Roofing in Wallace Township, 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, Wallace Township's Zoning page says "Castle Valley Consultants is the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector for Wallace Township" and "ALL permit inspections are completed by Castle Valley Consultants and are to be scheduled by calling 610-469-8414 EXT. 2," and it posts the Township's Residential Building Permit Application; the Township office is at 1250 Creek Road, Glenmoore (610-942-2880). The Township's code of ordinances, including its Uniform Construction Code ordinance, is not posted on the Township's site and was not found in an online code library, so this record has not read it, and the Township's pages name no code edition.

No Wallace Township text read for this record names roof work as building permit work or as exempt from a building permit. The Zoning page says "Building permits are required for all new construction and additions, as well as accessory structures," names garages, barns and sheds among those, and goes on to "fences and walls, decks and patios, pools (both in-ground and above-ground), and tennis courts"; that list does not name roof work either way. The Residential Building Permit Application (a scanned form, read from the rendered page) offers "Addition," "Alteration," "New Home," "Accessory Structure > 1000sf," "Demolition" and "Other" and names no roof work, and the residential building permit section of the Township's fee resolution (Resolution No. 25-01, a scanned document read from the rendered pages) has no roofing line; its nearest category is "Additions or remodeling to residential buildings and residential accessory buildings." The Township's code of ordinances, including its Uniform Construction Code ordinance, is not posted on the Township's site and was not found in an online code library, so this record has not read it. 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 a house reroof needs a building permit in Wallace Township; the Zoning page says "Please contact the Township office at (610) 942-2880 for additional information." Read for this answer: the Township's Zoning (permits) and General Info pages, its Residential Building Permit Application, and the residential building permit section of its fee resolution.