Roofing in Franklin Township (Greene 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, Franklin Township, Greene County, issues building permits from its Township office at 568 Rolling Meadows Road, Waynesburg. The Township's Application for Building Permit, posted on its Ordinances page, says "Upon Plan Approval you will be issued your Building Permit and construction can begin," sends residential inspections to the Township at 724-627-5473 and commercial inspections to K-2 Engineering Inc., and tells applicants to contact the "Township Building Code Official at 724-627-5473 for the Occupancy Permit"; the Township's Officials page lists a Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer. The Township has not published its codified ordinances online, and its Ordinances page posts only the building permit application, the Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and related forms, so this record has not read the Township's Uniform Construction Code adoption ordinance or any building code ordinance it keeps in force. The Township pages read for this record name no code edition.

No Franklin Township text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Township's building permit application lists the types of work "NEW BUILDING", "ALTERATIONS" and "ADDITION" and names no roof work, and no Township page read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Zoning Ordinance (2022) says "no structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, razed, or removed" until "a zoning permit has been secured from the Zoning Officer" (Section 141), and defines a building permit as one indicating that a proposed construction, alteration or reconstruction "is in accordance with the construction provisions of any Building Code which may be adopted by Franklin Township"; neither names roof work. The Township has not published its codified ordinances online, and its Ordinances page posts only the building permit application, the Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and related forms, so this record has not read the Township's Uniform Construction Code adoption ordinance or any building code ordinance it keeps in force. 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." No Township text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt, and the Township's building code ordinances could not be read, so this record does not decide whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. Ask the Township's code enforcement office at 724-627-5473 before work starts. The building permit checklist says applications for building and zoning permits are completed, notarized and filed with a plot plan and drawings, to "ALLOW 7 TO 10 DAYS FOR APPROVAL," and that every contractor or sub-contractor must give a registration number and a workers' compensation certificate or a notarized exemption form. Read for this answer: the Township's home, Ordinances, Officials and Contact Us pages; the Application for Building Permit with its checklist; and the Zoning Ordinance (2022), searched for "roof", "repair" and "building permit" and read in its permit sections.