Lengthy earlier than the calendar turned to February, snow had been falling throughout the nation for a number of months. In some Colorado cities, the primary snowfall of the season tracks again to October 2024. Usually, the snow piles up on metallic roofs after which slides off, doubtlessly injuring folks and damaging property.
Many sensible roofing contractors working in geographic areas with snow and ice incorporate snow retention merchandise into their roof methods. The proactive steps of utilizing snow guards, fences, and bars can save lives. Not utilizing them could imply a visit again to a mission for a retrofit software.
Nick Pointek with On Level Contracting in Colorado has seen this firsthand. He watched two giant accommodations being constructed side-by-side with steep metallic roofs. Whereas not his mission, he stopped by throughout building to advocate a snow retention system however was not taken up on his recommendation. Then, six months later, after the accommodations had opened, he stopped by once more.
“The resort supervisor was thrilled to speak with me a couple of retrofit snow guard system,” says Pointek. “They’d had a number of snowfalls the place the accrued snow avalanched off the roof.” Pointek notes this was sufficient to persuade them to put money into a bar-style snow guard system with metal-colored strips that matched the inexperienced coloration of the resort’s standing seam metallic roofs.
“After that system was put in each the friends and homeowners slept simpler at evening,” Pointek provides.
Developments in metallic roofing
In the course of the previous a number of years, as metallic roofing has grown in recognition, so has using snow bars and snow fences. In keeping with Lars Walberg, president of Rocky Mountain Snow Guards, these elements are particularly profitable snow retention methods crafted for the slick nature of metallic roofs, significantly standing seam metallic roofs, and most merchandise have distinctive options for metallic roofing.
Bar-style overview
General, the bar fashion is certainly one of three sorts of snow guards used on metallic roofs. It consists of a steady size of rectangular metallic “bar” put in horizontally throughout the roof to type a barrier to snow and ice. The product appears to be like very clear and trendy on a roof.
Usually, just one row of bar-style snow guards is required. This is dependent upon the pitch of the roof, the space from the eave to the height, and the snow load current. Nevertheless, some initiatives require a number of rows to deal with the load.
For a bar-style system, a bracket is mechanically hooked up to the decking or roof construction beneath the metallic roof with screws, or the bracket could also be clamped to the seams of a standing seam roof.
Fence-style overview
Just like bar-style snow guards, this snow guard system has two or extra tubes vertically oriented like a cut up rail fence. These methods are sometimes used on customized houses and in conditions the place a much less trendy look is desired.
As with the bar fashion, two strategies of attachment are used. One is a bolt hooked up to the fence-style snow guard. The opposite is a clamp-attached. Examine the testing information when investing in any snow guard system. Some fence-style snow guard methods are exceptionally robust and may deal with snow a great deal of greater than 366 kg/m2 (75 lbs/sf) or increased.
Snow guard overview
Very often, essentially the most well-known sort of snow retention—particular person small and enormous (low and enormous profile) snow guards—may be hooked up in a sample, often to the flat a part of a metallic roof however typically clamped to the seam. They are often put in on standing seam panel roofs, by means of fixed metallic panel roofs, and on most metallic shingles.
There are snow guards obtainable from many producers of metals and plastics. Snow guards are hooked up to the roof floor by adhering with liquid adhesive or tape. They might even be hooked up mechanically with screws that penetrate the metallic panel and grip the wooden decking or substructure beneath the metallic roof. A second class of snow guards clamp to the seam of a standing seam metallic roof.
Photo voltaic panels and snow retention
Because the earth experiences its hottest days ever, persons are transferring to seize the solar’s power with roofing photo voltaic panels. However when the climate turns snowy,
these create a few of the slickest roof surfaces conceivable.
“The bottom line is to guard folks and property from snow accumulating beneath the photo voltaic panels as they maintain working,” says Walberg. “There must be a ‘catch basin’ for the snow because it slides off the photo voltaic panels and earlier than it falls off the roofs.”
Designed particularly for snow retention beneath photo voltaic panel installations, aluminum snow retention methods guarantee no snow slips previous the snow fence. Appropriate for each new roof and retrofit roof functions, the brackets should be bolted all the way down to the roof assist construction.
Some snow guard producers provide free snow retention plans designed from architectural plans or satellite tv for pc roof studies. Contact corporations to find out the assist obtainable on your subsequent mission.
