Roofing in Hemlock Township (Columbia 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, Hemlock Township's Permits & Applications page says the Township "participates in a local Building Inspection Service (located in Montour Township) that is administered by the Tri-County Council of Governments" and sends applicants to the Tri-County COG-IBC Inspection Service (570-784-8654) "for information and applications. You must provide proof of a valid Township Zoning Permit with your application"; the Township office is at 26 Firehall Rd, Bloomsburg (570-784-6178). Section 5-101 of the Township Code (Ord. 06-08-2004) has the Township elect to administer and enforce the Construction Code Act, and Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, "as amended from time to time". Section 5-102 names no edition ("as amended from time to time") and the pages read name none.

No Hemlock Township building permit text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. Section 27-1203(B) of the Township's Zoning chapter, headed Zoning Permits, says "Zoning permits shall not be required for the following activities unless they are proposed within a Floodplain District" and lists "General maintenance and repair to existing buildings or structures, including siding, roofing, painting, the addition of storm windows, and similar activities." That line speaks to the zoning permit, not to a building permit, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof needs one. Section 5-105 keeps in effect building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" returned no roofing permit text outside the zoning exemption above. Read for this answer: Chapter 5, Part 1 of the Township Code (Sections 5-101 to 5-105) in full; Chapter 4, Buildings, in full; Part 12 of the Zoning chapter (Sections 27-1202 and 27-1203) in full; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Township's Permits & Applications, Ordinances and Frequently Asked Questions pages; and the State's listing of the Tri-County COG IBC Inspection Service. None names reroofing as building permit work, and no Township fee schedule naming a roofing line was found. Ask the Tri-County COG IBC Inspection Service at 570-784-8654 before work starts.