Do I need a permit for a commercial reroof in LaPlace?

Yes. Louisiana requires permitting and inspection of roof construction and reroofing of commercial structures for projects beginning on or after 1 August 2025, and for buildings other than one and two family dwellings the reference is International Building Code Chapter 15, at La. R.S. 37:3737(I)(1). In LaPlace the permit is issued by St. John the Baptist Parish.

What has to be submitted with it?

The standard list on the form is a completed and signed application, a recorded Act of Sale, Judgment of Possession or deed and the lease, a signed contract, a copy of the contractor's licence, the Office of State Fire Marshal line, a detailed set of complete plans and payment of fees. What the Permit Division accepts for a particular reroof is confirmed with it.

Is Fire Marshal approval needed for a reroof?

The form prints "Office of State Fire Marshal approval for life safety only required" with the contact (225) 925-4911 or sfm.dps.louisiana.gov. We have not found a Fire Marshal statement on reroofing, so we confirm with the Permit Division whether the line applies to the building before filing.

Does my roofer need a state licence for commercial work?

Commercial roofing has its own licence classification, which is separate from the residential roofing classification that applies to houses. The parish form asks for a copy of the contractor's licence, and the number and the classification are worth verifying directly with the State Licensing Board.

Should the existing roof be torn off or recovered?

It is decided on the deck and by the code. International Building Code Chapter 15 Section 1512 bars a recover where two or more existing coverings are already in place, so a recover is only available on a roof carrying one covering that is otherwise sound. Wet insulation under a new membrane fails the new roof and voids most manufacturer warranties.

Can the work happen while the building stays open?

Usually. The roof comes off in sections small enough to be stripped, dried in and made watertight the same day, and areas over plant or stock are sequenced deliberately. It is slower than a vacant building, which is a programme consideration rather than a specification one.

What does the parish charge for a commercial reroof permit?

The commercial application lists Re-Roof as its own commercial permit type. We do not quote parish fees on this page; the Permit Division on (985) 651-5565 confirms the current amount.

Home/Service Areas/Louisiana/LaPlace/Commercial Roof Replacement

Commercial Roof Replacement in LaPlace, LA

Big Easy Roofing replaces low slope commercial roofs across LaPlace and the east bank of St. John the Baptist Parish. The parish has its own commercial permit application with its own standard submittal list, so we build the file before we build the roof.

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Service

City

Tear off or recoverThe first decision

Commercial applicationParish form, revised 6/13/25

Full plan setHard copy and digital

IBC Chapter 15Code route by state statute

LaPlace commercial roof replacement at a glance

A commercial reroof in LaPlace runs on two decisions and one file. The deck decides whether the old assembly is stripped or recovered. The parish Commercial Permit Application decides the file, and its standard submittal list asks for a signed contract, the contractor licence, the deed and lease, and a complete set of plans.

The parish has a commercial form

Revised 6/13/25

St. John the Baptist Parish publishes a Commercial Permit Application, separate from the one used for houses, with Re-Roof as its own box. It goes to the Permit Division through MyGovernmentOnline at mgoconnect.org/cp/portal or in person at 1811 W. Airline Highway in LaPlace.

Contract and licence

Standard submittals

The form lists a "Signed contract." and a "Copy of Contractor's License." among its standard submittal requirements, not among the as needed ones, so both are in hand before the file is lodged.

Deed and lease

Owner and occupier both

The form asks for a "Recorded copy of Act of Sale, Judgment of Possession, or Deed to the property, and lease." On a tenanted building that means the owner's title document and the lease together.

A full plan set

Hard copy and digital

The form asks for a "Detailed set of complete plans" in "one hard copy and digital copy, if available", and says the plans must include the entire scope of work. Building code review questions go to South Central Planning on 985-655-1070.

A Fire Marshal line

Quoted, not interpreted

The same list includes "Office of State Fire Marshal approval for life safety only required." We have not found a Fire Marshal statement on reroofing, so whether that line applies to a given reroof is confirmed before filing.

Ask for the classification

Verify with the Board

Commercial roofing carries its own licence classification, separate from the residential roofing rule that applies to houses. Ask any contractor bidding this work for their Louisiana state licence number and its expiry date, and verify the number and the classification with the State Licensing Board.

This page addresses roofing on buildings treated as nonresidential for licensing and code purposes. Mixed use buildings and residential multifamily need their own classification and code review, because the residential rules run on the character of the structure rather than on what a contract calls the job.

Everything on this page about the parish file is what St. John the Baptist Parish published when we read it in September 2026, not a quote from the office. Commercial roofing itself is priced on area and assembly rather than a published range, so call Big Easy Roofing for a scoped price.

The assemblies we replace and what each one is for

Five systems account for the bulk of low slope commercial roofing. The table sets out what each is suited to and what to watch on it, so a quote can be read against the building and its use rather than against a brand name on the cover sheet of the plan set.

Assembly	What it suits	Typical service life	What to watch
TPO single ply	Large open roofs where a reflective surface is wanted	20 to 30 years	Seam quality is the whole system, and welded seams are only as good as the day they were run
PVC single ply	Kitchens, plant rooms, grease or chemical exposure	20 to 30 years	Costs more than TPO, which is exactly why it is specified where grease is present
EPDM rubber	Simple roofs where a long track record is wanted	20 to 30 years	A black surface absorbs heat, so it is a poorer fit where cooling load matters
Modified bitumen	Smaller roofs, foot traffic, complex detailing	15 to 25 years	Detailing is its strength and the number of laps is where workmanship shows
Built up roofing	Heavy traffic, long established buildings	20 to 30 years	Weight is the constraint, so the deck and structure decide whether it is even an option

Service life assumes the assembly is drained, insulated and detailed properly. Any of the five will fail early on a roof that ponds, so drainage is settled with the membrane rather than after it.

What the parish commercial form asks for before review starts

The parish Building Permits page says a permit is not issued until the completed application has been reviewed, that the review may include building plan review, engineering review and stormwater management review, and that it will not begin until all submittal requirements have been met. On a commercial reroof, the file is the programme.

Permitting and inspection are compulsory

Statewide since 2025

The State Licensing Board for Contractors states that Act 239 requires permitting and inspection of roof construction and reroofing of residential and commercial structures for any project beginning on or after 1 August 2025. It is carried at La. R.S. 37:3737(I) after Act 881 of 2026 recodified the section.

Who confirms the scope

St. John the Baptist Parish

The Permit Division on (985) 651-5565, on the 1st floor of the parish Government Building at 1811 W. Airline Highway in LaPlace, 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday excluding government holidays. The parish Building Permits page carries the commercial form.

Standard submittal requirements

Commercial Permit Application

A completed and signed application; the recorded Act of Sale, Judgment of Possession or deed, and lease; a signed contract; a copy of the contractor's licence; the Fire Marshal line; a detailed set of complete plans; and payment of fees. The form lists these as standard, ahead of a separate list of as needed items.

Two or more layers already bars a recover

IBC Section 1512

International Building Code Chapter 15 Section 1512 bars a recover where two or more existing roof coverings are already in place. Two is the bar, not the limit. Where a survey shows moisture or a second layer, tear off is the answer even where it is the more expensive one.

Which code the building answers to

IBC Chapter 15

Subsection (I)(1) of R.S. 37:3737 routes every building that is not a one or two family dwelling to International Building Code Chapter 15, the roof assemblies chapter. The parish does not publish an edition year on its permits page.

Failing to obtain inspections is a violation

Act 422 of 2025

The Board states that Act 422 makes it a violation of the law for a contractor to fail to obtain a permit, to begin work before the permit is issued, to misrepresent the value or scope of work, or to fail to obtain inspections as required by law.

What we put in the plan set

Our practice, not a parish rule. For a reroof we prepare a roof plan showing drains, curbs, penetrations and the areas to be stripped, with the new assembly detailed from deck to membrane, in paper and digital form. The form says the plans must include the entire scope of work. Our practice is to draw the roof plan to match the work we propose.

Whether the Permit Division wants more for a particular building, such as a site plan, is its decision, and building code questions go to South Central Planning on 985-655-1070 before the file is lodged rather than after.

The Fire Marshal line, read carefully

The form prints: "Office of State Fire Marshal approval for life safety only required. Contact (225) 925-4911 or submit online at sfm.dps.louisiana.gov." That is the whole of what the parish says about it.

We have not found a Fire Marshal statement on reroofing, and we do not guess at one. On a LaPlace commercial reroof we ask the Permit Division whether that line applies to the building in front of us, and where it does, the Office of State Fire Marshal is contacted before the file is lodged.

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Replacing a roof over a building still in use

Most commercial reroofs happen over an occupied building, which changes the sequence more than it changes the specification. Three constraints do the work, and all three are programme decisions taken before the first fastener rather than problems solved on the roof once the crew has already opened the deck.

The building keeps operating, so the roof comes off in sections

Work is broken into areas that can be stripped, dried in and made watertight within the same day, rather than opening more deck than the weather allows. That is slower than a vacant building and it is the only way to protect what is underneath.

It also decides where the tear off starts. Areas over plant, stock or anything that cannot be moved are sequenced deliberately, not left until last by default.

Rooftop plant and penetrations are the real programme

Units, ducts, conduit and drains all have to be lifted, isolated or worked around, and each one is a detail that will leak if it is reinstated badly. Penetrations frequently take longer than the field on a commercial roof.

Where equipment has to be shut down or lifted, that is scheduled with the building and the tenant rather than assumed, because a crane slot and a tenant notice cannot be arranged on the morning.

Tear off or recover is decided on the deck, not the budget

A recover leaves the existing assembly in place and is quicker and cheaper, but it is only available under IBC Section 1512 where the existing roof carries one covering that is otherwise sound.

Wet insulation left under a new membrane fails the new roof and voids most manufacturer warranties. Where a survey shows moisture, the tear off is the answer even though it is the more expensive one.

Big Easy Roofing Process

Four steps. The first two are survey and paperwork, because on a LaPlace commercial building the deck decides the assembly and the parish review does not begin until the file is complete.

A low slope commercial roof during tear off with rooftop plant and drainage visible

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01 Survey the deck and the existing assembly

Moisture, insulation condition, number of existing layers and drainage. This decides tear off or recover before anything is priced, under IBC Section 1512 as much as the survey.

02 Build the parish file

Signed contract, licence copy, deed and lease, the plan set in paper and digital form, and the Fire Marshal question settled, then lodged through MyGovernmentOnline or at the LaPlace counter.

03 Specify the assembly with its insulation and drainage

Membrane, insulation, fastening and falls specified together, with the manufacturer warranty conditions known before the system is chosen rather than after.

04 Phase the work and hand over the records

Sections stripped and dried in the same day, then the permit file with its inspections and the manufacturer warranty file handed over together.

Everything else we do in LaPlace

The rest of the Big Easy Roofing services available in LaPlace, each with its own page and scope of work. A replacement is the point at which drainage, insulation and rooftop penetrations can all be corrected at once, so the commercial repair and coating pages are worth reading alongside this one.

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