Permitting Authorities / Township of Watson - Building and Zoning Permits (Professional Code Inspections of Michigan)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Watson, MI?
Adopted code
Township of Watson - Building and Zoning Permits (Professional Code Inspections of Michigan)
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Watson, MI, issued by Township of Watson - Building and Zoning Permits (Professional Code Inspections of Michigan). Watson Township sends building permits to Professional Code Inspections: its 2024 newsletter says "Professional Code Inspections of Dorr (PCI) handles building and zoning permits, and special use permits, and violations thereof", and lists PCI at 616-877-2000. PCI's Dorr office, at 1575 142nd Street, Dorr, MI 49323, lists Watson Township among the municipalities it serves. PCI's building permit requirements sheet says "A COMPLETED BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION (INCOMPLETE FORMS WILL DELAY YOUR PROJECT)" is required with all building permit applications and asks for "3 SET OF PLANS OR BLUEPRINTS FOR ALL BUILDING PROJECTS", a site diagram and a legal description of the property, and says permit applications can be downloaded from www.pcimi.com. PCI names no roofing line, fee or exemption in the documents read, and no fee schedule was read. The township's own Ordinance page, read for a building ordinance, lists code enforcement for junk cars, blight and similar complaints and links zoning and police-power ordinance documents.
Roof code checklist: Township of Watson, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Township of Watson, Michigan
Address
1895 118th Ave, Allegan, MI 49010
Contact
- url: https://www.pcimi.com/dorr/
- phone: 616-877-2000
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Watson Township sends building permits to Professional Code Inspections: its 2024 newsletter says "Professional Code Inspections of Dorr (PCI) handles building and zoning permits, and special use permits, and violations thereof", and lists PCI at 616-877-2000. PCI's Dorr office, at 1575 142nd Street, Dorr, MI 49323, lists Watson Township among the municipalities it serves. PCI's building permit requirements sheet says "A COMPLETED BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION (INCOMPLETE FORMS WILL DELAY YOUR PROJECT)" is required with all building permit applications and asks for "3 SET OF PLANS OR BLUEPRINTS FOR ALL BUILDING PROJECTS", a site diagram and a legal description of the property, and says permit applications can be downloaded from www.pcimi.com. PCI names no roofing line, fee or exemption in the documents read, and no fee schedule was read. The township's own Ordinance page, read for a building ordinance, lists code enforcement for junk cars, blight and similar complaints and links zoning and police-power ordinance documents.
Adopted code
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 Watson as its own building code enforcer. The township's 2024 newsletter and PCI's permit forms read for this record name no residential code edition; this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.
Drip edge
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 township's newsletter and PCI's permit documents were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
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 township's newsletter and PCI's permit documents were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
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 township's newsletter and PCI's permit documents were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
No size or cost threshold is published for roof work. The township's 2024 newsletter says "Professional Code Inspections of Dorr (PCI) handles building and zoning permits", and PCI's Dorr office forms page, its building permit requirements sheet and its Application for Building Permit were read: the application's project types are new building, addition, alteration, demolition, relocation, sign and the like, and neither it nor the requirements sheet names reroofing or roof repair. PCI has published nothing applying the state's relief for ordinary repairs to roof work, so the general permit rule applies to a reroof. 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. Ask PCI (616-877-2000) before starting a roof job.
Roof layer limit / recover
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." The township's zoning and police-power ordinances are hosted on an interactive code site that could not be read, so no local building ordinance was read and this record sets no layer classification. PCI's documents read state no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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 township's newsletter and PCI's permit documents were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
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 Watson Township newsletter or PCI's permit documents changes this.
Local roofing hub
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Related guides
Watson Township in Allegan County, with its township hall at 1895 118th Ave in Allegan, has its building and zoning permits handled by Professional Code Inspections (PCI), a private building department firm whose Dorr office is at 1575 142nd Street in Dorr and which lists Watson Township among the municipalities that office serves. The State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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