Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Sharpsburg, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Sharpsburg, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Borough of Sharpsburg, PA?

Sharpsburg Borough's Code requires a building permit before the erection, alteration or enlargement of a building or structure, and names no roof work. Section 4-201 of the Borough Code, in Chapter 4, Part 2, Building Permits (Ord. No. 98-8, October 12, 1998, [Amended 2-21-2013 by Ord. No. 13-05], read October 10, 2026), says "Before the erection, alteration or enlargement of any building or structure is started, a building permit shall be applied for and issued." The clause names erection, alteration and enlargement but not repair, names no roof work and sets no area or cost threshold, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an "alteration" under it. Section 5-107 of the Code keeps in effect building code ordinances "adopted by the Borough of Sharpsburg on or before July 1, 1999" that equal or exceed the Uniform Construction Code, and Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," "as the municipal building code of the Borough of Sharpsburg"; this record does not decide how Section 5-107 bears on Section 4-201. The Borough has published nothing on reroofing. Its Forms & Permits page (read October 10, 2026) says "Property owners or Contractors wishing to erect new construction ( i.e. , decks, additions , etc.) must apply for a building permit. Extensive interior modifications will also require a permit," that the permit "is subject to the Borough Building/Zoning Inspector's approval and therefore will need a Zoning Permit in addition to the Building Permit Application," and names no roof work. The Building Permit Application lists "Roofing - Total square feet" as one of the types of work on a form that also covers fencing, signs, pools, decks and demolition. 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)), and 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9) say "except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" and "except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act." The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Sharpsburg Borough filing that would "Require permits for residential alterations and repairs pursuant to the International Residential Code 2003, Chapter 1, Section 105," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed 8 / 14 / 12, "Enacted: 10 / 2 / 2012." The Borough's own disposition list shows that Ordinance No. 12-09 (October 2, 2012), "Code enforcement: Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code," was repealed by Ordinance No. 14-05 (April 17, 2014), a repealer only. 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, Sharpsburg Borough takes building permit applications at its Administrative Office, 1611 Main Street, Pittsburgh (the Forms & Permits page says "All forms can be mailed or dropped off to the Borough Administrative Office, located at 1611 Main Street"). Section 5-101 of the Borough Code says the Borough "elects to administer and enforce" the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, and Section 5-104 lets Council do so by "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies"; the Forms & Permits page says the Building Permit Application "is a BIU form and not the Borough's," and the 2026 fee schedule lists the building permit fee as "Set by BIU". Section 4-201, quoted at the start, sets no area, percentage or cost line for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Sharpsburg, 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, Sharpsburg Borough takes building permit applications at its Administrative Office, 1611 Main Street, Pittsburgh (the Forms & Permits page says "All forms can be mailed or dropped off to the Borough Administrative Office, located at 1611 Main Street"). Section 5-101 of the Borough Code says the Borough "elects to administer and enforce" the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, and Section 5-104 lets Council do so by "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies"; the Forms & Permits page says the Building Permit Application "is a BIU form and not the Borough's," and the 2026 fee schedule lists the building permit fee as "Set by BIU". Chapter 5 adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference and the Borough's Code changes nothing in its reroofing provisions; the pages read say nothing on roof layers or name a code edition.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Sharpsburg, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Sharpsburg, 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, Sharpsburg Borough takes building permit applications at its Administrative Office, 1611 Main Street, Pittsburgh (the Forms & Permits page says "All forms can be mailed or dropped off to the Borough Administrative Office, located at 1611 Main Street"). Section 5-101 of the Borough Code says the Borough "elects to administer and enforce" the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, and Section 5-104 lets Council do so by "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies"; the Forms & Permits page says the Building Permit Application "is a BIU form and not the Borough's," and the 2026 fee schedule lists the building permit fee as "Set by BIU". Chapter 5, Part 1 of the Code (Ord. No. 04-3, June 24, 2004) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "by reference as the municipal building code of the Borough of Sharpsburg." The Borough's Code and pages name no code edition, and the Department's register names the 2003 International Residential Code only in a filing the Borough's disposition list shows as repealed; this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.