How Much Does Snow Wigh On A Roof

The snow load will be different depending on the construction of your roof.

How much does snow wigh on a roof.

Calculating snow load on your roof depends on two factors. Just consider the 20 or so homes that collapsed under the weight of a massachusetts snowfall. Fluffy fresh snow can weigh as little as three pounds per square foot compared with 21 pounds for wet heavy snow according to fema. Whether it s a flat roof or a pitched roof.

How much does snow weigh. Here are a few examples of the weight of snow on a roof. Even though we typically measure snowfall in inches or feet you ll want to think of it in terms. Calculating snow load on roof.

57 pounds a square foot. All numbers are approximate. Even if you re only looking at the snow that lands on your roof that can be enough to cave it in. Evaluate your risk of roof top snow ice accumulation.

1 foot of snow on the roof 8 000 lbs 4 tons 7 psf 2 feet of snow on the roof 16 000 lbs 8 tons 14 psf 3 feet of snow on the roof 24 000 lbs 12 tons 21 psf. How much snow a roof can hold depends on the type of snow roofline and material among other considerations. Before the snow starts to fall and build up on the roof of your house take the time to know how much snow your roof can support. 3 5 inches of old snow is equal to one inch of water or about 5 lbs.

28 40 light fluffy snow. Two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could weigh as much as 60 lbs. The weather channel meteorologist mark elliot takes on a weighty subject just how much does snow weigh. These questions aren t quite so easy to answer because there are several variables.

Per square foot of roof space so anything more than 2 feet of snow could be too much for your roof to handle. 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. Snow usually melts off of steep sloped roofs slopes greater than 3 inches of slope in 12 inches of horizontal distance more quickly than flatter roofs. Psf pounds per square foot.