Roofing in Tinicum Township (Delaware 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, Tinicum Township, in Delaware County, takes building permit applications at its township building, 97 Wanamaker Avenue, Essington. Section 103-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce" the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Section 103-3 leaves the means (a Township employee, a third-party agency, or an intermunicipal agreement) to resolution, and the Township's building permit checklist says "When in doubt please contact the Building Department at (610)-521-3530." Chapter 103 of the Township Code, Article I (Ord. No. 772, 2004), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" "as the municipal building code of the Township of Tinicum" and names no roof work. Section 103-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which are not published in the Township Code; this record has not read them. The Township's permit checklist describes the residential procedure "UNDER THE PARAMETERS OF ACT 45 THE UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE 2018 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE," an older edition than the State's current 2021 adoption, and Chapter 103 names no edition; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

Tinicum Township's pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 103 of the Township Code, Article I (Ord. No. 772, 2004), read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" "as the municipal building code of the Township of Tinicum" and names no roof work. Section 103-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which are not published in the Township Code; this record has not read them. The Township's permit checklist says "Numerous exemptions are provided under the Uniform Construction Code. Please contact the Building Inspector for clarification." Its fee schedule lists "Renovations, Decks, Additions, Electrical, HVAC & Plumbing" at "$15.00 per $1,000.00 with a $25 minimum" for residential work and names no roofing fee, and the first page of its building permit application, a general plan examination form, has no roofing entry. Section 110-7B of the Township Code, in the contractor licensing chapter, says licensing "does not preclude the requirement to obtain a building, electrical or plumbing permit or any other permit(s) that may be required for construction, repair, remodeling, rehabilitation, demolition, roofing" and other work; it does not say which roofing work needs a permit. 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 Building Department (610-521-3530) before starting. The fee schedule says contractor registration is "(Residential- Needs to Register, but No Fee is charged)", and Chapter 110 of the Township Code requires a contractor's license with proof of insurance. Read for this answer: Chapter 103 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, Article I (Sections 103-1 to 103-6), in full; Chapter 110, Contractors; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Township's permit forms and ordinances pages; and its fee schedule, building permit checklist and building permit application.