Here are a few examples of the weight of snow on a roof.
How much does snow wigh on a roof.
Psf pounds per square foot.
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.
How much snow a roof can hold depends on the type of snow roofline and material among other considerations.
Calculating snow load on your roof depends on two factors.
Measuring snow load for flat roofs.
Fluffy fresh snow can weigh as little as three pounds per square foot compared with 21 pounds for wet heavy snow according to fema.
These questions aren t quite so easy to answer because there are several variables.
Evaluate your risk of roof top snow ice accumulation.
All numbers are approximate.
Per square foot of roof space so anything more than 2 feet of snow could be too much for your roof to handle.
28 40 light fluffy snow.
Per square foot of roof space which is beyond.
57 pounds a square foot.
Two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could weigh as much as 60 lbs.
The snow load will be different depending on the construction of your roof.
Calculating snow load on roof.
How much does snow weigh.
Even if you re only looking at the snow that lands on your roof that can be enough to cave it in.
Whether it s a flat roof or a pitched roof.
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.
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.
Just consider the 20 or so homes that collapsed under the weight of a massachusetts snowfall.
3 5 inches of old snow is equal to one inch of water or about 5 lbs.
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.