The Real Cost of Snow Retention (Snow Guards)

Snow retention is a phrase that gets tossed around in construction and remodeling from time to time. Its a pretty simple concept: a device of some sort is mounted on a roof top to "retain" snow and keep it from sliding off of the roof.
Why go to all of the trouble and expense? Its just snow, right. Light, fluffy stuff?
Well, according to someone measures things like that for a living, the average snowflake weighs in at 0.00042 grams. That's about 0.0000148oz. In other words, it would take 270,270 snowflakes to weigh about as much as the all-beef patty on a McDonald's cheeseburger.
However. (This is a big word when used at the right time)
One cubic foot of snow loosely packed weighs about 15 pounds. Compacted it can weigh 20 pounds or more.
Think about this, a 12" wide, by 12" long by 12" thick slice of snow weighs as much as the average bowling ball. Even more.
Imagine a bowling ball being dropped 10 feet from your roof top and landing on something soft, like your dog or cat. Yuck. Well, fortunately snow tends to break apart a bit when it lands on something, but on the other hand, it also sticks together very well as it begins to slide off of your roof.
Lets put it into perspective. The average American ranch style house has about 3,000 square feet of roof area. lets say for argument's sake the roof in our discussion is a straight gable roof, so we can say half of the roof slopes to one side of the house, and half to the other.
So 1,500 square feet of roof per side. Now add a nice 6" blanket of snow all over than 1,500 square feet of roof. What do you have?
If the snow on your roof is nice and fluffy, you have a mass of snow that weighs 11,250lbs. Which can start sliding at any time. Of course your gutters will stop it from sliding, right? Oh yeah, don't forget about the plumbing vent pipes that sprout out of the roof. They'll help hold it too!
OK, so lets talk about the real cost of snow retention.

The REAL COST of Snow Retention is Not Having Any!

No, your gutters won't hold back the snow if it starts sliding. If you're lucky the damage will only be localized, but in most cases, you're going to have to have your gutters replaced the next spring.
Vent pipes? Eh. These days most are PVC. Which is brittle when cold. Which breaks under loads while cold. Call a plumber. And a roofer to replace the flashing after the plumber is done.
Car parked under the eave of the roof? Uh oh. I wonder if your auto insurance is going to cover the damage caused by an 800 pound chunk of snow falling on your car. Probably not. But the good news is that your homeowners insurance will pay if the snow sliding off of your roof damages your visitor's car. Hopefully nothing will slide off while the Christmas carolers are singing on your front steps. Or the postman is putting your mail through the door-slot. Or...well, you get the idea.

The Good News!

The good news is that you can do something to prevent all of these things from happening. By the way,metal roofing is not the only type of roofing susceptible to snow slide. This can happen on any type of roofing material or any roof. Even more so in northern climates where roofs are steeper. Note that the reason roofs are built steeper in snow country is not so the snow slides off easier, its because its structurally more resistant to heavy snow loads that remain on the roof!
The most important thing you can do is be proactive. Install a snow retention system during the warm dry months. Don't wait until snow is falling!

System Costs.

Depending on the type of snow guard or snow retention system you select, the cost can vary, but usually averages between $7.50 and $15.00 per foot. A premium 3 rail system such as the Syca ornamental snow guards may cost better than $30 per foot, but is ideal for short runs over doorways.
An S-5! Colorgard® system (designed specifically for metal roofs) is pretty darn reasonably. The average cost per foot for residential size projects using this system is around $10.50 per foot (materials only).
Both of these systems are easily installed using common hand-tools, look good and perform great.

How Do You Get Help Deciding What System to Use?

If you have a metal roof and are interested in the Colorgard® system you can use our online system finder to see what parts you will need. We suggest you contact us for assistance in determining the required quantities of parts; we can quickly and easily calculate and price complete systems (including volume discounts) for you in just a few minutes.
For any snow retention snow guard system, we can help. We can explain all of the options. We can tell you what tools you will need and how to install each and every system we sell.
Call us at 770-405-1060, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. If we don't answer the phone, we're helping other customers, so leave a message and you will get a call back, usually within the hour. You can also email us at info@rapidmaterials.com.