Roofing in Roanoke, Virginia

Required

The 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024. For detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, Section 310.6.1 of the Virginia Construction Code applies "The provisions of the IRC ... as amended by VCC Section 310.8, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC)"; work on existing buildings falls under Part II, the Virginia Existing Building Code, whose reroofing section reads "602.3.2.1 Reroofing. Materials and methods of application used for recovering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with Chapter 15 of the VCC, except as modified by Section 302.1 and this section." The statewide code supersedes local building codes (Code of Virginia Section 36-98: "Such building code shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies."). The City's own current statements name the 2021 edition: its Remodel/Repair permit page says building permits are reviewed for compliance with "2021 Virginia Statewide Uniform Building Code", and its Local Climatic Design Criteria sheet (updated February 2025) lists the "2021 Virginia Residential Code (VRC)" and "2021 Virginia Existing Building Code". Roanoke City Code Section 7-5, as last amended in 2018, still names "the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (2015 edition)" and then provides that "all future editions and amendments to the sections of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code ... are hereby automatically adopted and incorporated into this Code." The City's older web page for new single- and two-family dwellings still names the "2012 Uniform Statewide Building Code". Chapter 7 of the City Code (Building Regulations), read in full, adds no technical roofing provision of its own; its one roofing section, Section 7-8, concerns permits in historic districts.

In a City of Roanoke historic district a reroof always needs a building permit: City Code Section 7-8 says "The building official shall require a permit for the installation of replacement siding, roofing and windows, in buildings within a historic district designated by the city council for the City of Roanoke." Exterior work there also needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, and work in a Special Flood Hazard Area needs a Floodplain Elevation Certificate with the application. Elsewhere in the City the statewide rule decides. Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 item 14.5 exempts "Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m 2 ) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones," and item 14.6 exempts only "Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m 2 ) or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5" unless that decking had to be fire-retardant-treated or fire-protected. The building official may require a permit "for the installation of replacement siding, roofing and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to Section 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia" and "for any items exempted in this section which are located in a special flood hazard area", and an owner who asks for a permit must be issued one ("when an owner or an owner’s agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required"). The City states its residential design wind speed only as an ultimate figure, "Roanoke has 115mph ultimate windspeeds", not as the nominal figure item 14.5 uses, and publishes no statement on whether a house reroof outside a historic district needs a permit, so confirm with the Permit Center (540-853-1090) before starting. Applications go in through the eTRAKiT portal or the Permit Counter Apps, or to the Permit Center at 215 Church Avenue SW, Suite 170. The City issues "Combination Permits when there is building work and at least one other type trade work to be performed"; the general contractor obtains the permit and lists all subcontractors, and an owner doing the work under the state licensing exemption files an Owner/Builder Affidavit. Starting permit work without the permit costs "Two times the calculated permit fees" with "No cap" (fee schedule effective July 1, 2023).