Roofing in Duryea, 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, Duryea Borough issues building permits through its Code Enforcement Office at 315 Main Street: the Borough's Building Inspections page says its building inspector "will issue all building and remodeling permits and contractor's licenses, as well as all inspections" and names a third-party inspection agency for the Borough, and its Code Enforcement page lists the same office for "Uniform Construction Code violations (buildings)." The Borough's Ordinances page lists no construction code or Uniform Construction Code ordinance, and this record has not read the Borough's ordinance adopting the code or any building ordinance it kept in force from before 1999. No Borough page names an edition of the residential code; the Building Inspections page says "Duryea Borough currently utilizes the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code."

Duryea Borough's pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. The Borough's building permit application (read October 9, 2026) lists "Repair, Replacement, Remodeling" among its types of improvement and names no roof work, and the Building Inspection Fee Schedule the Borough posts, read in full, has no roofing line; its residential building fees include "Attached garages, additions, alterations, renovations." The Building Inspections and Code Enforcement pages name no roof work. The Borough's Ordinances page lists no construction code or Uniform Construction Code ordinance, and this record has not read the Borough's ordinance adopting the code or any building ordinance it kept in force from before 1999. 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; ask the Code Enforcement Office (570-655-2829, extension 22) before starting. The application says "PERMITS ARE GOOD FOR SIX (6) MONTHS FROM DATE OF ISSUE" and that it is the applicant's responsibility "TO NOTIFY THE BOROUGH OFFICE WHEN WORK IS COMPLETE AND TO SCHEDULE INSPECTIONS." Read for this answer: the Borough's Building Inspections, Code Enforcement, Forms and Ordinances pages; its building permit application; and its Building Inspection Fee Schedule, all nine pages, scanned documents read from their page images.