Roofing in Wilmington 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, Wilmington Township's Building Permits page lists a building inspector with a phone number and a link to that inspector's website, a third-party building inspection firm whose site says it "provides third party building inspections" to municipalities, and a separate zoning officer who takes the Township's own building permit form for work such as fences, sheds, garages and pools; the Township office is at 669 Wilson Mill Road, New Castle. The Township's Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 105, 1987) says in Section 1201.1.1 "A building permit shall be required prior to the erection, addition or alteration of any building or portion thereof resulting in additional useable floor space," and names no roofing; this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an alteration resulting in additional useable floor space. Two of the Township's other ordinance PDFs are scanned images with no readable text and were not read, and the Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code was not published on the pages read, so this record does not decide whether any Township ordinance reaches a house reroof. The Township's pages name no edition of the International Residential Code, while the inspection firm's posted training presentation, "Changes to the Pennsylvania UCC," covers the 2015 edition; this record has not read the 2015 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies to a house.

Wilmington Township's pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. The Township's Building Permits page (read October 12, 2026) says "Interested in building on your Wilmington Township property? Want to put up a fence, shed, deck, pool, or covered porch?" and sends "any type of construction with a roof, such as covered porch, shed, garage, greenhouse, tarp or pole building" to the zoning officer, and "new construction, additions, or garages with electric" to the building inspector; it does not name reroofing. The inspection firm's residential fee list names "Building inspection only- $.10 per square foot (deck, pole buildings, detached accessory structures)" and no residential renovation or reroof line, while its commercial fee list carries "Renovations (reroofing, alterations, changes of occupancy, redesigning spaces, remodeling, etc.)"; that line sits under commercial services, and this record does not decide what it means for a house. The Township's Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 105, 1987) says in Section 1201.1.1 "A building permit shall be required prior to the erection, addition or alteration of any building or portion thereof resulting in additional useable floor space," and names no roofing; this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an alteration resulting in additional useable floor space. Two of the Township's other ordinance PDFs are scanned images with no readable text and were not read, and the Township's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code was not published on the pages read, so this record does not decide whether any Township ordinance reaches a house reroof. 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 the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Township office (724-946-2560) before starting; the building inspector's business phone, listed on the Township's page, is 724-944-7071 and the zoning officer's is 724-944-6340. The Township office is open Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Read for this answer: the Township's home, Building Permits, Planning & Zoning, Ordinances and Frequently Asked Questions pages; the Township's Building Permit form; the Zoning Ordinance; and the inspection firm's home page, applications page, residential permit application, fee pamphlet, plan checklist and training presentation.