The Township of Shaler hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, through its Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer, reviews the applications; its permit page says "All applications, required documents, and fees must be submitted to the Building and Code Enforcement Officer for approval." Article IV of Chapter 90 of the Township Code, Uniform Construction Codes (Sections 90-13 to 90-18, Ord. No. 1828), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code and names no roof work; its Section 90-17 keeps building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the code." Article I of Chapter 90 (Ord. No. 1765, 1999), read in full, still adopts the International One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1998, "for regulating the design, construction, quality of materials, erection, installation, alteration, repair, location, relocation, replacement and addition to" buildings "and providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor," and Article II (Ord. No. 1766, 1999), read in full, adopts the BOCA National Building Code, 1996; neither article's amendments names roof work, and this record has not read the 1998 or 1996 codes' text, including their permit and roofing provisions. Article III (Ord. No. 1770, 1999), read in full, adopts the 1996 BOCA National Fire Prevention Code and names no roof work. A search of the whole Township Code for "roof" found no provision naming roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Township's permit page says "Shaler Township utilizes the statewide building code, or Uniform Construction Code, the 2021 International Residential Building Code, the 2021 International Building Code and the 2021 International Fire Code," while its permit requirements document says "we also utilize the 2018 International code council code sets" and Chapter 90 still names the 1998 and 1996 codes. This record has not read the 1998 edition's reroofing text. The department's pages say nothing on roof layers.

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

Yes.

What building code does Township of Shaler, 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, Shaler Township administers the code itself: Section 90-13 of the Township Code says "The Township of Shaler hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, through its Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer, reviews the applications; its permit page says "All applications, required documents, and fees must be submitted to the Building and Code Enforcement Officer for approval." Article IV of Chapter 90 of the Township Code, Uniform Construction Codes (Sections 90-13 to 90-18, Ord. No. 1828), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code and names no roof work; its Section 90-17 keeps building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the code." Article I of Chapter 90 (Ord. No. 1765, 1999), read in full, still adopts the International One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1998, "for regulating the design, construction, quality of materials, erection, installation, alteration, repair, location, relocation, replacement and addition to" buildings "and providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor," and Article II (Ord. No. 1766, 1999), read in full, adopts the BOCA National Building Code, 1996; neither article's amendments names roof work, and this record has not read the 1998 or 1996 codes' text, including their permit and roofing provisions. Article III (Ord. No. 1770, 1999), read in full, adopts the 1996 BOCA National Fire Prevention Code and names no roof work. A search of the whole Township Code for "roof" found no provision naming roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Township's code quick reference lists its "Building Permits" provision as Section 225-169 of the Township Code, in its Zoning chapter. Section 225-169(A) says "No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended, structurally altered or demolished without a building permit therefor having been issued by the Building Inspector or a building code official"; it and Section 225-170, read in full, name no roof work. The Township's permit page says "Shaler Township utilizes the statewide building code, or Uniform Construction Code, the 2021 International Residential Building Code, the 2021 International Building Code and the 2021 International Fire Code," while its permit requirements document says "we also utilize the 2018 International code council code sets" and Chapter 90 still names the 1998 and 1996 codes. The department's permit pages and requirements document are quoted in the permit entries of this record.