Cities have different ways of handling reshingling

Contractors and homeowners who are replacing shingles have to pay attention to local building codes, which often carry different requirements for the job from city to city.

Here's how some area cities handle reshingling permits:

Dilworth

Dilworth has required reshingling permits for more than a decade.

Residential Building Inspector Milt Opatril said he pushed for the permits after noticing that contractors and homeowners were incorrectly installing waterproof covering under their shingles or skipping the step altogether.

Opatril said he inspects job sites before work begins to ensure the proper materials are being used and venting and flashings are installed correctly. The $25 flat fee charged for the permit pays for his time and office staff, he said.

"It's not a moneymaker, but building inspections aren't supposed to be," he said. "We're just supposed to stay out of the red."

Dilworth issued seven reshingling permits and four reshingling and residing permits in 1997. But with the Sept. 21, 2007, hailstorm, the city issued permits for 214 reshingling jobs and 228 reshingling and residing jobs last year.

"It wouldn't even be called a surge," Opatril said. "More like a tsunami."

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Sioux Falls has required permits for reshingling jobs for more than 30 years, said Ron Bell, the city's chief building official.

Following a hailstorm in 1992, the city, under pressure from the local home builders association, also began requiring that residential contractors be licensed and bonded with the city.

"We had a lot of people that came into Sioux Falls and became contractors overnight, and they would not get permits, and we found all sorts of code violations," Bell said. "But the worst part is we had all sorts of disreputable contractors come in and rip people off, and that's what changed our minds."

Sioux Falls now has about 650 licensed residential contractors, he said. Each contractor must provide a "compliance" bond of $10,000. If city inspectors find that the contractor's work isn't up to code and the contractor refuses to fix the error, the city allows the homeowner to use the money to hire someone else to do the job correctly, Bell said.

Grand Forks, N.D.

Like Sioux Falls, Grand Forks requires reshingling permits, and roofing contractors also must be bonded and licensed in the city, said Marsha Berg, office specialist in the Building Inspections Department.

The minimum permit fee for reshingling is $26 for jobs valued at $500 or less.

Inspections aren't mandatory for reshingling jobs on owner-occupied homes, but the city urges homeowners to call for inspections, Berg said. Reshingling jobs on rental homes must be inspected.

Bismarck, N.D.

Bismarck, a city hit hard by hailstorms in 2001, 2002 and 2005, does not require permits for reshingling, which has surprised some out-of-state contractors over the years, city Building Official Ray Ziegler said.

"I wish we had the manpower to go out and do that kind of stuff, because it does generate complaints and a lot of questions from homeowners," he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528