Roofing in Clarks Summit, 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, The Borough of Clarks Summit, in Lackawanna County, has its office at 304 S State Street. Its Code Enforcement page lists two inspection agencies, Building Inspection Underwriters and Northeast Inspection Consultants, and its permit forms have the owner certify that they "have/are making application to the Borough of Clarks Summit for a building and/or zoning permit." The Borough's ordinance electing to administer the Uniform Construction Code is not posted on its website and was not read, and the Borough's pages do not say which agency handles house permits. The Borough's pages name no code edition for houses.

The Borough of Clarks Summit's pages name no roof work either way. The Borough's permit forms name no roof work, and its pages do not name reroofing either way. The Borough publishes no codified code online; none of the ordinances it posts is a building code ordinance, and none of them names roof work as permit work or as exempt. Its 2020 Zoning Ordinance requires a zoning permit before the "placement, erection, construction, improvement, or alteration of a structure" worth more than $500 and says "No zoning permit shall be required for" "Ordinary repair to existing structures, except signs"; it 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 the Borough requires a permit for a house reroof, and the Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance was not read; ask the Borough office (570-586-9316) before starting. The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Read for this answer: the Borough's Code Enforcement, Ordinances, Resolutions and Minutes, and Contact pages; the zoning permit packet and zoning fee page posted there; and the 2020 Zoning Ordinance, Article 11. The Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance and any building permit fee schedule are not posted and were not read.