Frost Depth & Snow Load in Ohio (2026)
21 rules on the books across Ohio, 10 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Frost Line Depth
How deep footings must go below finished grade to sit under the frost line, as adopted locally in IRC Table R301.2 or an amendment to R403.1.4.
Ohio: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsOhio does not set a statewide frost line depth. The Residential Code of Ohio leaves that column blank and directs each…
Read full rule →Summit County
Significant RestrictionsSummit County Building Standards sets a frost line depth of 38 inches, the deepest in Ohio we have found, and it…
Read full rule →Cincinnati
Some RestrictionsCincinnati requires footings a minimum of 30 inches below grade: the shallowest figure of any Ohio city we cover, and…
Read full rule →Cleveland
Some RestrictionsCleveland sets footing depth in its own codified building code, and gives houses a shallower figure than everything…
Read full rule →Columbus
Some RestrictionsColumbus sets its frost line depth at 32 inches, published by the Department of Building and Zoning Services in the…
Read full rule →Dayton
Some RestrictionsDayton requires footings to reach a minimum depth of 32 inches from finish grade to the bottom of the footing, answered…
Read full rule →Dublin
Some RestrictionsDublin fills in the frost line depth Ohio leaves blank, setting it at 36 inches: a figure the city states twice, in its…
Read full rule →Lucas County
Some RestrictionsLucas County Building Regulations sets a frost line depth of 36 inches minimum below finish grade, established for the…
Read full rule →Montgomery County
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County Building Regulations sets a frost depth of 32 inches, and its jurisdiction reaches every township in…
Read full rule →Toledo
Some RestrictionsToledo publishes a frost line depth of 36 inches minimum in a Toledo-specific design criteria table issued by its…
Read full rule →Ground Snow Load
The ground snow load in pounds per square foot (Pg) the jurisdiction adopted, which sets what roofs and structures must be designed to carry.
Ohio: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsOhio leaves the ground snow load column of its design criteria table blank, directing each jurisdiction to fill it in…
Read full rule →Cleveland
Light RestrictionsCleveland sets a ground snow load of 30 pounds per square foot in the design criteria sheet its Building and Housing…
Read full rule →Columbus
Few RestrictionsColumbus adopts a ground snow load of 20 pounds per square foot, the figure Ohio's code leaves for each jurisdiction to…
Read full rule →Dublin
Few RestrictionsDublin completes Ohio's blank ground snow load column with 20 pounds per square foot, one of the lowest adopted figures…
Read full rule →Lucas County
Few RestrictionsLucas County establishes a ground snow load of 20 pounds per square foot, matching the City of Toledo and the rest of…
Read full rule →Montgomery County
Few RestrictionsMontgomery County adopts a ground snow load of 20 pounds per square foot for both residential and commercial design…
Read full rule →Toledo
Few RestrictionsToledo adopts a ground snow load of 20 pounds per square foot in the Toledo-specific design criteria table its Division…
Read full rule →Roof Snow Load
The minimum roof or flat-roof design snow load (Pf), a different quantity from ground snow load, where the jurisdiction adopts its own figure.
Deck Footing Depth
How deep deck and porch footings must be set, plus the size, attachment and permit thresholds that apply to decks specifically.
Building Design Criteria
The full set of local design criteria, wind speed, seismic design category, weathering, termite risk and ice-barrier requirements, as adopted.
Ohio: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsOhio pre-fills four design criteria for the whole state, 115 mph wind speed, severe weathering, moderate to heavy…
Read full rule →Cleveland
Some RestrictionsCleveland's design criteria sheet sets seismic category B, Severe weathering and required ice shield underlayment, and…
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