Roofing in Northern Cambria, 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, Northern Cambria Borough in Cambria County posts, as its "Residential Building Permit Application," the residential application of "CCBCEA d/b/a Laurel Municipal Inspection Agency" at 140 E. Carroll Street, Carrolltown ((814) 471-0424), which the applicant certifies will be completed under "the PA Act 45 (Uniform Construction Code) and any additional approved building code requirements adopted by the Municipality"; the Borough office is at 1202 Philadelphia Avenue, Northern Cambria (814-948-8230). The Borough's Code of Ordinances, posted on its Government page, contains no Uniform Construction Code adoption: its Chapter 5, Part 1 (Ord. 2000-1, January 3, 2000) adopts "The BOCA National Building Code, Thirteenth Edition, 1996" and "all subsequent editions as revised and issued every 3 years" by reference, with local changes to administrative sections, and prints no permit exemption naming roof work; the only "minor repair" permit relief in the code sits in a floodplain chapter for the former Borough of Barnesboro. The Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance and any building permit fee schedule were not found posted, so this record has not read them. The Borough's code names the 1996 BOCA National Building Code with later editions and no Borough page names the edition of the residential code now applied; this record has not read the older code's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

No Borough or agency text read for this record names roof work as building permit work or as exempt from a building permit. The agency's residential application asks the applicant to "Describe the proposed work" and says "All roofing jobs must show receipt for the disposal of old roofing material"; that line sets a document to file with an application and does not say which roofing jobs need one. The Borough's Services page says "a zoning permit is required for most outdoor structures including fences, sheds, decks, and additions," and its Zoning Ordinance (Section 1102) requires a permit from the Zoning Officer before a building is "erected, constructed, moved, added to, or structurally altered"; neither names roof work. The Borough's Code of Ordinances, posted on its Government page, contains no Uniform Construction Code adoption: its Chapter 5, Part 1 (Ord. 2000-1, January 3, 2000) adopts "The BOCA National Building Code, Thirteenth Edition, 1996" and "all subsequent editions as revised and issued every 3 years" by reference, with local changes to administrative sections, and prints no permit exemption naming roof work; the only "minor repair" permit relief in the code sits in a floodplain chapter for the former Borough of Barnesboro. The Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance and any building permit fee schedule were not found posted, so this record has not read them. 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." This record does not state whether a house reroof needs a building permit in Northern Cambria Borough. Read for this answer: the Borough's Services and Government pages, the residential application it posts, its Code of Ordinances and its Zoning Ordinance.