The energy of breezes plus drainage will displace an amount of roof snow, leading to the ground snow load number to be greater than any roof snow load total. There exist additional common climate situations, such as snow sliding and snow drift, which need to be added into any calculations. The snow load atop a lower roof should be increased when a higher leveled pitched roof exists which permits snow to drift downward. Snow drifts will accumulate against steel building walls and parapets. Extra snow load needs to be added into such a scheme by taking all roof square footage and parapet and wall elevations into consideration. A particular scenario is requirements for flat roof snow loading that may be four times than what is customary given that a steeply sloped roof overlooks the horizontal roof and contributes sliding snow to the lower roof.
(to be continued Friday … )
Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about rain and snow loads, or how you can get started on a new pre-engineered steel building, contact us at 1-880-745-2685.
Webmaster