Roofing in Southwest Greensburg, 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, Southwest Greensburg Borough's Forms page posts a Building Permit application and says "For Residential & Commercial Plan Review Checklists go to http://biupa.com/pf.html," a page of Building Inspection Underwriters that lists the same combined Building/Electric permit application and a Westmoreland County office at 825 C Western Ave, Jeanette (724-523-5940); Section 10.30 of the Borough Code (Ord. 2004-5-1) adopts the Uniform Construction Code in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, "as amended from time to time," and has the Borough elect to administer and enforce the Construction Code Act; the Borough office is at 564 Stanton Street, Greensburg (724-834-0360). Section 10.30 names no edition ("as amended from time to time") and the pages read name none.

No Southwest Greensburg Borough text read names reroofing as permit work. The Borough's Frequently Asked Questions page, under "Do I need a permit for a new roof or siding?", says "Maintenance and repairs to an existing roof or siding would not require a permit," after saying "Generally, a permit is required when there is a change to the" "footprint" of the property. Against that, Section 10.10 of the Borough Code says "No building shall hereafter be constructed, erected, placed or altered within the limits of the said Borough, or construction work commenced on the same, until a permit has been issued as aforesaid"; Section 10.20 penalizes anyone who does work in the "removal, alterations or repairs to any building" "without first obtaining the proper permits as required by this ordinance" with a fine of "not less than three hundred ($300.00) dollars nor more than one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars"; and Section 12.81 of the zoning chapter says permits "shall be required and applied for by Contractors and property owners where there are any permanent structural improvements or new structures erected, added to, altered, rehabilitated or repaired." None of these names roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an alteration, a repair or a permanent structural improvement under them. Section 10.2 adds that "no existing roof, if damaged more than one-half of its value, shall be renewed or repaired without recovering the entire roof with material approved by the National Board of Fire Underwriters," a roofing material rule that names no permit. The Borough's Building Permit application lists "Roofing - Total square feet" among the boxes under "Type of work" on a combined building and electrical application. Read for this answer: Chapters 3, 10 and 12 of the Borough Code in full for their permit and construction sections; the Borough's Home, Forms, Frequently Asked Questions, Borough Code, Ordinances and Contact pages; the Building Permit application, transcribed from the rendered page image because the scan has no text layer; and the Building Inspection Underwriters permit page and form. The Borough posts no fee schedule naming a roofing line. Ask the Borough office at 724-834-0360 before work starts.