Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County - Building Permits

Township of Upper Providence, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County)

city

1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460

Required

Required

Upper Providence Township's code office treats re-roofing as permit work. Section 135-5.A(2d) of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026) says "Pursuant to and in accordance with State Act 92 Section 104(B), the Township will require permits for residential alterations and repairs pursuant to the International Residential Code 2018 Chapter 1 Section 105 or any subsequent edition thereof." The Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (dated 06.2026, read October 6, 2026) says "A building permit application must be submitted with complete construction details" and "The application must be approved, and a permit must be issued prior to the start of work," and its item "10. Re-Roof" says "Chapter 9 in effect," "provide material details. Flashing/underlayment/shingles," and "only a final inspection is necessary after work is complete." The Township's Fee Schedule (06/15/2026) has a "ROOF & RE-ROOF" line with a residential fee of "$65.00." 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 of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists an Upper Providence Township (Montgomery County) ordinance that "Requires a building permit for residential alterations and repairs per section 105 of the I-Residential Code," with an approval letter mailed August 27, 2004, "Enacted 11 / 15 / 04." In practice, expect the Township to require a permit for a reroof; its Fee Schedule says that should the owner or contractor "fail to obtain the required" permit, "fees are doubled at the discretion of the Code Official." Building permits are applied for through the Township's GovPilot portal, linked from its Permits & Forms page. For a re-roof the sheet asks for material details (flashing, underlayment, shingles) and calls for a final inspection only; inspections need 24 hours' notice, are made between 8:30 am and noon, Monday to Friday, and are requested by message at 484-391-2364 with the permit number. Read for this answer: Chapter 135 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 135-1 to 135-7), in full; Chapter 226, Property Maintenance; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no other permit provision naming roof work; the Township's Permits & Forms page; its Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements and Inspection Instructions sheets; and the Fee Schedule of June 15, 2026. The Township Office is open 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Thursday and 7:30 am to 12:30 pm Friday, at 610-933-9179. Upper Providence Township in Delaware County is a different municipality with its own permit office.

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, Upper Providence Township administers the code itself: Section 135-2 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code as their municipal building code," and the Township Office at 1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, takes building permit applications online through GovPilot and schedules the inspections. Section 135-3 takes in "all relative international codes specifically provided for under said Act 45, Section 304 (see 34 Pa. Code § 403.21), as amended." Section 135-5.C fills in the design data of Table R301.2(1), including "ice shield yes" and a "wind speed 115 miles per hour," and Chapter 135 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 135-5 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the "International Residential Code 2018" and the International Building Code 2018, while the Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (06.2026) is headed "2021 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE IN EFFECT"; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text.

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Upper Providence Township administers the code itself: Section 135-2 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code as their municipal building code," and the Township Office at 1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, takes building permit applications online through GovPilot and schedules the inspections. Chapter 135 of the Township Code and the Township's requirements sheets set no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement. The Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (06.2026) is headed "2021 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE IN EFFECT," while Section 135-5 still names the 2018 edition; this record has not read the 2018 edition's roof-covering text.

Upper Providence Township lists re-roofing among the alteration work it issues permits for. Section 135-5.A(2d) of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026) says "Pursuant to and in accordance with State Act 92 Section 104(B), the Township will require permits for residential alterations and repairs pursuant to the International Residential Code 2018 Chapter 1 Section 105 or any subsequent edition thereof." The Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (dated 06.2026, read October 6, 2026) says "A building permit application must be submitted with complete construction details" and "The application must be approved, and a permit must be issued prior to the start of work," and its item "10. Re-Roof" says "Chapter 9 in effect," "provide material details. Flashing/underlayment/shingles," and "only a final inspection is necessary after work is complete." The Township's Fee Schedule (06/15/2026) has a "ROOF & RE-ROOF" line with a residential fee of "$65.00." 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 of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists an Upper Providence Township (Montgomery County) ordinance that "Requires a building permit for residential alterations and repairs per section 105 of the I-Residential Code," with an approval letter mailed August 27, 2004, "Enacted 11 / 15 / 04." 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, Upper Providence Township administers the code itself: Section 135-2 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code as their municipal building code," and the Township Office at 1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, takes building permit applications online through GovPilot and schedules the inspections. Neither Chapter 135 nor the Township's requirements sheet sets a square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; the sheet lists "Re-Roof" without a size limit.

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, Upper Providence Township administers the code itself: Section 135-2 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code as their municipal building code," and the Township Office at 1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, takes building permit applications online through GovPilot and schedules the inspections. Chapter 135 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's requirements sheet says of a re-roof only "Chapter 9 in effect"; its pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 135-5 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the "International Residential Code 2018" and the International Building Code 2018, while the Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (06.2026) is headed "2021 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE IN EFFECT"; this record has not read the 2018 edition's reroofing text.

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, Upper Providence Township administers the code itself: Section 135-2 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code as their municipal building code," and the Township Office at 1286 Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, takes building permit applications online through GovPilot and schedules the inspections. Chapter 135 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and the Township's requirements sheet asks for re-roof "material details. Flashing/underlayment/shingles" and draws no separate line for roof sheathing. Section 135-5 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the "International Residential Code 2018" and the International Building Code 2018, while the Township's Alteration, Renovation & Repair Requirements sheet (06.2026) is headed "2021 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE IN EFFECT"; this record has not read the 2018 edition's 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. Upper Providence Township is in Montgomery County. The Township's requirements sheets and Fee Schedule say nothing on sales tax.