How Much Snow on Rooftops is Safe? When Is It Time To Call The Pros?

Snow on rooftops can cause havoc during the winter months, especially to your house. Your roof, pipes, walls, and flooring at all at risk during the winter, but mostly your roof – so, how much snow can a roof hold and when should you call in the professionals?

With the cold weather comes snow on your rooftop, and that means your whole home will be weighed down in a blanket of the white stuff. While it looks beautiful, it can actually pose a danger to your roof.

• How much snow on rooftops is safe? How much can a roof hold before you look into removing it?
• How should you remove it once you decide to do so?

This guide has all the answers.

How Much Snow Can a Roof Hold?

The first thing to know is when the snow on rooftops pose a problem. A light dusting isn’t going to cause any problems at all, if your roof is well taken care of. If the snow is too thick though, that’s going to be a problem. How do you know if the snow is too thick and needs to be removed?

You won’t need to get up on the roof and measure it. Instead, go through your home and close every door you can. If the doors close easily, then you’re fine and can leave the snow. If the doors are difficult to close, sticking or being difficult to open back up again, that’s a sign there’s too much snow. The weight of the snow on rooftops is putting pressure on the rest of your home, causing problems.

Your Roof And Ice Dams

Heavy snow on rooftops can cause a lot of problems, the biggest being ice dams. These are a serious problem and need to be prevented and repaired wherever possible. These occur when snow on rooftops melt into the gutters. If the gutters are blocked, then the melted snow can’t run away as it normally would.

This can also happen if you have metal gutters, as the metal holds cold temperatures well. Instead, the water refreezes, creating an ice dam. This allows more water to collect at the bottom of the roof, leading to leaks, mold and worse in your roof.

Ice dams are a real concern to homeowners, as they lead to so much damage. The best thing to do is to try and stop them forming in the first place. The best way to do that is to manage the temperature in your attic. A hot attic is the number one cause of ice dams.

These usually happen when the attic isn’t properly insulated. Heat in the home rises up and through the roof, because there’s no insulation to stop it. Because the roof gets warm, the snow melts and then the ice dam forms.

The other way to stop ice dams forming is to get the snow off your roof. If there’s no snow on your roof, then it can’t freeze.

Roof Collapses

The other reason you want to remove snow on rooftops is because your roof may collapse. You don’t think of snow as heavy, but once a lot of it falls at once, you’ll be surprised at how heavy it is. It also depends on the density of the snow.

If the snow is wet and heavy rather than light and fluffy, it’s going to pose a greater risk to your roof, too. But, how much snow can a roof hold before it collapses?

Snow doesn’t pile neatly onto the roof, in an even layer. There will often be snow drifts too. This is where snow piles up more in valleys or next to a dormer. Having extra weight there means extra stress, which will more likely lead to damage.

The heavier the snow is, the more strain it will put on your roof. If the snow is left to collect over time, then it will eventually lead to a collapse. This of course is an expensive repair for your roof as you’ll need to do it as soon as possible.

How To Remove Snow On Rooftops

If you’ve looked at your roof and decided there’s too much snow on it, then it’s time to remove it. The first thing to remember is safety. Your roof is a dangerous place to be at any time of the year, but in winter that goes double.

With snow and ice on the roof, you’re more likely to slip and fall. It’s also important that you don’t get on a ladder to remove snow. This is because again, it’s cold and slippery, and a serious hazard. Instead, stand on the ground and reach up as high as you can to remove snow.

When you’re removing that snow, you actually want to rake it off, rather than shovel it. Shoveling requires you to get on the roof, and again, it’s far too dangerous to do that. Instead, use a rake to pull snow off the roof. This is a lot safer, and will ensure that you can stay on the ground to do this job.

If you are using a rake, do be careful not to over rake the snow. If you do it too often, it actually pulls the granules off the surface of the roof. These are what protect it from UV rays and other problems, keeping it in good condition. If you find granules in your gutters or on the ground, that’s a sign you’ve raked the roof too hard.

Other Way To Protect Your Roof This Winter

Determining how much snow a roof can hold is step number one. However, there are other ways you can ensure the winter weather doesn’t affect your roof too this winter. They include:

1. Trimming your trees

If a tree is too close to your roof, then the branches overhanging it will cause damage if there’s a storm. Trim the branches back, or even remove a tree if it’s too close to the house itself.

2. Inspecting your roof

It’s a good idea to check your roof regularly for damage. This means looking at it from both outside and the inside, from the attic.

3. Replacing shingles

It’s usually quite simple to replace shingles. If any are missing or broken, replace them as soon as you’re aware of this.

Now you know how much snow on rooftops is too much, and how to remove it safely. Keep on top of the snow, and you shouldn’t have to deal with any snow damage this winter.