Roofing in McKees Rocks, 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, The Borough of McKees Rocks administers the code itself: Section 285-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of McKees Rocks hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 106-2 has the Building Code Official/Code Enforcement Officer "receive applications and issue permits for the erection and alteration of buildings and structures," and the Borough's Borough Building page says the 2nd-floor administrative offices at 340 Bell Avenue include the office of "the Code Enforcement Officer/Building Code Official." Section 285-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Chapter 285 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Neither the Borough Code nor the Borough's pages name a code edition.

No Borough of McKees Rocks text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Borough's Fees page (read October 9, 2026) says "If you plan on doing interior remodeling or exterior modifications, please be sure to check with the Building Inspector about a Building Permit before starting" and names no roof work either way; the Building Permit Application page linked from the Borough's Applications, Permits and Forms page carries no form text. Chapter 285 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Ord. No. 1643 of 2004, amended in its entirety by Ord. No. 1666 of 2006), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and adds no permit clause and no roof words of its own. Section 285-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the code"; no such ordinance naming roof work was found in the codified Borough Code. Section 285-6 says the Borough's schedule of fees for plan review, permits and inspections is "attached as Exhibit A," and the Code's editor's note says "Exhibit A is on file in the Borough office"; that schedule is not published online. The Zoning chapter's zoning permit (Section 675-53) is for "new construction, structural alteration or change in the use of a building or lot." 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." Because the Borough's only building permit clause is the Uniform Construction Code it adopts, and the Borough's pages do not say whether an ordinary reroof needs a building permit, this record does not decide whether the Borough requires one. Ask the Code Enforcement Officer/Building Code Official at the Borough Building, 412-331-2498, before work starts. Read for this answer: Chapter 285 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 285-1 to 285-8), Article I of Chapter 106, Building Code Official/Code Enforcement Officer, and Article VIII of the Zoning chapter, Administration and Enforcement, in full; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof," which found no permit provision naming roof work, and for "reroofing," which found none; the Borough's Applications, Permits and Forms, Building Permit Application, Fees and Borough Building pages; and the zoning certificate or occupancy permit application, a scanned form read from its page image.