Flat Roof Design For Snow

Certainly the weight of snow can add up but your home must support a variety of loads.

Flat roof design for snow.

Some observers suggest it s harder to replace a flat roof than a traditional pitched shingle roof because of the labor required to remove its layers especially on older flat roofs. But they can also be susceptible to damage during the winter. Flat roofs are hard to replace. They help with roof snow removal and rainfall by funneling it away from your roof and siding.

Stay ahead of winter s worst with these tips. The very notion of shelter is linked to the image of a roof above. Yet for historic modern style buildings like this old house s cambridge tv project flat roofs are at the core of the architecture meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape. From ice dams to snow weight and water leaks your flat roof could give you a christmas present you didn t ask for.

If your drainage system isn t functioning well it can cause water to pool on the top of the roof. Flat roofs must be installed on a very specific mild slope so that the water can drain off properly and if the drains and scuppers aren t cleared regularly this increases the chance of a leak. This could mean flat roofs may not raise the same red flags they used to. They can be extremely low.

Flat roofs aren t architecturally logical as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. Combined with the snow catching ability low and flat roofs are able to blend in with their natural surroundings quite seamlessly. Snow load importance factor i s. But in flat roofed homes they re extra important.

Snow exposure factor c e. Of course you don t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. Wind seismic building weight furniture occupants etc. Flat roofs can t possibly support all the extra weight a totally valid concern but rest assured your architect and engineer have this in mind when designing the roof structure.

Flat roof snow load p f. Flat roofs are efficient economic to construct and can look beautiful. Snow is actually one of the easiest to design for and all. But now flat roofs often are constructed with fewer layers because of improved waterproofing technology.

But in flat roofed homes they re extra important. This image depicts another benefit of flat roofs. If you live in the us our snow load calculator compares the total weight on your roof with the permissible load calculated according to the standards issued by the american society of civil engineers regarding the minimum design loads for buildings and other structures asce7 16. That means 12 inches of snow on a flat roof creates an additional r 12 of insulation that arrives at a time of year when you most need it.

Thermal factor c t.