Roofing in Devils Lake, North Dakota

Required

DEVILS LAKE ADOPTS THE STATE CODE BY NAME AND NOT BY EDITION, which is the single most useful thing to know before working to a code table here. Devils Lake Municipal Code Section 15.04.010, enacted by Ordinance No. 981 of 18 July 2022, opens: "The North Dakota State Building Code (NDSBC) is adopted as the building code of the city. The NDSBC consists of the International Residential Code (IRC), the International Building Code (IBC), the International Mechanical Code (IMC), and the International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) and includes a list of state approved amendments." No edition year appears anywhere in the section. Ordinance No. 981 repealed the former Chapter 15.04, which had run on the Uniform Building Code since 2003. WHAT THE STATE BUILDING CODE CURRENTLY IS. The 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book states that "Effective January 1, 2026, the North Dakota State Building Code consists of the 2024 International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), International Energy Conservation Code, and the International Existing Building Code as published by the International Code Council (ICC)," and adds "NO APPENDICES ARE ADOPTED." Under NDCC 54-21.3-03(6) a city that elects to administer and enforce a building code "shall adopt and enforce the state building code," but the state code "may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs." Devils Lake is listed as a code enforcing city by the North Dakota Department of Commerce. WHAT DEVILS LAKE HAS AMENDED. Section 15.04.010 carries its own amendment list, read in full: IBC Section 3303 gains subsections 3303.8, 3303.9 and 3303.10 on demolition debris; IRC Section R105.2, work exempt from permit, is rewritten; IRC Section R305 is amended on grade floor openings; IRC Section 403 tables are deleted and replaced; IRC Section R404.2 on wood foundation walls is rewritten; a new subsection 801.2.1 is added setting a snow load; and replacement Tables 1805.5(1) to 1805.5(3) and 404.1(1) to 404.1(3) are printed at the end of the chapter. NONE OF IT REACHES THE ROOF COVERING CHAPTER. TWO OTHER CODES THE CITY ADOPTS SEPARATELY. Section 15.08.010 adopts "The 2021 International Fire Code, along with its appendix chapters ... except that chapter 11, Section 903.2.8.1 Group R-3, and Appendices J, L, and M are deleted therefrom," and Section 15.08.030 makes that chapter amend automatically to follow the North Dakota State Fire Code. Section 15.16.020 still adopts the 1976 edition of the Uniform Housing Code. Confirm the edition your permit is written to with the Building Department before ordering material to a code table.

Permits are pulled from the Building Department at 423 6th Street NE, PO Box 1048, Devils Lake, ND 58301, on 701-662-7600; the department's page gives extension 2 and the permit application form gives extension 3, so try both. Dustin Willey is the Code Administrator and Helen Carlson the building administrator. The City describes the department's job as issuing "building permits and conducting inspections throughout the construction process," and its jurisdiction as the city limits plus a two-mile extraterritorial area, so a job just outside the city can still be a City permit. THE FORM. The Application for Plan Examination and Building Permit is a four-page form; the applicant completes sections I, II, III, IV and VIII, which cover the location and owner, the type and cost of the improvement, the building's characteristics, the identification of owner, architect or engineer and contractor, and a site or plot plan. The type-of-improvement list includes "3. Repair, Replacement." Costs are itemised into building materials, general labour, electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and other, with a total cost of improvement, and the form states that "Permit fees for new construction will be based on construction costs as determined by Building Valuation Data Tables." A Licensed Contractors block asks for the general, plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning contractors. The form also carries a notice that federal law may require the work to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, citing NDCC Section 54-21.3-04.2. TIMING. Under Municipal Code Section 15.08.230 a City building permit "is valid for a period of twelve (12) months for the renovation or repair of a structure and eighteen (18) months for new construction," renewable for a further like term, with the renewal costing "double the fee charged for the preceding term unless waived by the city commission" - so an abandoned re-roof permit is expensive to revive. RELATED HANDOUTS. The Building Department publishes construction handouts on accessory dwelling units, basement construction, demolition, fences, finding your property lines, post frame guidelines, residential handrails and guardrails, residential stairs, siding replacement and wood basement construction. There is no roofing handout. The siding handout also notes that from 1 January 2017 the City landfill no longer accepts asbestos products, which matters when an old roof or wall assembly comes off.