Snow Weight On Flat Roof

3 5 inches of old snow is equal to one inch of water or about 5 lbs.

Snow weight on flat roof.

Snow won t slide off. Estimate the weight of snow on your roof. Contact your local building code department to determine the snow load requirements for your area. Since snow falls at slow steady speeds large quantities of snow can fall on the roof resulting in bowing.

If your roof is pitched enter the length and width of the flat area covered by the roof. What s the weight of snow on a roof. Two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could weigh as much as 60 lbs. This down bearing pressure can cause the roof to bow and result in ponding under the roof structure.

House roofs should support 20 lbs square foot of snow before they become stressed. Per square foot of roof space which is beyond the typical snow load capacity of most roofs. That s more than 22 tons. You need to supply the following information.

To calculate the weight of snow on a roof use the first two sections of our snow load calculator. Length and width of your roof. As snow falls it can accumulate on your flat roof putting unnecessary weight on the structure. Ice and snow will typically accumulate more quickly on low slope and flat roofs.

Local building codes dictate the snow load required for residential roofs. You can enter these values in any units you d like including meters and feet. Damages snow causes to flat roofs ponding bowing. Per square foot of roof space so anything more than 2 feet of snow could be too much for your roof to handle.

Flat roofs may be especially vulnerable to roof collapse depending on its engineered design load. The roof deck collects the snow load and transfers the weight to the rafters.