Roof Pitch For Snow Country

Massive snow suddenly sliding off a roof sometimes kills the unsuspecting caught below it.

Roof pitch for snow country.

Roof pitches of 3 12 4 12 5 12 or 6 12 work best for metal buildings in snow country. Alpine design basics 360niseko. If the design necessitates a roof slope that drains onto a traffic area snow retention devices should be provided to hold the snow in place. My house has a 12 12 pitch metal roof with concealed fasteners snow never gets more than 2 inches deep before it goes flying whenever 2 roof planes meet i e.

I also share a little about why we did not build an earthship as we had planned because of the climate here. Managing snow on roofs mountain ts hendricks ture. So in general the shallower pitch can be more dangerous with bigger slides. The higher the roof pitch the more often the snow slides off.

A minimum slope of 1 inch per foot is recommended in snow country. I am thinking of removing the two layers of shingles and installing trusses on the present roof deck to increase the roof pitch so that snow would slide off a metal roof. Roof pitch for snow country. Anything less than 1 12 pitch is a huge mistake in snow prone.

I have already begun the research to build a pole barn. Hi brian i just completed a house directly south of you in leavenworth. Cheltenham town offer pitch update installing snow guards metal estimating roof pitch determining have your flat roof and snow too sheet. The 1 4 inch per foot slope was not adequate.

If you are building a new roof however consider the climate to determine the correct pitch and proper materials. Anything over a 6 12 pitch tends to make massive amounts of snow slide off the roof without warning. Some time ago an article in fine homebuilding addressed roof designs in snow country. This will extend the life of your roof.

However the larger factor is that when the sun comes out radiant heat passes through the snow is reflected outward melts the snow from underneath and causes it to slide. The safest way to determine the pitch of an existing roof is to measure from inside your attic using a level tape measure and pencil. In the video above i explain the importance of roof pitch when it comes to snow. The standing seam metal roof on this ice hockey rink leaked like a sieve a few weeks after the first snow arrived.

The total snowfall last winter was over 250 inches. Out of this snow storm an idea was conceived to create a shop that would replace the old cabin. My gable roof has a pitch of 2 1 2 in 12 and two layers of asphalt shingles. Valleys dormers it seems to form a snow wedge that as david said can have impressive density and depth.

The conclusion was to avoid avalanches by building a 4 12 roof pitch with non sliding roofing material such as asphalt.