Roofing in Adams Township (Cambria 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, Cambria County, uses an outside agency for building codes: the Township's 2024 schedule of fees says of building permits "contact Cambria County Building Codes for an application and fee amount (814-471-0424)," and the Township's Forms & Permits page links its "Building Compliance (Building Codes) Residential Permit Application," a Laurel Municipal Inspection Agency residential application (140 East Carroll Street, Carrolltown) bound with the Township's own "COMPLIANCE BUILDING PERMIT REQUIRED" form and a Cambria County Building Code Enforcement Agency municipal authorization sheet, at the same phone number. The Township's Uniform Construction Code adoption ordinance is not published on its website and was not read for this record, so whether it names an edition or changes any roofing provision is not known here.

That residential application, read October 9, 2026 from the copy linked on the Township's Forms & Permits page (a scanned form, transcribed from the page images), says in a boxed notice "All roofing jobs must show receipt for the disposal of old roofing material," next to "Certificate of Workers' Compensation or Affidavit of Exemption must be submitted with application if your work is being performed by a contractor." The agency application does not name the Township, and no Township or agency page read says whether a house reroof needs a permit. The Township does not publish its Uniform Construction Code adoption ordinance; its Ordinances page lists "the most commonly requested ordinances" and says "For additional ordinances not listed here, contact our main office." Its zoning ordinance (Ordinance 119) requires a Township compliance permit where a building is "erected, constructed, moved, added to, or structurally altered" (Section 210401) and names no roof work. 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 Cambria County Building Codes at 814-471-0424, the number the Township's fee schedule gives for the application and fee, before starting. The Township office at 125 Mary Drive, Sidman, is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 814-487-5054. Read for this answer: the Township's Forms & Permits, Ordinances and Contact Us pages; its schedule of fees; the five-page Building Compliance (Building Codes) Residential Permit Application; and Ordinance 119 (zoning) with a search for "roof". The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance was not found published and was not read.