Roofing in Blooming Grove Township, 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, Blooming Grove Township in Pike County issues building permits from its own office: the Township's Officials and Contacts page lists a Building Inspector and a Building Secretary at the Township number, 570-775-6461, and the Township's building permit application carries a "BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL USE ONLY" block with a "UCC Building Fee" line. The Township's 2025 fee schedule prices plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits "As established by the Township's Third-Party Inspection Agency." The Township Municipal Building is at 488 Route 739, Blooming Grove. The Building Code the Township posts adopts "The BOCA National Building Code, 1993" and, for one and two family dwellings, the "CABO One and Two Family Dwelling Code" of 1992, and the Township's pages name no International Residential Code edition; the Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code is not posted, this record has not read it or the 1992 CABO text, and it does not decide which edition the Township applies.

Blooming Grove Township's posted Building Code requires a permit for repairs except ordinary, nonstructural repairs, and names no roof work. The Township's Ordinances page posts as its "Building Code" Ordinance No. 41 of 1993 as amended (codified 1996), whose Section 14.1 says "A permit shall be obtained before beginning the construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure" and "Permits shall not be required for ordinary, nonstructural repairs or routine maintenance." The ordinance does not define those words and names no roof work in its permit section. The Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code is not posted on its Ordinances page. The Township's building permit application lists "( ) Roofing -Total square feet" among the boxes under "Alterations/ Additions of:", and the 2025 fee schedule (Resolution No. 4-2025, enacted June 16, 2025) lists "Alteration, Renovation, and / or Repair" at $100.00 and has no roofing line. No Township page read for this record says whether a reroof needs a permit. 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." The Township's zoning permit instructions say "NO JOB SHALL BE STARTED WITHOUT PROPER PERMIT" and quote Section 602.1 of the Zoning Ordinance: "No Zoning Permit shall be required in cases of normal maintenance activities, minor repairs or alterations which do not structurally change a building or structure." The Township office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 570-775-6461. Read for this record: the Building Code the Township posts (Ordinance No. 41 of 1993 as amended by Ordinance No. 46), in full; the Township's 2025 fee schedule, read from its page images; its building permit application; its 2026 zoning permit instructions, which quote Section 602.1 of the Zoning Ordinance; its building inspection checklists; and its Officials and Contacts, Contact, Forms and Ordinances pages.