Roofing in Turtle Creek, 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, Turtle Creek Borough, in Allegheny County, takes permit applications at its Municipal Building, 125 Monroeville Avenue; its fee sheet says "ALL PERMIT APPLICATIONS AND PLANS MUST BE TURNED INTO THE BOROUGH OFFICE." The Building Permit Fee Schedule posted with it on the Borough's Permits page is Glenn Engineering's and names Glenn Engineering as "Building Code Official." The Borough's posted International Codes ordinance (Ordinance No. 1139, September 9, 2013) adopts the 2009 International Residential Code "for One Family and Two Family Dwellings" among other codes and says that "when any of the standardized codes enumerated above are amended or revised, such amendment shall become law of Turtle Creek Borough without further action by Borough Council," and Resolution 687-19 (February 4, 2019) adopts "all amendments and current editions" of codes including the "2015 International Residential Code for One Family and Two Family Dwellings." Neither names roof work. This record has not read the permit sections of the editions those instruments adopt, and the Borough's ordinance electing to administer the Uniform Construction Code is not posted and was not read. Ordinance No. 1139 adopts the 2009 International Residential Code with an automatic-update clause, Resolution 687-19 names the 2015 edition, and the Borough's pages name no current edition; this record has not read the 2009 or 2015 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Turtle Creek Borough's pages name no roof work either way. The Borough's fee sheet (Resolution # 629-08, as increased by Resolutions 705-22 and 706-22) prices residential building permits for "Alterations" by cost, and the posted Glenn Engineering schedule lists "Residential Accessory Structures" with the note "Pools, decks, porch roofs"; neither has a roofing or reroofing line. The Borough's Building Permit Application lists "ROOFING" only among "ADDITIONAL PERMITS REQUIRED OR OTHER JURISDICTION APPROVALS" in the part marked "DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE," and the Borough's pages do not name reroofing either way. The Borough's posted International Codes ordinance (Ordinance No. 1139, September 9, 2013) adopts the 2009 International Residential Code "for One Family and Two Family Dwellings" among other codes and says that "when any of the standardized codes enumerated above are amended or revised, such amendment shall become law of Turtle Creek Borough without further action by Borough Council," and Resolution 687-19 (February 4, 2019) adopts "all amendments and current editions" of codes including the "2015 International Residential Code for One Family and Two Family Dwellings." Neither names roof work. This record has not read the permit sections of the editions those instruments adopt, and the Borough's ordinance electing to administer the Uniform Construction Code is not posted and was not read. 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 Borough requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Borough office (412-824-2500) or its Building Code Official, Glenn Engineering (412-824-5672), before starting. The Borough office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read for this answer: the Borough's Permits, Ordinances, Administration and Contact pages; the posted International Codes ordinance and resolution (Ordinance No. 1139 and Resolution 687-19); the Borough's fee sheet with the attached Building Permit Fee Schedule; and the Borough's Building Permit Application. The Borough publishes no codified code online.