Roofing in Horace, North Dakota

Required

HORACE ADOPTS THE STATE CODE BY NAME AND NOT BY EDITION, then amends it in seven numbered places. City of Horace Ordinances Title V, Chapter 5-01, Section 5-0101 (source Ordinance 2020-07, section 1) reads: "The erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, demolition, conversion, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area, and maintenance of buildings or structures in the City of Horace, North Dakota, shall meet with the provisions of the rules and regulations of the North Dakota State Building Code (NDSBC) a copy of which is on file in the office of the building inspector for the City of Horace, with the exception of the sections hereinafter set forth affecting local conditions in the City of Horace," and it applies the code "as well as for any area within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the City." No edition year appears in the chapter. WHAT THE STATE BUILDING CODE CURRENTLY IS. The 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book states that "Effective January 1, 2026, the North Dakota State Building Code consists of the 2024 International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), International Energy Conservation Code, and the International Existing Building Code as published by the International Code Council (ICC)," and adds "NO APPENDICES ARE ADOPTED." Under NDCC 54-21.3-03(6) a city that elects to administer and enforce a building code "shall adopt and enforce the state building code," but the state code "may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs." Horace is listed as a code enforcing city by the North Dakota Department of Commerce. WHAT HORACE HAS AMENDED. Section 5-0102 opens "The provisions of the North Dakota State Building Code, which encompass the International Code, in order to conform to local needs, is hereby changed and amended as follows" and then makes seven numbered changes, read in full: fees and plan review fees under Chapter 1 of each International Code; four amendments to the residential code, being a note substituting the Wiring Standards of North Dakota and the City's own plumbing and utility titles for the International Electrical and Plumbing Codes, a note added to Section R105.2 that work exempt from a building permit may still require a permit under the Land Use Ordinance, a rewritten Section R112 Board of Appeals, and a REVISED Table R301.2(1); three amendments to the building code (plumbing cross-reference, an exempt-work note and the Board of Appeals); the mechanical and fuel gas codes referred to the City's Title VII; a Board of Appeals amendment to the energy code; and an exempt-work note and Board of Appeals amendment to the existing building code. THE ONE THAT MATTERS TO A ROOFER IS THE REVISED TABLE R301.2(1), which is where the City sets its own snow, wind and ice-barrier values - see the wind design criteria and ice barrier fields. Nothing in Chapter 5-01 amends the roof-assemblies chapter. Violating the adopted code is an infraction under Section 5-0103, and "Each day such violation continues shall be considered a separate offense." Horace separately adopts a Property Maintenance Code at Chapter 5-05, which the State Building Code does not include.

EVERYTHING GOES THROUGH THE ONLINE PORTAL. The City states that "The City of Horace currently processes all our permitting applications and inspections through the online permit page," which is a SmartGov portal at https://ci-horace-nd.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/Home; an applicant signs up, works through My Portal, picks a permit category and type, enters the address or parcel number - using the blue autofill rather than the browser's, or the address will not validate - completes the project details, adds submittals such as a site plan, floor plans, truss layout or FEMA map, reads the permit conditions, fees, inspections and approval steps, and submits. The City warns that "Depending on the scope of your project, you may need to complete more than one permit application." Inspections are requested by telephone: "To request and inspection please call the City Hall at (701) 492-2972," and the City asks for reasonable notice. Questions before a project can go to the Building Inspectors on the same number. The four permit families the department names are Building Permits, Land Use Building Permits (Fences and Signs), Right-of-Way Permits and Boulevard Tree Permits, so a job that touches the boulevard or the right of way is a second application. APPEALS AND COPIES. Under Section 5-0105 an order, decision or determination of the Building Administrator may be appealed to the Horace City Council, in writing to the City Auditor, within thirty days. Under Section 5-0104 a permit applicant is charged a fee for a copy of the relevant code provisions - but "if a contractor shows the Building Administrator, or designated building official, his/her copy of the appropriate building code," the copy fee is not charged. OTHER AUTHORITIES THE CITY POINTS AT: the North Dakota State Plumbing Board, the North Dakota State Electrical Board, the Horace Rural Fire Protection District, Cass County Public Health for on-site sewage systems, and the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. The City also publishes a cold weather concrete policy, which is worth knowing if a re-roof turns into work involving concrete late in the season.