Roofing in Adams Township (Butler County), Pennsylvania

Required

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, Adams Township administers the code through its own Building & Zoning office: Section 86-1 of the Township Code says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Chapter 7 makes the Township's Code Enforcement Officer "the building official" of the Township, and the Township's Permits page posts its own Building Permit Application and directs commercial projects to file also with Professional Code Services, Inc., Gibsonia; the office is at 690 Valencia Road, Mars. Section 86-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, removes the State's permit exemption for low uncovered decks and adds four appendices, none about roofs. The Township's Permits page says "The current Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA UCC) follows the 2021 edition of The International Code Council Family of Codes," while Chapter 74 of the Township Code adopts the CABO One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1992 Edition, and the BOCA National Building Code, 1993, which Section 86-5 A keeps in force where they equal or exceed the Uniform Construction Code; this record has not read the CABO or BOCA text and does not decide which text the Township applies to roof work.

Adams Township's code and pages do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 74, Article I of the Township Code (Ord. No. 9, February 2, 1961) says "it shall be unlawful to construct, reconstruct or alter any building within the limits of the Township of Adams, unless the rules, regulations and requirements of this article have been complied with," and "No permit to erect, construct, reconstruct or alter any building shall be granted unless said plans, specifications and plot plan are in conformity with such ordinances"; Article II (1993) adopts the "CABO One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1992 Edition," and Article III (1995) the "BOCA National Building Code, 12th Edition, 1993." Section 86-5 A keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the code" in force. None of these names roof work; the CABO and BOCA codes themselves, whose permit sections would bear on repairs, are on file at the Township and were not read; and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is altering a building under Article I or how Section 86-5 A bears on these articles. Section 86-2.1 (2009) exempts from permits only "One-story detached accessory structures, provided that the floor area does not exceed 200 square feet." The Township's Permits page and its 2026 Building Permit Application name no roof work, and its fee schedule, Resolution No. 2026-6 (April 13, 2026), sets residential permit fees "based on square footage as per the Freedom Systems Permit Program dated April 2026," a document the Township has not published, and has no roofing line of its own. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." This record does not state whether a permit is required for a house reroof in Adams Township; ask the Township's Building & Zoning office at 724-625-1827 before starting. The office is open 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. Read for this answer: Chapter 86 of the Township Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Sections 86-1 to 86-6), and Chapter 74, Building Construction (Articles I to III), in full; Chapter 7, Code Enforcement; every page of searches of the whole Township Code for "roof" and "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Township's Permits, Code Enforcement and Ordinances/Resolutions pages; its 2026 Building Permit Application and Code Inspection Schedule; and Resolution No. 2026-6 in full.