Flat Roofs And Snow Load

Another is that they cannot handle as much snow weight as pitched roofs because the snow sits directly on the roof.

Flat roofs and snow load.

Wind seismic building weight furniture occupants etc. The flat roof snow load is calculated using formula 7 3 1. There are a few common misconceptions regarding flat roofs that are stubbornly persistent. In our case let s assume that our structure has a flat roof roof slope 5.

The easiest way is to push a yardstick into the snow on the roof selecting an area that looks typical of the overall snow depth. Minimum flat roof snow load values. Snow is actually one of the easiest to design for and all. One of them is that flat roofs leak more easily than pitched ones.

In regions with relatively low snow load values the load from a single event may result in the peak loading. Express the result in feet rather than inches. The snow load that is applied to our structure is not the ground snow load but in most cases the flat roof snow load. 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.

As a result equation 7 1 which accounts for loss between events will result in a non conservative value. You need to use a snow load formula for flat roofs. For example 18 inches would be 1 5 feet. First figure out how deep the snow is piled up there.

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