Wexford County - Building Department

Wexford County, Michigan (3 villages and 15 townships on the county building program)

county

401 North Lake Street, Cadillac, MI 49601

Required

Required

The Wexford County Building Department's fee schedule (revised 05/22/2025) lists "Roof Replacement" at $50.00 among its building permit fees, with an "APPLICATION FEE (Required for all building permits)" of $125.00 and a $10.00 address application fee. It adds "If construction is started without first obtaining a permit, the following will apply in addition to your permit fee": an "Investigative Inspection Fee" of $80.00 and an "Administrative Fee" of $50.00, and says "A permit will be cancelled if no inspections are requested or performed within 6 months of the date of issue or the date of a pervious inspection." The department's application is the "Application for Plan Examination and Building Permit", which asks for the contractor's builder's licence number and lists additions, alterations, repairs and demolition among the types of improvement; it has no roofing box. The department's page says "A MINIMUM 24 HOUR NOTICE IS REQUIRED FOR ALL INSPECTIONS" and gives 231-779-9465 to schedule one, with building inspections done on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The office is at 401 North Lake Street, Cadillac, MI 49601, open Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (closed 12:00-12:30 pm for lunch) and "CLOSED FRIDAYS". The department says it "issues construction code permits (building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits) for all areas of Wexford County except" Cedar Creek Township and the City of Manton, which issue their own building permits, and the City of Cadillac, which issues its own building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and soil erosion permits; LARA's list assigns building code enforcement in the villages of Buckley, Harrietta and Mesick and 15 townships to the county, and those three units are not covered here.

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." The Wexford County Building Department's page lists "2015 Michigan Residential Code (in effect February 8, 2016) for residential construction, 2021 Michigan Building Code for commercial construction" among its services, and its information packet says the same for the residential code. LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List assigns building code enforcement in the villages of Buckley, Harrietta and Mesick and 15 townships to Wexford County. The county's Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 (amended 2012, searched in full text) adopts no building or residential code, and the department's page lists no building code ordinance among its ordinances.

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 Wexford County Building Department pages, fee schedule and information packet, and Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 (searched in full text), were read for a local rule and state 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). The Wexford County Building Department pages, fee schedule and information packet, and Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 (searched in full text), 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." The Wexford County Building Department pages and Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 state no impact rule.

No size or cost threshold is published. The Wexford County Building Department's building permit fee schedule lists "Roof Replacement" at $50.00 among its building permit fees, beside an "APPLICATION FEE (Required for all building permits)", and says "The State Construction Code requires a permit before any construction is started." The department's pages, information packet, permit requirement checklists and application state no exemption for re-roofing or roof repair. 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. The department prices a roof replacement as a building permit item; for a small roof repair, ask the department (231-779-9465) 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, Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 (amended 2012, 97 pages, searched in full text for roof, shingle, layer, tear-off, re-cover and R908; its roof hits concern structure definitions, signs, towers and antennas) and the Building Department's pages, fee schedule and information packet state no layer rule, and the department lists no building code ordinance. Nothing local amends Section R908.

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 Wexford County Building Department pages, fee schedule and information packet, and Wexford County Zoning Ordinance No. 5 (searched in full text), were read for a local rule and state 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 Wexford County.