Roofing in Union Township (Lawrence 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, Union Township in Lawrence County takes residential construction permit applications at its Township building, 1910 Municipal Drive, New Castle. The Residential Construction Permit Application the Township posts says of the plan review "I can be reached @ 724-944-7071. Please supply the requested information and return this packet to your municipality," and the Department of Labor and Industry's list of municipal code elections lists the Township as opted in to administer the Uniform Construction Code, with its building code official at that number. The Township has not published its ordinance adopting the code. The Township's pages name no code edition.

Union Township has published no line on reroofing either way. No Township page or form read for this record names roofing, reroofing or roof replacement either as permit work or as exempt. The Residential Construction Permit Application lists "Single Family Dwelling," "Addition," "Deck," "Porch," "Demolition," "Manufactured Housing," "Structural Alteration" and pools as kinds of construction, with no roofing box, and the Township's fee page lists "ZONING PERMITS" for "Residential improvements" priced by cost, with no roofing line. The Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code and its zoning ordinance are not published on its website, and no codified Township code was found online, so whether any Township ordinance reaches residential reroofing was not read for this record. 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." The Township building is open Monday to Thursday, 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, at 724-658-7921, and the application says "A PERMIT WILL NOT BE ISSUED UNTIL THE PLANS AND APPLICATION ARE COMPLETE." Read for this record: the Township's Code Enforcement, Township Fees, Forms and Documents, Zoning and Contact pages, and its Residential Construction Permit Application, read from the page images.