Roofing in Rayne Township (Indiana 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, Rayne Township's Forms & Documents page says "Building Permits are required for any exterior alterations or new construction. Applications are available at the township building," and posts the Township's "BUILDING PERMIT AND PLANS EXAMINATION APPLICATION," which lists a contracted code agency's telephone, 724-801-8204, at its foot. Ordinance No. 2003-2 (September 4, 2003) says the Township "hereby elect to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of Rayne Township." The Township office is at 140 Tanoma Road, Home; its home page says "Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 8:00 am - 2:00 pm." Ordinance No. 2011-2, enacted March 1, 2012, is a floodplain ordinance that says "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 of Rayne unless a permit has been obtained from the Floodplain Administrator" and "A permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures." Its definitions say "Development- any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures" and "Minor repair- the replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep." Neither the Forms & Documents page nor Ordinance No. 2011-2 names roof work, and the Township's ordinance list names no other building permit ordinance; Ordinance No. 4-84, the earlier floodplain ordinance, has the same "minor repairs" exemption. The Township's pages and Ordinance No. 2003-2 name no code edition.

No Rayne Township text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. Ordinance No. 2011-2, enacted March 1, 2012, is a floodplain ordinance that says "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 of Rayne unless a permit has been obtained from the Floodplain Administrator" and "A permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures." Its definitions say "Development- any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures" and "Minor repair- the replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep." Neither the Forms & Documents page nor Ordinance No. 2011-2 names roof work, and the Township's ordinance list names no other building permit ordinance; Ordinance No. 4-84, the earlier floodplain ordinance, has the same "minor repairs" exemption. Whether the Forms & Documents statement about "exterior alterations" or the floodplain ordinance's permit reaches an ordinary reroof turns on whether a reroof is an alteration, a repair or a "minor repair," which no Township text read settles, so this record does not decide whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof, or whether the floodplain ordinance's permit reaches a house outside the flood-prone areas it maps. 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." Rayne Township's Forms & Documents page says "Building Permits are required for any exterior alterations or new construction. Applications are available at the township building," and posts the Township's "BUILDING PERMIT AND PLANS EXAMINATION APPLICATION," which lists a contracted code agency's telephone, 724-801-8204, at its foot. Ordinance No. 2003-2 (September 4, 2003) says the Township "hereby elect to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of Rayne Township." The Township office is at 140 Tanoma Road, Home; its home page says "Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 8:00 am - 2:00 pm." Ask the Township office, at 724-463-6261, before starting a reroof. Read for this answer: the Township's home, Forms & Documents, Contact Information, Personnel and Ordinances pages and every ordinance list from the 1950s to the 2000s; Ordinance No. 2003-2 (Uniform Construction Code), Ordinance No. 2011-2 (floodplain) and Ordinance No. 4-84 in full, and the ordinances of 2000 to 2016 by title, with a search of each for permit and roof language; Ordinance No. 2014-1 (intergovernmental agreement); and the Township's building permit application. The Township has published no fee schedule.