Roofing in Richland Township (Cambria 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, Richland Township administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 112-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce" the Act, and the Township's own Application for Building Permit, Zoning Review and Plan Examination is returned to the Township office at 322 Schoolhouse Road, Suite 110, Johnstown, where the Township collects the plan review, inspection and "PA UCC" fees. Section 112-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the Township's municipal building code, with local permit amendments that name no roof work. Chapter 96 of the Township Code still names the 1998 International One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code and the 1999 BOCA National Building Code, and the Township's pages name no edition; this record has not read those codes' roofing text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

No Richland Township text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Township's building permit application (read October 9, 2026) says "All Work Must Comply With State UCC Laws And Richland Township Ordinances" and names no roof work, and its 2025 permit fee schedule (Resolution 2024-19) lists "Residential (non-code)" and "Residential (code)" permits with no roofing line. Section 112-2 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and amends the State's list of residential work needing no permit to require permits for fences, water tanks, certain pools, uncovered decks, "the replacement of existing siding materials on one- and two-family dwellings" and "the replacement of rain gutters and leaders on one- and two-family dwellings"; it names no roof work. Chapter 96 of the Township Code, Building Construction, separately adopts by reference the "BOCA National Building Code, Fourteenth Edition, 1999" and the "International One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1998 Edition," and Section 112-5 keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the Uniform Construction Code; the permit sections of those two codes are not printed in the Township Code and were not read for this record. 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 permit sections of the codes Chapter 96 adopts were not read, this record does not decide whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. Ask the Township office at 814-266-2922 before work starts. The fee schedule says "The Township reserves the right to DOUBLE permit costs if a project is initiated prior to obtaining required permits." The building permit application asks for the contractor's "Richland Twp Contractor's License #" and is returned to the Township office in person or by mail with payment. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read for this record: Chapter 112 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 112-1 to 112-7), and Chapter 96, Building Construction (Sections 96-1 to 96-6), in full; Chapter 131, Fees; Chapter 186, Property Maintenance; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Township's Zoning & Building Codes page; its building permit application; and its 2025 permit fee schedule, a scanned document read from its page image.