Roofing in Bedford, Indiana

STATE-SET. THE RESIDENTIAL CODE IN FORCE IS THE STATE'S, NOT A CITY EDITION. The rule is 675 IAC 14-4.4, the 2020 Indiana Residential Code. The Indiana State Building Commissioner's guidance of February 25, 2020, issued on Department of Homeland Security letterhead, states: "The 2020 Indiana Residential Code adopts, and amends, the first printing of the 2018 International Residential Code." It adds that "The 2020 Indiana Residential Code is in full force and effect statewide" and that "Local units of government are statutorily mandated to require compliance with the code." The state rule applies by its own terms. Bedford has published no statement of which edition it enforces, and its codified building code was not read for this record. Separately, IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules". Bedford's own documents point the same way. Its Planning and Zoning Department conducts plan review and inspects "for compliance with state and local law", and the City's residential permit application requires the applicant, as the person "responsible for obtaining a permit or permits as required in the City of Bedford Building Code", to certify that the plans are "identical to those released for construction by the Indiana Department of Fire and Building Services." WHAT THIS RECORD HAS NOT READ. Bedford's codified ordinances, including the building code that application names, are published only on a vendor site that refuses automated access, so the City's own building chapter, its adoption clause and any local administrative provisions in it have not been read for this entry. That does not put the residential code in doubt, since the state rule applies regardless, but it does mean permit scope and contractor rules are stated in this record only as far as the City publishes them directly. One vocabulary warning: "Class 2" in Indiana is a structure class, broadly one and two family dwellings, and has nothing to do with a fire, wind or impact class of roof covering.

WHERE. The Planning and Zoning Department is on the second floor of Bedford City Hall, 1102 16th Street, Bedford, IN 47421, on 812-275-1631, open weekdays 8am to 4pm except holidays. Kevin Jones is Planning/Zoning Director and Justin Gilbert is Building Inspector and Code Enforcement. The general City Hall line, 812-279-6555, is a different desk. HOW. Applications are filed through online forms on the City's website: a Residential Home Building Permit application, a separate commercial application, and demolition and sign applications. The residential form asks for the owner, the applicant, the person responsible for payment and the general contractor ("If no contractor has been selected, type UNKNOWN"); whether the property is a personal residence or a rental; whether the work is new or remodel; a description of the work; square footage ("If remodeling, use square footage of proposed work area"); whether the site is in a flood plain, has sink holes or lies in a watershed; and the estimated cost and start date, with up to three supporting files. The form is explicit that "The Permit is not valid, and work is not permitted until signed and issued by the agent of the Planning and Zoning Department." MONEY. Non-structural residential remodelling over five hundred dollars is priced at twenty-five dollars and structural remodelling at ten cents a square foot with a fifty dollar minimum, and every fee doubles if work starts before the permit is issued.