What Are The Atlanta City Code Requirements for Reroofing?

Needing a new roof in Atlanta means you'll have to work through the city codes that have become much stricter since Georgia overhauled its building standards after Hurricane David hit back in 1979. Most homeowners want easy answers about permit requirements, and they need to know if their contractor actually understands all the local requirements that could bring everything to a halt.

Atlanta's reroofing codes are completely different from what you'll find in the surrounding counties, and they include some very exact laws for homeowners. When an inspection fails, work stops, and it can add a few weeks to your timeline and $1000s to your budget. Insurance will reject claims when installations don't meet the code, and homeowners have to pay for the damage. The worst part is that this was completely avoidable.

Atlanta has laws on reroofing projects - it just updated some of its big ordinances earlier this year with new cool roof standards for commercial buildings and revised permit submission procedures. They now need you to apply in person during set hours.

Here's what you're going to need in Atlanta so you can reroof with confidence!

How to Get Your Roofing Permit

Atlanta has some pretty strict laws for roofing permits, and the threshold that matters is 25%. Some homeowners think they can split the work up over different months or bring in different contractors to get around the requirement. But the city tracks this, and they'll catch it.

All roof permit applications go through the Department of Planning and Community Development. They're the ones who review your paperwork and give you the green light to start the work. The city actually streamlined this whole system back in 2018, which was a big improvement. Applications that used to sit on desks for weeks now get processed in just a few days for most residential projects.

Most contractors take care of the permit paperwork for you because they work with these applications all the time and know just what the city wants to see. That said, you're not completely off the hook - the city will ask you to give them a few documents like your property survey and proof that you actually own the place.

The permit fees depend on how big and involved your project is. For a standard residential reroof, you're probably looking at $200 - $300 in fees. More involved projects will run higher. But any decent contractor should be able to give you a pretty close estimate of these costs when they put together your quote.

Many homeowners believe that small repairs don't need permits, and this will get them into hot water. If you're just replacing a handful of shingles after a storm, then you're probably fine without one. But once you get past basic patchwork and maintenance, the city usually wants to see a permit. The city inspectors drive around and check for this work pretty regularly!

Georgia's Two Layer Roof Rule

The reasoning behind this law makes sense once you think about the weight involved. Your home's roof structure was engineered to support a certain amount of weight, and each layer of shingles you add puts thousands of extra pounds up there. Older homes, in particular, run into problems with this because their rafters and decking just weren't built to support that load. Push them too far and you're dealing with structural problems. Water damage turns into a problem once multiple roof layers get involved. Every time you add shingles over the old ones, they create these little pockets where moisture collects and can't escape. That trapped water sits between the layers, and pretty soon the wood starts to rot and the mold takes hold. A small leak that would've been easy to fix on a single-layer roof suddenly spreads to a much bigger area because the water spreads sideways between the layers.

Back in 2009, Georgia officially adopted the International Residential Code - it's when this 2-layer limit became the law across the entire state. Prior to that adoption, different counties and municipalities had their own laws, and some were quite a bit more lenient than others. Now everybody's working from the same set of laws.

Inspectors have a few different methods they use to check how many layers you have up there. They'll usually check the thickness right at the edge of your roof first. Wavy or uneven shingles are another dead giveaway that multiple layers are present. An inspector might actually pull back a small section of shingles to count the layers in some cases - they want to be completely sure about what they're looking at.

The cost difference between adding a layer and doing a tear-off is big, and I won't sugarcoat it - sometimes a tear-off can actually double your total project cost. But trying to cut corners and add an illegal 3rd layer could cause structural damage that eventually runs you into 5-figure repair territory. At that point, the money you thought you were saving turns into a drop in the bucket compared to what you'll have to spend fixing the mess. Disposal is another factor that changes your timeline and your budget. Atlanta has fairly strict laws about how old roofing materials need to be disposed of, and even though your contractor usually takes care of all the logistics, you still need to account for the extra time and expense in your planning.

Commercial buildings occasionally qualify for exceptions when they can show the right structural engineering reports to prove their building can support the weight. But residential properties almost never meet those laws - the standards are just too stringent for common home construction.

Materials Must Meet Wind Standards

Atlanta takes roofing materials very seriously, and for valid reasons, the city has become so strict about it. All roofing material used in the city has to be able to stand winds as high as 110 miles per hour - it's no small requirement. Atlanta sits right in the middle of Wind Zone 2, which matters when the storm season rolls around each year.

The April 2011 tornado outbreak that ripped through North Georgia changed the conversation about roof standards in the area. Those storms left a mark on the community and fundamentally shifted the way that local officials think about building codes. Property owners can't pick whatever materials look nice or cost the least anymore - they have actual standards to meet.

Those ASTM ratings printed on the shingle packages are actually worth paying attention to when you're shopping for materials. Insurance businesses care about the materials you've chosen for your roof. Better materials can mean lower premiums. The difference is small from month to month, sure. But the savings do accumulate over the years.

Materials that work great in other parts of the country won't necessarily work for Atlanta properties. Wood shakes are one example - they have that classic rustic look that plenty of homeowners love. The problem is that local fire codes ban them on most properties. Once you weigh the fire hazard against all the safer alternatives that are available now, the choice makes itself.

Commercial buildings have to follow an even stricter set of laws. Since 2015, when Atlanta adopted its Commercial Energy Conservation Code, flat commercial roofs have been increasingly designed with energy efficiency as a primary concern. White membranes and reflective coatings have become the standard for new commercial construction largely because these materials do a great job of keeping the heat out and keeping buildings cooler during those brutal summer months.

Uplift resistance measures how well your roof materials stay attached to your building when strong winds try to peel them away. The edges and corners of your roof are especially vulnerable. The wind wants to grab onto these areas first. The right fastening techniques and quality sealing materials at these points can be the difference between minor storm damage and catastrophic roof failure.

How the Inspection Process Works

The ventilation laws are where most contractors run into problems. Atlanta uses what is known as the 1-300 law for ventilation calculations. What that means is that you need 1 square foot of ventilation for every 300 square feet of attic space you have. The math itself isn't hard. But contractors sometimes forget to account for problems like blocked soffits or painted-over vents, and then the whole project fails the inspection right at that point.

After all the work is finished, you'll need to pass that final inspection. The inspector will check over the completed roof to verify that all your shingles were installed following the manufacturer's specifications. That every bit of flashing has been sealed. They're also going to compare everything they see against what was originally listed on your permit application to make sure it all matches up.

The upside is that Atlanta finally moved to an online portal for inspection scheduling, and it's much better than the old phone system everyone had to use before. The downside is that during the busy season in spring and summer, you could be waiting 3 to 5 days just to get an appointment. Everyone seems to think that they need a new roof at the same time, and the city inspection department gets completely overwhelmed.

One change from 2020 that's made a difference is that Atlanta will now let contractors use video inspections for some parts of the job. Your contractor can just record what they need to show and send it, which beats having everyone stand around and wait for an inspector to drive out and look at it in person. The whole process moves much faster. That's also the case with basic repair jobs that an inspector can review from a video.

When a roof doesn't pass the inspection, all work stops. The inspector leaves behind a form that lists all the problems that need to be fixed. You won't be able to continue any work until those problems are fixed, and you'll have to pay an extra re-inspection fee to have them come back out. The silver lining here is that most inspectors do want to see your project succeed, and they'll usually take the time to explain what changes you need to make to pass on the next round.

What You Need to Know About Contractors

Homeowners in Atlanta ask me all the time if they need a contractor or if they can just do the roofing work on their own. The city actually does let you pull your own permits for DIY roofing projects. Insurance businesses have become extremely strict about self-installed roofs lately, and most of them won't cover the work at all.

The city needed to help with all the storm chasers that kept showing up year after year. Atlanta finally put its foot down in 2016 with new contractor registration laws that make it much harder for random out-of-town crews to show up after hailstorms and take deposits from homeowners who don't know any better and then disappear without doing any of the work. These extra requirements were way overdue, and they actually do protect homeowners from contractors who try to take unfair advantage when bad weather causes an emergency situation.

Liability is another big issue that most homeowners never think about. If an unlicensed worker gets hurt on your property, then you're the one who has to pay for their medical bills and lost wages. Licensed contractors always carry workers' comp insurance that covers their crew and protects you from any legal problems. Georgia's State Licensing Board has an online database that makes it easy to check if a contractor is licensed. You can search for any contractor in the state and see their status right there on the screen. The whole process takes maybe 5 minutes at most, and you should do this check every time you sign a contract or put down any money.

Your manufacturer's warranty is another part of the whole picture that ties back to the right licensing. Big roofing manufacturers like GAF and CertainTeed have very strict policies stating that they won't honor their product warranties unless the installation was completed by a licensed professional. The years of warranty protection you're counting on could disappear if you hire the wrong person for the job.

One more point worth mentioning - general contractors can also pull roofing permits in most cases. They don't necessarily have to specialize exclusively in roofing work as long as they have the right general contractor's license and the experience to complete the project safely and correctly.

Protect The Roof Over Your Head

The best part about Atlanta's building codes is that you don't have to figure them out on your own. These contractors work with permit applications and code compliance every day, so, as most homeowners find the whole process confusing and frustrating, for them, it's just another Tuesday.

At Colony Roofers, we've been in the roofing business for a long time and have headquarters across Georgia, Florida, and Texas. We work on commercial and residential projects every day. Because we've worked with these local building codes for years, we know the ins and outs that can trip up contractors who aren't as familiar with the area.

The permit process alone can be a headache if you don't know what you're doing. But we take care of that paperwork and red tape as part of our standard service.

Your roof is one of the biggest investments you'll make in your property, and it's literally the structure that protects your family. Professional roofers who know the laws and codes will get the job done right the first time around.

Call today for a free inspection, and we'll check out your roof's condition and talk about what needs to happen next!