Roofing in Fawn Township (Allegheny County), 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, Fawn Township's Applications & Permits page offers a "Building Permit Application," the application is headed "Application for Building/Zoning Permit" and says a Certificate of Occupancy will be "issued by Fawn Township" and refers to "the Township Building Code Official," and the Township's Zoning Office page says family dwelling fees "are set by third party home inspectors"; the Township office is at 3054 Howes Run Road, Tarentum (724-226-0666), open 9 AM to 4 PM Monday through Thursday and 9 AM to 1 PM Friday. The Township's website posts no building, permit or code chapter and no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read for this record, and its pages name no code edition.

No Fawn Township text read names a house reroof as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Building/Zoning Permit application lists "Repair/Replace" among its "Type of Improvement" boxes for every kind of permit it covers (zoning use, building, electrical and other), and its Permit Fee Schedule lists fees for family dwellings, commercial buildings, residential garages, small accessory buildings, barns, swimming pools, signs, a home business, occupancy, land use and fence permits; none names roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof needs any of them. The Township's website posts no building, permit or code chapter and no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read for this record, and its pages name no code edition. 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." Ask the Township's zoning office (724-226-0008) before starting. Read for this answer: the Township's Home, Applications & Permits, Zoning Office, Contact, Administration and About pages, its Building/Zoning Permit application, and its Zoning Land Intent Registration and Building Occupancy Registration forms (transcribed from the rendered page images).