Short answer: most jurisdictions around San Antonio and the Hill Country require a permit for a roof replacement, and your contractor should pull it. Requirements vary by city, and several small cities here have their own process separate from the county.
Who requires one
Requirements differ by jurisdiction and they do change, so the specific answer for your address comes from your local building department. What is consistent across our market is that incorporated cities generally require a permit for a full replacement, and several of the smaller cities here run their own permitting entirely separate from the surrounding county.
Shavano Park, Helotes, Fair Oaks Ranch and Boerne all have their own processes. Unincorporated areas of Kendall, Comal, Bexar and Kerr counties work differently again. A contractor who works here constantly knows which applies to your street. One who arrived after the last hail storm frequently does not.
Who pulls it
Your contractor should. If a roofer asks you to pull the permit as the homeowner, ask why. It is occasionally legitimate, and it is also a known way for unlicensed or uninsured operators to put the liability on you.
What inspection involves
Depending on the jurisdiction, there may be a decking or dry-in inspection partway through and a final inspection at completion. This is a feature rather than a nuisance. An independent inspector looking at your decking is free verification that the work underneath is sound.
Why skipping it causes problems later
- At resale. Unpermitted work surfaces during a sale and can delay or derail closing.
- On a claim. A carrier can ask whether work was permitted, and unpermitted work complicates coverage.
- With the city. Fines and retroactive permitting are both more expensive than doing it correctly.
- For warranty. Some manufacturer warranties require code compliant installation.
Code items a permit catches
The common ones are number of layers, decking condition and fastening, ice and water shield at required locations, drip edge, and ventilation. Those are exactly the areas where a cheap quote cuts corners, which is part of why permit avoidance correlates with poor work.
If current code requires something your original roof did not have, the cost difference may be covered by ordinance or law coverage on your policy. Worth asking your carrier.
What to ask your contractor
- Which jurisdiction is my address in?
- Will you pull the permit, and is it in your estimate?
- What inspections will happen and when?
- Can you show me permits you have pulled here before?
We pull permits in these jurisdictions constantly and it is part of our scope rather than an extra. Get a written estimate or call (210) 245-4125.
