As the days begin to warm and we begin to forget the chill of a winter morning, properly designing a roof for a snowy climate from the ground up may also become forgotten. Don’t let the promise of spring distract you as you design roofs. While on the surface a roof design may look balanced, a simple factor could affect the roof’s ability to handle the weight of snow more than you might think. Roofing materials in snowy climates tend to wear out faster. Also, maintaining your roof costs more in both time and money. Reduce these additional hassles using a properly designed roof from the beginning. Use materials that perform best under wind and snowy conditions. The following basics for roof designs in snowy climates shall help guide you through the factors needed for your next roofing project.
Roof Angles
Roof angles can be either necessary or disastrous in snowy climates. It all depends on how you place them. An angled roof handles greater loads more structurally than a flat roof. A flat roof collapses under much less snow weight than a sloped roof. Also, during the constant freezing and thawing of a typical winter, an angled roof allows the melting snow to move down and off the roof. On a flat roof, the melting snow has nowhere to go. As a result, it just sits and freezes. It then becomes an even heavier block of ice under the snow. This adds more stress on the roof in pounds per square foot than an angled roof. No one should choose a flat roof if they live in a snowy climate. Roofs in snowy climates should have a slope of at least a 10-degree pitch minimum. A steeper angled roof sheds the snow more quickly.
While the angle of the roof helps shed snow, adding too many angles to the roof for a more aesthetic effect could cause structural problems with snow shedding in the wintertime. Complex designs with many angles and corners disrupt the roof’s ability to shed snow. Snow tends to get bogged down at each angle it encounters. Design your roof for water and heavy snow to easily escape.
Roof Materials
The roofing materials used also affect your roof’s ability to shed snow. By far the best roofing material for shedding snow is metal. It has very little resistance. The sun warms up the entire sheet allowing it to slide right off. Other materials usually come in small sections that cascade down the roof. This provides resistance slowing down the melting process. The longer it takes for snow and water to run off the roof, the higher the chance that it will refreeze and create an ice dam. However, metal roofing comes with a high price-tag. Alternatively, Asphalt shingles are the second-best snowy weather roofing material. Though not as smooth and conductive as a metal roof, asphalt shingles still allow melting and sliding from the roof. They also cost much less than metal. Choosing darker colors also increases the melting of snow.
Openings
Also, consider how many openings you have on your roof. Each opening provides an opportunity for water to get into the house. Examples of openings include vents from bathrooms, skylights, chimneys, etc. When properly installed, these openings will not allow water to get inside. However, if the materials that seal the openings deteriorate or get damaged, water would easily slip into the house on a warm winter afternoon. Therefore, ensure you have experienced roofing contractions for your next roofing project.
Whether building a new roof or re-covering an old one, call Specialty Home Products to discuss basics for your roof design options with an experienced contractor. Any buildings or structures in a snowy climate are susceptible to roof collapse if not designed properly. In northern climates, the roof of each structure must follow certain snow load requirements by code. A construction engineer can help determine the proper load support needed based on the area the homes are located. If you are unsure if your roof follows the basics of roof designs for snowy climates or are properly designed and prepared for snowy seasons, contact a specialist at Specialty Home Products and we will send out a representative to check your roof for possible problems.