Roof Snow Load Failures

If the roof failure was caused by an excessive snow load ie exceeding design load.

Roof snow load failures.

From 1994 to 2013 winter storms resulted in about 27 billion in u s. How much snow is too much. Presented overview of extensive. If the standards for mississippi where the maximum expected snow load is much lower are used in error problems ranging from deflection to full collapse can occur.

Is more prone to failure. An imbalance of drifting snow can cause one part of a roof to give causing a domino effect. Every time a post frame building roof collapses it reflects poorly upon our industry. While it is impractical unaffordable or unfeasible to retrofit existing buildings to meet code loading requirements we can make changes to minimize or eliminate future failures due to snow.

It doesn t take a blizzard to cause problems. Our experienced forensic experts can help to determine. For example a roof in minnesota must be able to accommodate the large live loads associated with the state s heavy snowfalls. Whether or not that failure was the result of an inadequate design.

Snow load is the downward force on a building s roof by the weight of accumulated snow and ice. Further if it was caused by an. If the roof collapse was the result of. Insured catastrophe losses in 2013 dollars or more than 1 billion a year on average according to property claim services and the insurance information institute inc.

Together these two industries can lobby for changes ultimately making for better and safer buildings. A roof not designed to the appropriate standards for its use location etc. When prefabricated wood roof trusses fail truss manufacturers get blamed. The roof or the entire structure can fail if the snow load exceeds the weight the building was designed to shoulder.

In my humble opinion these would include.