Not everyone who lives in a snowy climate needs to worry about the weight of rooftop snow, but the key to staying safe all winter is knowing if you’re one of the people who does need to keep an eye on snow buildup. Many areas have regular winter thaw periods that minimize snow buildup, as well as moderate precipitation that minimizes the number of major accumulation events in a year. Those home owners typically don’t need to worry about the weight of snow on their roofs because it’s never more than the roof is rated to bear. What about those people who live in places like northern Minnesota or Michigan’s Upper Peninsula? Accumulation can reach five or even ten feet regularly between thaws, and there are a lot of winters that don’t see a thaw between November and April.
Roof Load Measurement Devices
For home owners in snowy climates, the key to safety is regular measurement of the snow load on the roof. With an accurate roof snow load measurement device, you will be notified if the load reaches a weight that requires you to clear the roof. Since clearing weight off the roof in the snow is itself a safety risk, these devices help you avoid extra chores when your roof is well below carrying capacity. If you see the roof load approaching and the forecast says more snow is on its way, you can even engage professionals to clear it before there’s any safety issue to worry about. That means no rooftop chores for yourself. Sometimes it’s also cheaper to get your roof cleared when you can make an appointment instead of calling for immediate service. That depends a lot on your provider, though.
Also, you can get an insurance as support to prevent your roof collapse. This is a safety precaution for the home owners and business professionals.
What Is a Safe Roof Load?
Since construction codes differ from location to location and sometimes from building style to building style, it’s important to do your research into the safe roof snow load for your home. Often, the professionals who install and calibrate the devices for you will have insight into the best practices for maintaining safe snow loads on your roof.
If your roof is damaged by snow and looks like it’s in danger of collapse, do not take any risk to stay inside or attempt to remove it from the roof. Evacuate the premises and contact a structural engineer who can assess the problems and provide you best advice how to solve the problem.
It’s worth taking any additional considerations they bring up into account when figuring out your own winter roof maintenance plan or roof replacement Vaughan, because often they see real-world scenarios that go above and beyond the anticipations of the building code. A safe load might wind up being less than you originally thought, but the good news is that when you have a tool to measure accumulation, you can tell exactly when you’re approaching that limit.