Roofing in St. Clair, 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, St. Clair Borough takes permit business at its Municipal Building, 16 South Third Street, St. Clair (570-429-0640). Ordinance No. 378, which the Borough's ordinance page lists as "Uniform Construction Code (#378)," says "The Borough of St. Clair hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and allows administration "By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough of St. Clair"; the Borough's Building Permits Forms & Fees section posts the Comprehensive Inspection Agency's 2026 residential and commercial fee schedule, and its Administration page lists a Building Inspector and a Zoning Officer. The Borough's pages, fee schedule and Ordinance No. 378 name no residential code edition.

St. Clair Borough's own pages and ordinances read for this record name no roof work as permit work or as exempt. Ordinance No. 378 says "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code of the Borough of St. Clair"; read in full, it amends nothing in the code, names no roof work and sets no permit threshold of its own. The Borough's Zoning Ordinance (amended December 2019) says in Section 107 A that listed activities, beginning with "Erection, construction, movement, placement or extension of a structure, building or sign," "shall only be carried out after receipt of a Zoning permit" and of "any additionally required Borough permitting (such as a Building Permit"; Section 302 D says "No structure or parcel of land shall hereafter be erected, used, constructed, reconstructed or structurally altered" and, after a page break, "unless a zoning permit, building permit, occupancy permit and other applicable permit has been issued by the Borough or other applicable agencies." Those sections name no roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is a structural alteration. The Borough's Property Maintenance Code (Ordinance No. 388, an adopted property maintenance code) names roofs only in the standard that "The roof and flashing shall be sound, tight and not have defects that admit rain," which is not a permit provision. The Comprehensive Inspection Agency's fee schedule prices "Alteration, Renovations & Repairs" as one residential category, with no roofing line, and the Borough's building permit application has a UCC fee block and 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." Ask the Borough office (570-429-0640) before starting. Read for this answer: the Borough's home, Documents and Forms, Borough Ordinances, Administration and Contact pages; its Building Permit Application, the Comprehensive Inspection Agency 2026 fee schedule and the Zoning Fee Schedule (image files, read from page renders); its Zoning Permit Application; Ordinance No. 378 in full; Ordinance No. 388; and the Zoning Ordinance in full, whose "roof" hits are definitions, signs, district rules and building height, none a permit or exemption.