Roofing in Highland, Indiana

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STATE-SET - AND HIGHLAND'S OWN ADOPTION FLOATS FORWARD ONTO IT, WHICH IS WHY ITS STALE CODE LIST DOES NOT MATTER. The residential rule that applies here is 675 IAC 14-4.4, the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, whose opening section provides that "That certain document being titled the 2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings, first printing August 2017, published by the International Code Council ... is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set out in this rule save and except those revisions made in this rule", and that "This rule shall be known as the 2020 Indiana Residential Code." It was filed November 26, 2019 and readopted on November 18, 2025 by the Readopted Final Rule at Indiana Register 20251210-IR-675240566RFA, effective January 1, 2026; every one of the rule's 245 sections carries that readoption in its own history line. WHAT THE TOWN CODE SAYS. Highland Municipal Code Chapter 15.10 is the "Building Code of the Town of Highland, Indiana". Its section 15.10.050(A) adopts state building rules by reference: "Building rules of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission as set out in the following articles of IAC Title 675 are hereby incorporated by reference in this chapter and shall include later amendments, those articles as the same are published in the Indiana Register for the Indiana Administrative Code with effective dates affixed therein". The list that follows adopts the whole of Article 14, the One- and Two-Family Dwelling Codes, and that is the article the current residential rule sits in. THE STALE PART, AND WHY IT IS HARMLESS. The sub-labels beneath Article 14 in section 15.10.050(A)(2) read "Council of American Building Officials One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code", "CABO One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code; Amendments" and "Standard for Permanent Installation of Manufactured Homes". Those describe rules that have since been repealed and replaced within the same article. Because the Town adopted the ARTICLE and said in the same sentence that the adoption includes later amendments, the current rule in that article - 675 IAC 14-4.4 - is what the ordinance now reaches. IC 22-13-2-3(b) provides that a reference to the commission's rules by citation to the Indiana Administrative Code "shall be construed to include all amendments as of the date that the reference is written and any later amendments to that provision, unless accompanied by a reference to a specific edition or supplement to the Indiana Administrative Code." So an Indiana local ordinance citing 675 IAC tracks the current rule instead of freezing at its adoption date - the opposite of the usual rule elsewhere. AND IT WOULD NOT MATTER EVEN IF THE ORDINANCE HAD FROZEN. IC 22-13-2-3(a)(2) gives the commission's rules precedence over "any ordinance or other regulation adopted by a political subdivision that covers the same subject matter as the commission's fire safety rules or building rules", and IC 22-13-2-3(c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules." Indiana is the strongest building-code ceiling in this book: a local government may not be stricter, and may not be more detailed either. So build to the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, not to the sub-labels in the Town Code. Two copies of the adopted building rules are on file with the Town clerk-treasurer under IC 36-1-5-4. WHAT THE TOWN ADDS RATHER THAN CHANGES. Chapter 15.10 was read in full - all nineteen sections, 15.10.010 through 15.10.190 - and it is administrative throughout: title, purpose, authority, scope, adoption by reference, permit application, permit requirement, fees and inspections, review, inspections, entry, stop order, certificate of occupancy, standards, violations, appeal and remedies. It contains no roof-covering provision. Section 15.10.040 states its reach: the chapter applies "to the construction, alterations, repair, use, occupancy, maintenance, and additions to all buildings and structures, other than fences, in the town of Highland, Indiana." ONE VOCABULARY WARNING: "Class 2 structure" in Indiana means a one or two dwelling unit building. It is a STRUCTURE class and has nothing to do with a fire class or an impact class of roof covering.

WHERE AND HOW. The Highland Building and Inspection Department is at the Highland Municipal Building, 3333 Ridge Road, Highland, Indiana 46322, on (219) 972-7595 with fax (219) 972-5097, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Kenneth Mika is Chief Inspector and Building Commissioner; the department also has an inspection secretary, an inspection clerk, associate inspectors for electrical and plumbing, and a code enforcement officer. The Town publishes its permit forms as PDFs and asks that they be faxed or emailed to the department. WHAT THE DEPARTMENT DOES, IN ITS OWN WORDS: "The Building Department was created to guarantee orderly development within the boundaries of the town and assist contractors, developers and homeowners as they look to construct new buildings as well as rehabilitate and expand existing homes and businesses. Our Code Enforcement Officer works as part of the department to ensure properties and buildings are kept safe and in compliance. Our inspectors follow workman to guarantee work that has been contracted is up to code." THE APPLICATION. Highland's Building Permit Application asks the applicant to tick New Construction, Addition or Remodel, notes that a plat of survey is required, and asks for roof rafter spacing and roof material among the structural details. It must be signed by both the contractor and the property owner, or accompanied by a signed copy of their contract, and it lists the separate contractors on the job. It carries two instructions worth reading before quoting: "BEFORE STARTING CONSTRUCTION CHECK WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT FOR BUILDING & ZONING REGULATIONS" and "ALL CONTRACTED WORK MUST BE DONE BY CONTRACTORS LICENSED WITH THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND". INSPECTIONS. Highland does not publish a fixed inspection schedule for residential work. Municipal Code section 15.10.090(C) leaves the staging to the department: "The building commissioner or his designee shall in all cases designate the stage of construction when each required inspection must be requested by the permit holder." The same section lets the commissioner increase the number of required inspections on unusually large or complex work, with a right of appeal to the town council, and lets him assess a re-inspection fee where the permit holder failed to have the work ready at a designated stage. Re-inspection fees must be paid before a certificate of occupancy issues. Ask the department which stages it will want on a particular roof. AUTHORITY. Municipal Code section 15.10.030 authorises and directs the building inspector or his designee to administer and enforce the building code, and expressly limits that officer to "the discretion of determining whether the rules and standards established by ordinance have been complied with", with no power "to require conditions not prescribed by ordinances or to enforce ordinance provisions in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner". Section 15.10.180 gives a right of appeal. A SCOPE POINT. Highland is a town with its own department. Its Lake County neighbours - Griffith, Munster, Merrillville, Schererville, Crown Point, Hobart and Hammond among them - each run their own, with different permit thresholds and separate contractor registers. A Highland licence is not a Griffith licence. Confirm which office holds the job before applying.