Roofing in Walker Township (Centre 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, Building permits for Walker Township in Centre County are issued by the Penns Valley Code Enforcement Agency, 225 East Main Street, Millheim, whose site says "The building permit is issued by Penns Valley Code Enforcement Agency" and whose Walker Township page gives the Township office at 816 Nittany Valley Drive, Bellefonte, and says "A Zoning Permit is required prior to being able to obtain a Building Permit." The Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code is not posted on the Township's or the agency's pages and was not read for this record. The agency's and the Township's pages name no code edition.

No Walker Township text read for this record names roof work as building permit work or as exempt from a building permit. The agency's pages say "A building permit is required in most municipalities" and name no roof work either way, and its building permit application lists permit types for residences and additions, solar panels, pools and hot tubs, accessory structures, demolition and other work, with no roofing type. Under the heading "Exemptions," Section 1202 of the Township's Zoning Ordinance says "Zoning Permits shall not be required for the following activities unless they are proposed within a floodplain district," including "general exterior maintenance and repair to existing buildings or structures; including siding, roofing, painting, the addition or replacement of storm windows, and similar activities"; that exemption speaks to the zoning permit, and Section 1201 says "Nothing in this Ordinance shall exempt the applicant from obtaining any permits which may be required by such regulations or codes in effect in Walker Township." 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 agency's Walker Township page says zoning permits "may be dropped off at the Walker Township Building or Penns Valley Code Enforcement Office" and that a building permit needs "a copy of the approved Zoning Permit, if applicable a copy of the Sewage Permit, a completed Building Permit Application and 3 complete sets of plans." The agency is at 814-349-8177, and the Township office, open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, is at 814-383-2859. Read for this record: the Penns Valley Code Enforcement Agency's home page, Walker Township page and building permit application; the Township's Zoning and FAQ pages and its zoning permit application; and the Township's Zoning Ordinance, searched for roof and permit provisions.