How Much Is To Much Snow On My Roof

In snow country that number might be anywhere from 30 or 35 pounds per square foot psf to more than 70 psf.

How much is to much snow on my roof. The code says to see local conditions in these special zones. The building departments there say to use a 30 psf snow load. The chart below courtesy of paul schimnowski p e gives some examples of snow loads. The municipal official that issues building permits can tell you what the design snow load is in your area.

The state s building code requires homes in the southern half of minnesota. Please remember that the numbers given by this calculator are just an approximation and are by no means 100 accurate. With snow already piled high on many roofs it s important to know how much snow is too much for your roof to support. How much snow a roof can hold depends on the type of snow roofline and material among other considerations.

So how much snow does this equal. You can look for signs of an overloaded roof though. There is a special zone in the northeast corner of the state where they get lake effect snow. Most roof designs can handle snow loads of 20 40 lbs per square foot.

How much snow is too much for a roof to handle. As everyone knows cold fluffy snow is very light while wet snow can be extremely heavy. Armed with that number a builder can frame the roof appropriately. For the twin cities metro area the roof snow load equals 35 pounds per square foot or 7 x 50.

But as the chart below shows packed snow with ice can easily overload a roof once it reaches about 12 off depth.