Township of Spring - Building & Codes Department

Township of Spring, Pennsylvania (Berks County)

city

2850 Windmill Road, Sinking Spring, PA 19608

Not required

Required

Read October 6, 2026: the Township's Permits page says "A residential building permit is not required for wallpapering, painting, tiling, cabinetry, finishing work, siding, replacing shingles, and replacing same size windows and doors," and the Department of Zoning and Code Enforcement's 2024 handout "When do you need a Permit, and Why?" lists under "No Permits Required:" "Roof material replacement (shingles) on a residential structure." The same page lists "structural alterations" and building a "roof over decks or porches" as building permit work, and the handout lists "Roofs over patios or decks" and "Any structural change to an applicable building." The Township's Minor Repairs / Renovation application lists "Roofing" among its types of work, and its 2026 fee schedule (Resolution #2026-05) names "Roof Material Replacement" only under its non-residential alterations, renovations and repairs; its residential fees have no reroofing line. The Township Code chapters read for this record name no roof work either way; the no-permit line for houses 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)), 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." Read for this answer: Chapter VI of the Township Code (its Uniform Construction Code adoption and revisions) and Chapter V (reserved), with Chapters XV and XVII; the Township's Permits and Building & Codes pages and its 2024 permit handout; and its 2026 fee schedule (Resolution #2026-05) with the August 2026 update (Resolution No. 2026-22), whose title limits it to fire operational permit, mileage and liquor license transfer fees. In practice, a like-for-like shingle replacement on a house goes ahead without a Township building permit on the department's own words; work that changes the roof structure is permit work on the Township's pages, and the Township's handout says "If you have any questions for a particular project, please feel free to contact the Zoning and Building Code Department at 610-678-5393, ext. 1440." For permit work the 2026 fee schedule says "Any permit required work which is started without an approved permit being issued automatically doubles the permit fees." Applications are paper forms from the Township's website or office, submitted to the Zoning and Codes Department at 2850 Windmill Road, Sinking Spring, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the instructions give a review period of 15 business days for a building permit application.

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, The Township of Spring in Berks County administers the code itself: Chapter VI, Section 101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Codes page says the department "is staffed by a licensed Building Code Official" and "is also supported by a State licensed Third Party Agency for commercial plan review and inspections." The Township posts its Code as one file per chapter, with no code-wide search, so this record names the chapters it read. Chapter VI, Code Enforcement (Part 1, Uniform Construction Code, Sections 101 to 108, Ordinance No. 346 of August 13, 2007; Part 2, Property Maintenance Code; Part 3, Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's municipal building code. Its revisions only insert the Township's name, dates, design criteria and penalty figures into the 2006 editions of the codes, and it names no roof work. It repeals "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by the Township before August 13, 2007." Chapter V, Buildings and Structures, reads "(Reserved for Future Use)." Chapter XV, Housing (rental registration and pre-settlement inspection), and Chapter XVII, Licenses, Permits and General Business Regulations (peddling, amusements and public gatherings), contain no building permit or roof provision. No other chapter of the Township Code was read for this record. Chapter VI's revisions are drafted against the 2006 editions, and the Township's building application instructions say plans are reviewed "for compliance with the 2009 International Residential Code and other adopted codes, specifications and ordinances"; no Township page read for this record names the 2021 edition, and this record has not read the 2006 or 2009 text. The Township's Permits page says a residential building permit is not required for replacing shingles; it is quoted in the permit entries of this record.

The Township of Spring's code department says replacing shingles on a house needs no building permit; no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work was found. Read October 6, 2026: the Township's Permits page says "A residential building permit is not required for wallpapering, painting, tiling, cabinetry, finishing work, siding, replacing shingles, and replacing same size windows and doors," and the Department of Zoning and Code Enforcement's 2024 handout "When do you need a Permit, and Why?" lists under "No Permits Required:" "Roof material replacement (shingles) on a residential structure." The same page lists "structural alterations" and building a "roof over decks or porches" as building permit work, and the handout lists "Roofs over patios or decks" and "Any structural change to an applicable building." The Township's no-permit statements name shingle replacement and do not mention roof sheathing; its pages list "structural alterations" as permit work. 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 Minor Repairs / Renovation application lists "Roofing" among its types of work, and its 2026 fee schedule (Resolution #2026-05) names "Roof Material Replacement" only under its non-residential alterations, renovations and repairs; its residential fees have no reroofing line. The Township Code chapters read for this record name no roof work either way; the no-permit line for houses is the department's stated practice. 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)). Read for this answer: Chapter VI of the Township Code (its Uniform Construction Code adoption and revisions) and Chapter V (reserved), with Chapters XV and XVII; the Township's Permits and Building & Codes pages and its 2024 permit handout; and its 2026 fee schedule (Resolution #2026-05) with the August 2026 update (Resolution No. 2026-22), whose title limits it to fire operational permit, mileage and liquor license transfer fees. 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, The Township of Spring in Berks County administers the code itself: Chapter VI, Section 101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Codes page says the department "is staffed by a licensed Building Code Official" and "is also supported by a State licensed Third Party Agency for commercial plan review and inspections." Chapter VI of the Township Code (Sections 101 to 108 and Parts 2 and 3) and Chapter V, read in full, name no roof work as permit work or as exempt, and Chapter VI repeals the Township's building code ordinances adopted before August 13, 2007.

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, The Township of Spring in Berks County administers the code itself: Chapter VI, Section 101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Codes page says the department "is staffed by a licensed Building Code Official" and "is also supported by a State licensed Third Party Agency for commercial plan review and inspections." The Township posts its Code as one file per chapter, with no code-wide search, so this record names the chapters it read. Chapter VI, Code Enforcement (Part 1, Uniform Construction Code, Sections 101 to 108, Ordinance No. 346 of August 13, 2007; Part 2, Property Maintenance Code; Part 3, Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's municipal building code. Its revisions only insert the Township's name, dates, design criteria and penalty figures into the 2006 editions of the codes, and it names no roof work. It repeals "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by the Township before August 13, 2007." Chapter V, Buildings and Structures, reads "(Reserved for Future Use)." Chapter XV, Housing (rental registration and pre-settlement inspection), and Chapter XVII, Licenses, Permits and General Business Regulations (peddling, amusements and public gatherings), contain no building permit or roof provision. No other chapter of the Township Code was read for this record. Chapter VI's revisions are drafted against the 2006 editions, and the Township's building application instructions say plans are reviewed "for compliance with the 2009 International Residential Code and other adopted codes, specifications and ordinances"; no Township page read for this record names the 2021 edition, and this record has not read the 2006 or 2009 editions' reroofing text. The Township's pages say nothing on roof layers.

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). 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. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, The Township of Spring in Berks County administers the code itself: Chapter VI, Section 101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Codes page says the department "is staffed by a licensed Building Code Official" and "is also supported by a State licensed Third Party Agency for commercial plan review and inspections." The Township posts its Code as one file per chapter, with no code-wide search, so this record names the chapters it read. Chapter VI, Code Enforcement (Part 1, Uniform Construction Code, Sections 101 to 108, Ordinance No. 346 of August 13, 2007; Part 2, Property Maintenance Code; Part 3, Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's municipal building code. Its revisions only insert the Township's name, dates, design criteria and penalty figures into the 2006 editions of the codes, and it names no roof work. It repeals "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by the Township before August 13, 2007." Chapter V, Buildings and Structures, reads "(Reserved for Future Use)." Chapter XV, Housing (rental registration and pre-settlement inspection), and Chapter XVII, Licenses, Permits and General Business Regulations (peddling, amusements and public gatherings), contain no building permit or roof provision. No other chapter of the Township Code was read for this record. The Township's no-permit statements name shingle replacement and do not mention roof sheathing; its pages list "structural alterations" as permit work. Chapter VI's revisions are drafted against the 2006 editions, and the Township's building application instructions say plans are reviewed "for compliance with the 2009 International Residential Code and other adopted codes, specifications and ordinances"; no Township page read for this record names the 2021 edition, and this record has not read the 2006 or 2009 editions' sheathing text.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. The Township of Spring is in Berks County, where neither local tax described above applies. Its Building & Codes Department, which administers the Uniform Construction Code there, states nothing on sales tax on the permit pages and fee schedule read for this record.