In Conshohocken Borough, replacing a roof takes a building permit and a one-page roofing addendum, both filed with Licenses and Inspections at Borough Hall before work starts. The borough’s form says the permit has to be issued and posted on the job site before work begins. Each neighboring municipality runs its own permit office with its own rules, so the answer depends on which side of the borough line the house sits.

Conshohocken Borough

Licenses and Inspections, part of the borough’s Operations Department, issues permits for roofs among other work. The office is at Borough Hall, 400 Fayette Street, Suite 200, and the borough’s main number is 610-828-1092. Borough Hall is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

What to file

  • The building permit application, with “Roof” checked as the type of work. The application asks whether there is a written contract between the owner and the contractor, and says a copy must be attached if there is one.
  • The roof permit application addendum, which the borough uses for re-roofing only. It must be completed and submitted with the building permit, and it is signed by the owner.

What the addendum asks

The addendum asks for the number and type of existing layers, whether the existing roof is a sound base for another layer, how many layers will be removed, the new roofing product and its warranty, the approximate pitch, the number of squares (a square is 10 feet by 10 feet), the flashing and how it will be installed, the attic ventilation, whether skylights are going in, whether ice and water shield will run at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and whether drip edge will go along every eave.

Those questions also make a good checklist for comparing quotes. A quote that does not answer them leaves out something the borough will ask about.

The borough’s re-roofing rules

The addendum says all work must conform to the 2021 International Residential Code or International Building Code, and it sets out these rules:

  • A new roof covering cannot go on over the old one when the existing roof is not an adequate base, when the existing covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or when the roof already has two or more layers.
  • A maximum of two asphalt, fiberglass or low-slope roofing systems are permitted, and a new roof may not be installed over slate, wood shake, asbestos or clay tile.
  • Roof sheathing must be at least 1/2 inch over rafters 16 inches on center. Rafters more than 16 inches apart need at least 5/8 inch sheathing with H clips.
  • Flashing must be rebuilt following the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
  • Ventilation must meet a net free area of at least 1 to 150 of the space ventilated, or 1 to 300 when the vents are split between high and low positions or a vapor barrier is installed, as the form describes. The form asks whether the owner was told that inadequate ventilation may void the manufacturer’s warranty.
  • A low-slope roof under a 4/12 pitch needs special flashing around a skylight.

Torch-down roofs

The addendum has a separate section for torch-down roofing. It says all hot work and torch-down roofing needs an operational permit with a $75 fee, and tells the applicant to contact the Conshohocken Fire Marshal’s Office at 610-828-1092 before any work is done. It requires a two-hour fire watch after the day’s work ends, two 20-pound ABC fire extinguishers in the work area, and propane tanks removed from the roof at the end of each work day.

Fees

The building permit application lists the residential building permit fee as a minimum of $50 for work up to $1,000, plus $10 for each additional $1,000 or part of $1,000. As a worked example from that schedule, a $15,000 re-roof would carry a building permit fee of $50 plus 14 times $10, or $190. Confirm the total with the borough when you apply, since the application lists other charges as well.

Plymouth Township

Plymouth Township’s residential code package, last revised in April 2022, lists the work it treats as ordinary repair that needs no permit from the township. Replacing existing roof material is on that list when it covers no more than 25% of the total roof area within any 12-month period. Larger roof replacements fall outside the list, and the package says any work not listed requires the appropriate permit.

Plymouth bases residential permit fees on the contract price and requires a copy of the signed contract with every application. Its fee table adds a 20% administrative charge and a $4.50 state Uniform Construction Code fee to the plan review and inspection fee. For a job between $10,001 and $25,000, the review and inspection fee is $220 for the first $10,000 plus $13.08 for each additional $1,000 or part of $1,000. The township building is at 700 Belvoir Road in Plymouth Meeting, and the package lists 610-277-4100. Check the current schedule with the township, since the package is dated 2022.

West Conshohocken Borough

West Conshohocken posts a building permit form, a contractor registration form and a fee schedule on its forms and permits page. Ask the borough office whether your roof job needs a permit before the roofer starts.

Whitemarsh Township

Whitemarsh Township’s building permits page says that anyone who intends to repair or alter a building, or to have that work done, must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit. Call the township’s building department to confirm what a roof replacement needs.

Who pulls the permit

The Conshohocken application can be signed by the owner or by someone the owner has authorized to act as agent, and the signer takes full responsibility for the work. Whoever files it, the permit is issued for your property. Ask to see it posted before the tear-off starts, and keep a copy with the contract and the insurance certificate.