[RE-wrenches] Snow loads

[toddcory at finestplanet.com]

about 10 years ago - after a particularly heavy duty (more than usual) mount shasta snow storm, the county raised the snow load specifications here from 40#/sq ft  to  60#/sq ft... which made all existing roofs substandard, so while they are grandfathered in, adding 2 to 3 #/sq ft  for solar is not allowed. 
 
i tried to reason with the building department with your logic that the snow would now slide off the roof rather than accumulate... but got no joy. the solution is usually to find an engineer willing to certify the roof will hold the loading... but i tend to shy away from roof mounts here in snow country anyway because often the lower module frame edge gets peeled off the panel usually resulting in broken glass.
 
todd
 


 
 
 
 


 
On Tuesday, February 19, 2013 10:48am, "Gary Bassett" <gary at hudsonsolar.com> said:




Has anyone in the snow belt areas have any luck with convincing their local building inspectors that the snow melts or slides from panels, much like a metal roof only  better. Thus your snow load would be reduced to zero where the panels have been installed. 
 
Gary
 
 


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