Re-Roofing Permits and Inspections

Effective January 1, 1993 a building permit is required to re-roof all structures within the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County, except one-story detached accessory buildings used for tool, garage, carport, and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses less than 500 sq.ft. Procedures to implement this requirement are outlined below: The applicant for a permit to re-roof a building shall specify the type of new roof covering material, the Class of this material. (Class B or greater is required), the existing roofing material and whether replacement or overlay will be used. Any alterations to the existing roof sheathing or framing shall also be described.

When a built-up roof is proposed, the applicant shall provide documentation to demonstrate that the proposed assembly has a rating as required for the type of occupancy being re-roofed, and in no case less than Class B.

The building permit fee shall be based at the current building inspection hourly rate for all residential structures and all other structures not more than 5000 square feet of roof area, additional charges will apply at the current building inspection hourly rate for all structures other than those described above. If a plan review is required, the plan review fee shall be 65% of the building permit fee. Contact the Building Information Line for current fees.
Re-roofing inspections shall be as follows, unless otherwise authorized or required by the building inspector:

Because reroofing jobs ore typically of short duration, it is not reasonable to expect that the crew will be idle for several hours while waiting for an inspection. The person requesting the inspection may call the department the morning of the inspection and request the inspection at a given time. The inspector will attempt to accommodate this request, and the roofer is not required to wait longer than 30 minutes past this time before proceeding at his/her own risk. If the inspector arrives at the site more than 30 minutes after the requested time, the inspection will proceed based upon what is visible, and deficiencies found must be corrected whether covered up or uncovered. However, in the absence of observed deficiencies, material installed under these conditions will not be required to be removed.

The person doing the work shall be responsible for providing safe access to the roof for the inspector. Safe access shall generally mean meeting OSHA requirements. If ladders, scaffolding, or other means of access are unsafe or unavailable, the inspection will not be performed and approval to continue the installation of roofing will not be given.

The inspector may require that safe access be provided to the attic area if necessary to inspect the structural integrity of the roof.

When a roof coving is replaced in kind, the existing roof is not required to meet present codes. However, it must be structurally sound and capable of performing adequately. When existing roof covering is overlaid with new material, or when roofing is replaced with a heavier material, the roof shall meet present code requirements for the new loads. The inspector may require a permit to be revised and plans or a load analysis to be prepared and submitted for review if the existing roof construction appears to be inadequate for the intended load or in a deteriorated condition.

If the existing ventilation is inadequate, the inspector shall so inform the applicant. If deterioration due to inadequate ventilation is observed, the deficiencies related to ventilation must be corrected. However, the ventilation is not required to comply with present codes unless the roof is being reconstructed.