Flat Roofs And Snow Load

As a result equation 7 1 which accounts for loss between events will result in a non conservative value.

Flat roofs and snow load. Employing a combination of steel and wood on this connector roof the architects engineered the roof to support sustained snow loads while capably protecting the walkway below from snow accumulation. There are a few common misconceptions regarding flat roofs that are stubbornly persistent. The flat usonian roofs are designed to hold 25 psf pounds per square foot of snow which is a live load meaning the snow load isn t going to be there permanently. Other considerations for sloped roofs can be found throughout chapter 7 of asce 7 10.

Another is that they cannot handle as much snow weight as pitched roofs because the snow sits directly on the roof. They help with roof snow removal and rainfall by funneling it away from your roof and siding. But in flat roofed homes they re extra important. Structural engineers association of oregon.

But in flat roofed homes they re extra important. If your drainage system isn t functioning well it can cause water to pool on the top of the roof. For roofs that are flat and with ground snow loads lower than 20 pounds per square foot the roof snow load is equal to 70 of the product of the exposure thermal and importance factors and the ground snow load. Step 4 determine the flat roof 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. Combined with the snow catching ability low and flat roofs are able to blend in with their natural surroundings quite seamlessly. For ground snow loads greater than 20 pounds per square foot the roof load is equal to 70 of the product of the exposure thermal and importance factors the ground snow load and 20 pounds. One of them is that flat roofs leak more easily than pitched ones.

Want to find out more about snow loads around oregon. In regions with relatively low snow load values the load from a single event may result in the peak loading. In our case let s assume that our structure has a flat roof roof slope 5. Asce 7 05 equation 7 1 assumes that the snow load results from multiple events.

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