Tuscola County - Building Department

Tuscola County, Michigan (2 cities, 9 villages and 21 townships on the county building program)

county

141 S. Almer St., Suite 1, Caro, MI 48723

Required

Required

In Tuscola County a reroof is permit work: SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide, listed on its Tuscola County page, opens with "WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR A BUILDING PERMIT: Permit Application" and says of inspection "Yes, the permit holder must call for a Final Roof inspection. There may be a mid-roof inspection required, please consult the Building Department when you receive your permit." It answers "May I, as the owner, do the re-roof myself?" with "Yes." and "How many layers of roofing are allowed?" with "No more than two (2) layers are allowed upon completion of installation". The county's Building Codes page says Tuscola County "has partnered with" SAFEbuilt for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and soil erosion permitting, inspecting and plan review in every unit except Tuscola Township and Arbela Township, and that a project needing zoning approval should first go to the local zoning administrator. The page lists the application forms and a "Building Permit Fee Schedule" link; the fee schedule file did not open when this record was prepared, so no fee is stated here and the Building Department can give the current fee. The SAFEbuilt office is at 141 S. Almer St., Suite 1, Caro, MI 48723, (989) 262-4546; the county page gives office hours Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Inspections are scheduled on the inspection line, (800) 503-9513, and SAFEbuilt says "Inspections called in before 4:00pm will be scheduled for the next business day." SAFEbuilt's page says "A permit shall become invalid if the authorized work is not commenced within six months after the issuance of the permit or if the authorized work is suspended or abandoned for a period of six months." and "Cancelled permits cannot be refunded or reinstated." Its Tuscola County contractor registration form is returned with a copy of the contractor's licence, a driver's licence and a certificate of liability insurance.

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 for 2 cities, 9 villages and 21 townships of Tuscola County to the county, and lists Tuscola Township and Arbela Township as enforcing for themselves. The county's Building Codes page says the county has partnered with SAFEbuilt for building department services. SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide for the county is headed "2015 MRC Residential Re-Roofing", was published in November 2020, and prints its re-covering conditions under a section number, R907, that differs from the 2015 International Residential Code's R908; no Tuscola County building ordinance appears among the ordinances the county posts, and none was read.

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). SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide for Tuscola County says in its roofing materials and requirements section "Drip edge is required around entire perimeter of roof." The county's Building Codes page states 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). SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide and the county's Building Codes page 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." SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide and the county's Building Codes page state no impact rule; the guide's only mention of hail is the re-covering condition quoted under the layer limit, which is not an impact rating.

SAFEbuilt, the contractor that runs the Tuscola County building department, publishes a Residential Re-Roof guide whose first question is "Why do I need a permit to re-roof my house?" and answers "Your permit allows the building department to inspect for potential hazards and unsafe construction." The department's building permit application has its own improvement boxes headed "Metal Roofing Only", "Roofing Re-Deck & Shingles" and "Roofing Shingles Only". None of the county or SAFEbuilt pages read for this record states a size, square or dollar point below which roof work needs no permit. The state part: Michigan's construction code act says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure" and does not define ordinary repairs. For a small repair, ask the Building Department at (989) 262-4546 before starting.

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, SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide for Tuscola County answers "How many layers of roofing are allowed?" with "No more than two (2) layers are allowed upon completion of installation", which agrees with the layer count above. The same guide, headed "2015 MRC Residential Re-Roofing", prints a section it numbers R907.3, Re-covering versus Replacement, with a fourth condition, "Asphalt shingles subject to moderate or severe hail exposure.", that the 2015 section above does not list; this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code text and does not decide which condition set the inspector applies. The county's Ordinances page lists no building ordinance, and no county building ordinance was read.

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). SAFEbuilt's Residential Re-Roof guide for Tuscola County adds a preparation checklist for complete tear-offs: "The roof sheathing must provide a rigid surface" and "Repair or replace all boards or sheathing which are warped, cracked or delaminated between supports." The county's Building Codes page states nothing further on roof decks or 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." The same 6% applies throughout Tuscola County.