Is your property susceptible to snow load damage?

Snow Loads on Roofs

By Jeff Udall

Winter is once again nearly upon us and we’ll be breaking out the hats and mitts to endure the Canadian cold weather.?In the past few years we have seen some remarkable weather with large amounts of snow and extremely cold temperatures.?It seems like climate change is affecting us all and increasing the number of related insurance claims.?

Roofs on buildings are designed to accommodate a certain amount of snow.?The amount of snow for various regions in the province is predicted from historical values.?The Ontario Building Code lists these values and has recently updated the loading tables.?New construction is required to be strong enough for these updated loads, but older construction does not need to be changed.?And while the code does its best to provide guidance for the predicted snow loads, every once in a while we get such a heavy dumping that no one could predict and the snow pile on a roof can cause damage and even collapse of the structure.?

Houses are generally not affected by high snow loads as they are smaller structures and there is a healthy safety margin in the construction.?Age of the house and poor construction methods make the roof more vulnerable.?Larger buildings such as barns or commercial structures with flat roofs require more care and maintenance due to the significantly higher weights.?A one meter pile of snow on a house weighs a lot less than a one meter pile of snow over a building the size of a football field.??Commercial structures are generally designed and maintained properly.?Farm buildings however have a lower design level considering they are not meant for human occupancy, and they are subject to deterioration faster from the corrosive environments that are common inside the barn.?This makes barns a lot more susceptible to damage or catastrophic collapse.?

The amount of snow that we will get this winter is yet to be seen.?Even the best designed structures can be susceptible to the excessive weight of an unpredictable snow pile.?But even with ‘normal’ amounts of snow, buildings that are deteriorated or built improperly may be damaged or collapse.?Determining if a roof is damaged from deterioration or from excessive snow loads may affect the result of a claim.?We have considerable experience in deciphering the nature of the damage and helping to sort out a cause.?

?Get your shovels out!?Winter is almost here.