Roofing in Wilkinsburg, 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, Wilkinsburg Borough administers the code with a third-party agency it retains: Section 128-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 128-3 B allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies," and the Borough's Code Enforcement page says building, electrical, mechanical and demolition permits "are handled by Wilkinsburg's third-party firm, Code.Sys." The Code Enforcement Department is in the Borough Building at 605 Ross Avenue. Section 128-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code as the municipal building code and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Chapter 121 also adopts "The BOCA National Building Code, Fourteenth Edition, 1999." The Code Enforcement page says "the codes applicable to work for which a construction permit is sought on or after October 1, 2018, are the 2015 International Codes" and names no later edition, while Section 128-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time"; this record has not read the 2015 edition's or the BOCA code's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Wilkinsburg Borough has published nothing on whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 128, the Borough's Uniform Construction Code chapter, adopts the code by reference, names no roof work and changes nothing in the code's permit provisions; Section 128-5 A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that "equal or exceed the requirements of the Code." Chapter 121, Building Construction, adopted in 2001, adopts "The BOCA National Building Code, Fourteenth Edition, 1999" by reference; the BOCA code's own permit sections are not published with the chapter and were not read for this record, and Chapter 121's amendments to them name no roof work. The Code Enforcement page (read October 7, 2026) lists a "Building Permit (Residential / Commercial)" handled through Code.Sys and names no roof work either way. The Borough's fee chapter (Section A266-1) prices residential "Structural repairs, renovations, alterations to existing structures based on total contract amount of construction" and has no roofing line. Code.Sys's own permit FAQ does not name the Borough or roof work. This record does not state whether the Borough requires a permit for a house reroof: its own text names no roof work, the BOCA permit sections it adopted were not read, and the office has published nothing on reroofing. Ask Code Enforcement at 412-244-2923 before starting. 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." Read for this answer: Chapter 128 of the Borough Code, Construction Code, Uniform, in full; Chapter 121, Building Construction, in full; the building construction part of the fee chapter, Section A266-1; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof," for "reroofing" and for "building permit"; the Code Enforcement and Contact pages; and Code.Sys's permit FAQ. Where a permit is needed, building permit applications are made on Code.Sys's website. Chapter 121 says that if work starts before a building permit is issued, "the fees for the acquisition of a permit shall be doubled." The Borough Building is open 8 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.