Roofing in South Franklin Township (Washington 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, South Franklin Township elects to administer the code: Ordinance 1-2004 (effective July 8, 2004) says the Municipality "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and lets it retain "one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies"; the Township's Zoning Application says "THIS IS NOT A BUILDING PERMIT. IT WILL BE OBTAINED FROM UNITED CODE CONSULTANTS AFTER ZONING APPROVAL," and the Township's posted fee schedule for residential building permits is headed "UNITED CODE CONSULTANTS." The Township offices are at 100 Municipal Road, Washington (724-225-4828), open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch. The Township's pages and ordinances name no code edition; Ordinance 1-2004 adopts the code "as amended from time to time," so the text above is the State's current one.

South Franklin Township's own ordinances and pages name no roof work as permit work or as exempt. Ordinance 1-2004 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time," "as the municipal building code of this Municipality" and keeps in effect building code ordinances adopted before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the Code; it names no roof work and no code edition, and the Township's posted ordinance list names no building code ordinance older than it. Section 185.97 A of the Zoning Ordinance says "no structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, or altered" and no building "changed in use, or changed in occupancy or tenant, until a zoning permit has been secured from the Zoning Officer"; it names no roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is a structure "reconstructed" or "altered" under it. The Zoning Application's Township-use box set offers "UCC Permit Required" and "UCC Permit Not Required" and names no roof work. The Township's UCC fee schedule lists residential permit fees for new homes and additions, "Structural Alterations," pools, "Residential Deck & Porch Roof," demolition, solar panels and electrical service, and no reroofing or roof replacement line, and its 2025 fee schedule lists no roofing line. 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 the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Township offices (724-225-4828) before starting. Read for this answer: Ordinance 1-2004; the Zoning Ordinance (updated July 2022), including Sections 185.93 and 185.97 and a search of the whole ordinance for "roof" (no permit provision for roof work); the Hazardous Building Ordinance and the Floodplain Management Ordinance; the Township's Applications and Permits, Ordinances, Maps and Zoning, Homeowners Information and Contact pages; the Zoning Application; the UCC fee schedule; and the 2025 fee schedule. The Township posts its ordinances as separate documents, not as a code book.