Roofing in Paint Township (Somerset 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, Paint Township administers the code itself: its Ordinance 04-1, posted on its Codes page as the "Ordinance to Administer And Enforce Construction Code," says the Township "elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999," adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of the Municipality of Paint Township," and leaves the method of administration to the governing body "by resolution." The Township's Codes page lists a "Paint Township Building Code Official" at an outside consulting firm, its UCC permit application, headed "PAINT TOWNSHIP ● SOMERSET COUNTY ● PENNSYLVANIA," has a line for the "Building Permit Official," and the Township office is at 1741 Basin Drive, Windber (814-467-9788). The Township's pages name no code edition, and its application says the work must follow "PA Act 45 (Uniform Construction Code) and any additional approved building code requirements adopted by the Municipality."

Paint Township's own pages and code name no roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Ordinance 79, posted on its Codes page as the "Ordinance To Obtain A Building Permit" (read October 10, 2026, transcribed from the rendered page images), says in Section 1.01 "It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction or development anywhere within the Township unless a building permit has been obtained from the Building Permit Officer" and "A building permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures." It defines "CONSTRUCTION" as "the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension, expansion, alteration or relocation of a building or structure," and "MINOR REPAIR" as "the replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep," excluding cutting away walls, structural beams or egress and changes to piping, wiring and mechanical work. The ordinance names no roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is a minor repair under it. Its title and later articles also set flood-area requirements, and this record does not decide how they bear on Section 1.01. The Township's UCC permit application lists "Alteration" and "Repair, Replacement" among its types of construction on a form that covers all building work, has no roofing line, and carries a fee table with rows for residential alterations and additions, new dwellings and commercial work and none for roofing. The Township's Codes and Forms pages post no list of work needing or not needing a permit and no fee schedule beyond the application's table. 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 (814-467-9788) before starting. Read for this answer: Ordinance 04-1 and its amendment resolution (October 18, 2010) in full; Ordinance 79 (Section 1.01 and the definitions of construction and minor repair, from the rendered pages); the Township's Codes, Forms, Home and Taxes pages; the UCC permit application and its fill-in version; and the certificate of use and occupancy application. The Township publishes no code book that was found: a search of eCode360, American Legal Publishing, Municode, General Code and Code Publishing returned no Paint Township code, and the flood-area articles of Ordinance 79 were not read.