Township of Solon - Building Department

Township of Solon, Michigan (Kent County)

city

15185 Algoma Avenue NE, Cedar Springs, MI 49319

Required

Required

Solon Township's Roofing/Siding Permit Application, read October 11, 2026, asks the applicant and the contractor for names and addresses, whether the building is a single family or duplex residence and single story or two story, the materials, total squares, roof pitch, stories and estimated cost, and says "Individuals hired for the above work must be licensed contractors who are registered with the township." It says "INSPECTOR DOES NOT HAVE LADDERS - CONTRACTOR LADDER SET REQUIRED" and "WORK STARTED WITHOUT PERMIT IS SUBJECT TO DOUBLE PERMIT FEES PAYABLE TO SOLON TOWNSHIP PRIOR TO PERMIT ISSUANCE", and the permit fee is $200.00. The township's Prospective Builder Information Letter says mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits "must be applied for separately and are issued through the Building Department" and that applications with fees may be dropped off at the township offices during normal business hours. The Building Department page lists a building administrator, an electrical inspector, a mechanical and plumbing inspector and a building inspector at 616-696-1718, with the building administrator in on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and the township office is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The pages name no online permit portal.

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 Solon in Kent County as its own building code enforcer. The township's compiled general ordinances, effective through December 4, 2025, include a Construction Code Ordinance (Ord. No. 51, adopted September 14, 2001), which adopts by reference "the Michigan Building, Mechanical and Plumbing Codes, being Rule 408.30001, et seq. of the Michigan Administrative Code, as amended from time to time", and in Section 8 repeals Ordinance No. 40, "adopting the 1993 BOCA National Building Code". Ord. No. 51 names no residential code edition and is dated before February 8, 2016; the rule text it points to and the repealed 1993 text were not read, and this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above. The township's Building Department page, forms and permit applications name no code edition.

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 Solon Township general ordinances, the Building Department page and its roofing permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

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 Solon Township general ordinances, the Building Department page and its roofing permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

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 Solon Township general ordinances, the Building Department page and its roofing permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.

Solon Township publishes a dedicated roofing permit application and no size or cost threshold. Its Roofing/Siding Permit Application, whose left half is headed "ROOFING PERMIT APPLICATION", asks for the roofing materials, total squares, roof pitch, stories and estimated cost of the project and sets "PERMIT FEE: $ 200.00" with the note "Limited to 2 Inspections", and the Forms & Permits page lists it as the township's Roofing/Siding Permit Application. 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.

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 building instruments in its compiled general ordinances were read: the Construction Code Ordinance (Ord. No. 51), the Housing Law Ordinance (Ord. No. 50), the Electrical Code Ordinance (Ord. No. 49) and the Dangerous and Unsafe Building Ordinance (Ord. No. 20). They adopt the state codes by reference, adopt the Housing Law of Michigan, adopt an electrical code and regulate dangerous buildings, and the compiled ordinances contain no reroofing or roof covering provision and amend nothing in Section R908. The township's roofing permit application and Building Department page state no layer rule.

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 Solon Township general ordinances, the Building Department page and its roofing permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.

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 Solon Township general ordinances or on its Building Department page changes this.