Roofing in Coopersburg, 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, Coopersburg Borough's Zoning/Permits page posts a "Coopersburg Residential Building Permit" application that carries the Bethlehem office address and telephone (610-866-9663) of a third-party code agency and the line "Municipality: Coopersburg," and the Borough's fee resolution lists a building permit at "See Building Code Fee Schedule + Current State Fee"; the Borough office is at 5 N. Main Street, Coopersburg (610-282-3307). Section 108-13 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 567, May 11, 2004) says the Borough "elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and Section 108-15 lets it do so through an employee, "one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies," or an agreement with another municipality. Section 108-14 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time," and Section 108-17 keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; neither names roof work, and Article I's additions and changes to the 1993 model code (Section 108-2) name none either. Article I of Chapter 108 of the Borough Code still adopts the "BOCA National Building Code, Twelfth Edition, 1993," while Section 108-14 incorporates the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Borough's municipal building code; the Borough's pages name no code edition, and this record has not read the 1993 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

No Coopersburg Borough text read says in terms that a house reroof needs a building permit or is exempt. The Borough's fee resolution (Resolution #2025-13, as posted) lists "Building Permit" as "Including, but not limited to – New Construction, additions, renovations, accessory structures, decks, roofs, demolition, fences, pools, pavement, electric, HVAC, plumbing, etc." The word "roofs" stands in that list with new structures and does not say replacement or reroofing, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is one of the roofs it lists. The residential building permit application the Borough posts lists "Remodel" among its project types and names no roof work, and the Borough's Zoning Permit form lists building, addition, deck, pool, accessory structure and signage projects and names no roof work. Section 108-14 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time," and Section 108-17 keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; neither names roof work, and Article I's additions and changes to the 1993 model code (Section 108-2) name none either. The Borough's FAQ page says "A copy of the Coopersburg Code of Ordinances is always available for public viewing at the Borough offices." Ask the Borough office at 610-282-3307 before work starts. Read for this answer: Chapter 108 of the Borough Code, Articles I and IV in full, every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing", the Borough's Zoning/Permits, FAQ and Contact Us pages, its Resolution #2025-13 fee schedule, its Zoning Permit form and the residential building permit application it posts. The Borough's separate Building Code Fee Schedule is not posted on the pages read.