FireApproved
On this page
  1. Why it matters
  2. How the scope works
  3. The paths
  4. What people mix up
  5. How to check
  6. Limits
  7. Related records
  8. Sources

Home / Guides / Oregon R327 practice / R327 remodels when the answer is no

R327 remodels when the answer is no

Last verified 2026-08-25.

This page is Oregon law. See When R327 hits an ADU, garage, or shop.

Typical additions and element swaps on a pre-R327 house are not an R327 job. Oregon BCD’s local-adoption FAQ says the section applies to new construction of new buildings governed by the ORSC. Deschutes County’s page says additions do not have to meet fire-hardening. If the dwelling was born under R327, later work stays under it. Confirm with the building official.

You are swapping siding on a 1998 house. BCD’s FAQ says R327 is new construction of new buildings. An originally-R327 house is different. Ask before you spec listed vents on a reroof.

Why it matters

People hear “wildfire code” and assume a kitchen addition or a re-roof is a full R327 plan. That is how drawings pick up listed vents they do not need, or skip voluntary hardening they still want.

How the scope works

BCD’s FAQ cites ORS 455.433. R327 applies to new construction of new ORSC buildings. Activities such as replacement of roofing or siding on existing structures would not be subject to Section R327.

The other side of the same FAQ: if the dwelling or qualifying accessory structure was subject to R327 at original construction, later alterations, additions, or repairs are subject.

Deschutes County’s public FAQ is shorter: fire-hardening requirements of R327 are not required on additions.

Manufactured homes are outside ORSC. HUD plus an Oregon installation code. Not this remodel path.

The paths

1. Older house, typical addition or swap. Answer is no for R327 as a mandate. You may still follow BCD’s voluntary home-hardening guide when you replace exterior elements.

2. House originally built to R327. Later work is in. Spec the same paths as new construction for the elements you touch.

3. Disaster reconstruction. BCD points at ORSC R102. A legally existing building damaged by fire, wind, flood, earthquake, or similar may be reconstructed as it existed if it did not contain unsafe conditions before the damage. That is a reconstruction rule, not a promise you can ignore a red-tag.

4. New detached ADU on an older lot. That is a new dwelling, not a remodel. See ADU and shops.

Do not treat IBHS, Firewise USA, or a carrier checklist as R327. See IBHS does not replace code.

What people mix up

  • Pasting listed 8165 vents onto a re-roof that is not an R327 permit.
  • Skipping voluntary mesh or metal gutters because “the answer is no.” No mandate is not a ban on hardening.
  • Treating Deschutes County’s addition FAQ as a statewide statute. The BCD FAQ is the statewide public document. The county page is county practice.
  • Calling a seminar slide a BCD ruling. The 25 June 2026 Central Oregon seminar is event testimony. This page cites the FAQ and the amendment.

How to check

  1. Was the existing building built under R327? Permit history, not a guess.
  2. Is the work an addition, alteration, repair, or a new building?
  3. Read BCD’s two FAQ answers (existing buildings versus originally-R327 buildings).
  4. Ask the official. Put their path on the drawings if they require one.

Limits

This page does not decide your permit. It does not quote private email. It does not tell you to skip insurance checklists. It does not apply where R327 was never adopted. See the adoption dataset.

ADU and shops, R327 versus CWUIC, gutters, how to read a listing.

Sources

  1. BCD local-adoption FAQ
  2. 2023 ORSC Section R327 amendment
  3. Deschutes County Fire Hardening Requirements (R327)
  4. BCD wildfire hazard mitigation

Questions

Does my addition have to meet R327?

Oregon BCD’s FAQ says no for typical additions, alterations, and repairs of existing buildings, including replacement of roofing or siding. Deschutes County’s R327 page says the same for additions. If the house was originally built to R327, later work is also subject to it.

I am only swapping windows. Is that R327?

BCD names replacement of roofing or siding on existing structures as not subject to R327. Window swaps sit in that same “existing building” bucket unless the official says otherwise. Confirm. Dual-pane as multilayered glazing is a different question on a new dwelling.

The house burned. Does the rebuild have to meet R327?

BCD’s FAQ says that under ORSC R102, a legally existing building damaged by fire or similar events may be reconstructed as it existed if it did not contain unsafe conditions before the damage. That is not a blank check. Read R102 and ask the official.

Can I still harden the remodel?

Yes. BCD’s wildfire page says home-hardening measures may be followed voluntarily for new construction and when replacing exterior elements of existing construction, including where R327 has not been adopted. Voluntary is not a mandate.

Sources