How Much Does Snow Weigh On A Roof

Fluffy fresh snow can weigh as little as three pounds per square foot compared with 21 pounds for wet heavy snow according to fema.

How much does snow weigh on a roof.

Evaluate your risk of roof top snow ice accumulation 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. For any rafter the portion of the roof deck that transfers this load is the tributary area. Per square foot of roof space so anything more than 2 feet of snow could be too much for your roof to handle. Rain falling on accumulated snow will add more weight.

How much does snow weigh. There is a calculation for this too. Dry fluffy snow is the least concern with respect to weight. Fresh light and fluffy snow will weight much less than the dense packed or wet variety.

Here are a few examples of the weight of snow on a roof. Drifting snow can put excessive loads on the areas where it piles up such as. Calculating the weight of snow is useful when you need to know the total weight it adds for example to calculate the weight on a roof. Psf pounds per square foot.

All numbers are approximate. A cubic foot of snow can weigh from seven pounds for snow that is new and dry to 30 pounds for old compacted snow. 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. 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.

28 40 light fluffy snow. If the snow is dense and wet however a cubic foot. The weight of the snow on a roof also varies in turn varying the snow loading on the roof. This kind of snow will weigh around 7 pounds per cubic 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. Water weight is real. 57 pounds a square foot. Calculating snow load on roof.

If it snows 5 of wet snow it will weigh about 12 5 pounds. Calculating snow load on your roof depends on two factors. Two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could weigh as much as 60 lbs. With this information you re now likely wondering about the weight of snow load on your roof.

Unsurprisingly wet snow is the heavy stuff. How much does snow weigh on a roof. Snow which is just frozen ice crystals varies in weight by its volume and density.