Flat Roofs And Snow Load

The snow load that is applied to our structure is not the ground snow load but in most cases the flat roof snow load.

Flat roofs and snow load.

As a result equation 7 1 which accounts for loss between events will result in a non conservative value. In our case let s assume that our structure has a flat roof roof slope 5. Wind seismic building weight furniture occupants etc. Minimum flat roof snow load values.

Snow is actually one of the easiest to design for and all. 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. Another is that they cannot handle as much snow weight as pitched roofs because the snow sits directly on the roof. For example 18 inches would be 1 5 feet.

Express the result in feet rather than inches. Asce 7 05 equation 7 1 assumes that the snow load results from multiple events. Certainly the weight of snow can add up but your home must support a variety of loads. Flat roofs can t possibly support all the extra weight a totally valid concern but rest assured your architect and engineer have this in mind when designing the roof structure.

First figure out how deep the snow is piled up there. In regions with relatively low snow load values the load from a single event may result in the peak loading. One of them is that flat roofs leak more easily than pitched ones. Other considerations for sloped roofs can be found throughout chapter 7 of asce 7 10.

You need to use a snow load formula for flat roofs.