Roofing in California City, CA

California City is its own city in eastern Kern County, with its own Building Department, and that department has written its reroof rules down in plain terms. A reroof is on the city's list of work that needs a permit, whether it is an overlay or a full tear-off. Every permit application is made online.

The city's reroof checklist sets two inspections as the minimum: a tear-off inspection and a final, or a pre-roof inspection and a final. For both, a safe ladder has to be tied to the building, and the roofing supplies have to be on site with the maker's specifications so the inspector can check them.

Timing matters here. California City wants inspection requests at least 24 hours ahead, with a written or verbal confirmation, and it inspects Monday through Thursday, 10 to noon or 2 to 4. There are no Friday inspections. A tear-off that finishes on a Thursday afternoon waits for Monday, so the roof has to be dried in and protected over the weekend.

The checklist is also strict about layers. Where a roof already has two or more layers of any kind, it all comes off. Older roofs are sometimes recovered already, so count the layers before planning an overlay.