Jurisdiction
Township of West Rockhill, Pennsylvania
Address
1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville, PA 18960
Contact
- url: https://www.westrockhilltownship.org/government/township-staff
- phone: 215-257-9063
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
West Rockhill Township's 2026 fee schedule prices a building permit for roofing when more than 25% of the roof shingles are replaced. The Township's Schedule of Fees and Charges dated January 5, 2026 (Resolution #2026-02; its text layer is garbled, so the line was read from the page image) lists under "IV. Building Permits" the item "C. Roofing (when replacing more than 25% of roof shingles)" at "Residential (Total Fee)" $210.50. A full reroof is above that line. The Township's Get a Permit page says "Residents and contractors are required to obtain a building permit for projects including but not limited to the following: new construction, additions, alterations or changes to buildings, roofs, structures," and adds "Residents are encouraged to contact the Building Inspector at 610-477-5140 to determine whether a building permit is needed." Chapter 150 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference and has no permit exemption of its own for roof work. 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). In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a house reroof that replaces more than 25% of the roof shingles; the fee schedule says "A Zoning Permit application and non-refundable application/review fee of $75.00 must accompany Building Permit applications." The Township's Get a Permit page says permits can be applied for online by uploading the completed forms as PDFs, and its building and zoning application asks every contractor for a certificate of general liability insurance listing West Rockhill Township as certificate holder and additional insured and, for residential alterations, "A copy of PA Home Improvement License." The Township office at 1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville, is open 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, at 215-257-9063. Read for this record: Chapter 150 of the Township Code (Construction Codes, Uniform; Property Maintenance) in full; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof", "roofing" and "reroofing"; the Township's Get a Permit and Township Staff pages; its building and zoning application and residential construction application procedures; and its 2026 Schedule of Fees and Charges.
Adopted code
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, West Rockhill Township in Bucks County issues building permits from its Township office at 1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville; Section 150-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 150-6 creates an "Office of Code Administration" headed by a Code Official the Board of Supervisors appoints, and the Township Staff page lists a Building Inspector and a Building Permit Coordinator. Section 150-2 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code (UCC), contained within Title 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Chapter 150 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 150-2 of the Township Code says that at the time of the Code's adoption the Uniform Construction Code included the "International Residential Code 2015," and the Township's building and zoning application and its residential construction application procedures say plans must comply with "requirements of 2018 IRC/ICC and 2017 NEC"; this record has not read the 2015 or 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Repair permit threshold
West Rockhill Township's 2026 fee schedule prices a building permit for roofing when more than 25% of the roof shingles are replaced. The Township's Schedule of Fees and Charges dated January 5, 2026 (Resolution #2026-02; its text layer is garbled, so the line was read from the page image) lists under "IV. Building Permits" the item "C. Roofing (when replacing more than 25% of roof shingles)" at "Residential (Total Fee)" $210.50. A full reroof is above that line. The Township's Get a Permit page says "Residents and contractors are required to obtain a building permit for projects including but not limited to the following: new construction, additions, alterations or changes to buildings, roofs, structures," and adds "Residents are encouraged to contact the Building Inspector at 610-477-5140 to determine whether a building permit is needed." 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). In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a house reroof that replaces more than 25% of the roof shingles; the fee schedule says "A Zoning Permit application and non-refundable application/review fee of $75.00 must accompany Building Permit applications." 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, West Rockhill Township in Bucks County issues building permits from its Township office at 1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville; Section 150-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 150-6 creates an "Office of Code Administration" headed by a Code Official the Board of Supervisors appoints, and the Township Staff page lists a Building Inspector and a Building Permit Coordinator. Its threshold is the one in the fee schedule quoted at the start: the roofing permit fee applies "when replacing more than 25% of roof shingles." No Township text read for this record says whether replacing 25% or less needs a permit.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, West Rockhill Township in Bucks County issues building permits from its Township office at 1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville; Section 150-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 150-6 creates an "Office of Code Administration" headed by a Code Official the Board of Supervisors appoints, and the Township Staff page lists a Building Inspector and a Building Permit Coordinator. Chapter 150 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 150-2 of the Township Code says that at the time of the Code's adoption the Uniform Construction Code included the "International Residential Code 2015," and the Township's building and zoning application and its residential construction application procedures say plans must comply with "requirements of 2018 IRC/ICC and 2017 NEC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2015 and 2018 editions' reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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, West Rockhill Township in Bucks County issues building permits from its Township office at 1028 Ridge Road, Sellersville; Section 150-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 150-6 creates an "Office of Code Administration" headed by a Code Official the Board of Supervisors appoints, and the Township Staff page lists a Building Inspector and a Building Permit Coordinator. Chapter 150 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and the Township's roofing fee line is keyed to replacing roof shingles and does not name sheathing. Section 150-2 of the Township Code says that at the time of the Code's adoption the Uniform Construction Code included the "International Residential Code 2015," and the Township's building and zoning application and its residential construction application procedures say plans must comply with "requirements of 2018 IRC/ICC and 2017 NEC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2015 and 2018 editions' sheathing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Sales & use tax
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. West Rockhill Township is in Bucks County. The Township's permit pages and 2026 fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.