Roofing in Waverly 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, the Township's Permits/Zoning page says "PA. Uniform Construction Code (UCC) is in effect in Waverly Township" and "Waverly Township has contracted with Building Inspection Underwriters, Inc." and "NEIC" to do the inspections, whose costs "are included in the building permit fee," and "Applications for all building permits are to be made at the Waverly Township Municipal Building"; the Township's Municipal Building is at 1 Lake Henry Drive, Waverly (570-586-0111). The Township's Ordinances page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read, and its Historic Architectural Review Board ordinance was posted as page images with no text layer and was not read; the Township's Permits/Zoning page says a property owner contemplating "an addition, renovation or repair to the exterior of a building located within the Waverly Historic District" must apply to the Historical Architectural Board for a Certificate of Appropriateness, "in addition to the building permits normally required." The Township's pages name no code edition.

No Waverly Township text read names reroofing as building permit work or as exempt. The Township's Zoning Ordinance (the 2024 ordinance, read October 12, 2026), in Section 11.1 on permits, says "A zoning permit shall be required prior to" "The placement, erection, construction, improvement, or alteration of a structure, or portion thereof, including a fence, that has a fair market value exceeding $500" and, in its list headed "No zoning permit shall be required for the following:" names "Ordinary repair to existing structures, except signs." The ordinance names no roof work in either list, defines "REPAIR" as "To restore by replacing parts or putting together what is torn or broken" and does not define "ordinary repair," and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an alteration, an improvement or an ordinary repair under it. The Township's Zoning Application offers boxes for new structures, additions, pools, fences, signs and change in use, and names no roofing box. The Township's Ordinances page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so none was read, and its Historic Architectural Review Board ordinance was posted as page images with no text layer and was not read; the Township's Permits/Zoning page says a property owner contemplating "an addition, renovation or repair to the exterior of a building located within the Waverly Historic District" must apply to the Historical Architectural Board for a Certificate of Appropriateness, "in addition to the building permits normally required." The Township's pages name no code edition. The Zoning Ordinance sets a zoning permit application fee of "$25.00." Ask the Township office at 570-586-0111 before work starts. Read for this answer: the Township's Permits/Zoning and Ordinances pages, its 2024 Zoning Ordinance, and its Zoning Application.