Roofing in Adamstown, 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, Adamstown Borough administers the code itself: Section 103.1 of its construction code, in Section 109-4 of the Borough Code, says "Borough Council shall appoint a person or persons to serve as a building code official and a construction code official," the building code official will "receive uniform construction code permit applications" and issue building permits, and the Borough office, at 3000 N. Reading Road, takes its "Zoning and Construction Code Permit Application" with a $100 application fee, the 2026 fee schedule listing a "Building/Zoning Permit Application" under "PA Uniform Construction Code (UCC) - Administrative Fees." Chapter 109 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 311 of 2004, read October 12, 2026) adopts "the standards which the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has adopted as the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code," and its Section 101.2 says "All construction which the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act or the L & I Regulations exempt from compliance with the Uniform Construction Code are exempt from the provisions of this construction code" and that items exempted by Section 403.1(b) "do not have to comply with the construction code but shall comply with all other applicable Borough ordinances." It adopts 34 Pa. Code 403.62 to govern residential permit applications and names no roof work. Section 109-3 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "with the following additions to the International Building Code/2006 or such future edition of the International Building Code as may be adopted from time to time," Section 109-4 adopts Chapter 1 of the International Building Code/2003, and the Borough's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 2003 or 2006 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Adamstown Borough's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 109 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 311 of 2004, read October 12, 2026) adopts "the standards which the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has adopted as the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code," and its Section 101.2 says "All construction which the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act or the L & I Regulations exempt from compliance with the Uniform Construction Code are exempt from the provisions of this construction code" and that items exempted by Section 403.1(b) "do not have to comply with the construction code but shall comply with all other applicable Borough ordinances." It adopts 34 Pa. Code 403.62 to govern residential permit applications and names no roof work. The Borough's Permits and Forms page (read October 12, 2026) links one form, "Get a Zoning or Building Permit," whose type-of-work boxes include Alteration and Repair and none for roofing; the form, the FAQ ("Permit applications can be downloaded from our borough website") and the 2026 fee schedule (read from the rendered page images) name no roof work either way. A search of the whole Borough Code on eCode360 for "roof" returned 35 results, all definitions, stormwater, sewer, zoning-height and similar provisions, and a search for "reroofing" returned none. 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 the Borough requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Borough office (717-484-2280) before starting. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM, or by appointment, and the application says "There is a $100 Application Fee deposit due with the submission of this Application." Section 113.4 of the construction code sets a violation penalty of "not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 for each violation plus all costs of prosecution." Read for this answer: Chapter 109 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full; a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Borough's Permits and Forms, Codes & Zoning, FAQs, Schedule of Fees and Administration pages; the Zoning and Construction Code Permit Application; and the 2026 fee schedule.