Roofing in Fulton Township, 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, Fulton Township's office at 777 Nottingham Road, Peach Bottom (717-548-3514) lists on its Zoning page a "Building Code Official/ Zoning Officer" together with "Light-Heigel & Assoc. Inc.," and its Applications page posts a "Building/Zoning Permit Application" whose list of what an applicant should include says "Three complete sets of detailed building construction plans must be submitted for review and approval." Its fee schedule lists a "UCC Administrative Fee 10% of Total UCC Fee." The Township's Ordinances page links a file titled "Fulton Township UC Ordinance," and that file is Ordinance No. 2014-2, which authorizes the Township's participation in an unemployment compensation group trust and names no construction code, building permit or roofing, so the Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code was not found published on its site. Section 207.9 of the Township's Zoning Ordinance, in the floodplain zone article, lists "International Building Code (IBC) 2003 or the latest edition thereof" and an International Residential Code provision list of the same kind for flood standards, and no Township page read names the edition of the Uniform Construction Code the Township applies; this record has not read the 2003 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.