White Paper
Qualifying Snow Retention Systems for Metal Roofing
Metal roofs provide durable, long-term solutions and have been preferred by many for use in challenging northern and alpine climates where snow and its migration on and from the rooftop is a normal occurrence. Such climates can pose unique challenges for any roof. Pitched roofs of a material that has a slippery surface can pose sliding snow and ice hazards below eaves. In many instances, snow retention systems are installed on these roof types in order to reduce the risk of sudden rooftop avalanche and mitigate the hazards present in the discharge areas below the eaves.
All snow-guard systems represent a load chain to transfer the sliding forces of snow into the building structure. For proper design, each link in this chain must be proven to withstand the forces to which it will be exposed.
This is not guesswork, but a combination of testing, science, mathematics and quality control. Proper design begins with prudent and adequate testing and/or engineering of each link in the chain, followed by the science and math to apply these results to any given project.
