Roofing in Lurgan Township (Franklin 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, Lurgan Township's Land Use Permit Application says "It will be the applicant's responsibility to contact Commonwealth Code Inspection Service, Inc., 1102 Sheller Avenue, Chambersburg, 262-0081, to obtain a Construction Permit" and that the structure may not be occupied until an Occupancy Permit is issued by that firm; the Township office is at 8650 McClays Mill Road, Newburg (717-532-7460), open 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Friday. The Township's website posts no building, permit or code chapter and no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read for this record, and its pages name no code edition.

The Township's own permit is the Land Use Permit, which its application says is for a person who applies "for a Land Use Permit to build, erect or remodel a structure in Lurgan Township," adding "Application for a Construction Permit will not be accepted until a Land Use Permit is issued by the Township"; the application's construction details list a "Roofing" column (asphalt shingles, metal, wood shingles, rolled roofing) for the structure being built, and neither the application nor the Township's other pages name a reroof as permit work or as exempt. This record does not decide whether a house reroof is a structure remodeled under the Land Use Permit. The Township's website posts no building, permit or code chapter and no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read for this record, and its pages name no code edition. 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." Ask the Township office (717-532-7460) before starting. Read for this answer: the Township's Home and Permits pages, its Land Use Permit Application and its Driveway Permit Application Form.