Anthony Walsh, President of DuraShield Roofing & Contracting, is accustomed to incorporating snow guards into his Wisconsin roofing projects. Especially those replacement jobs using slick surface products, like synthetic slate or shake from DaVinci® Roofscapes.
“DaVinci products bring realistic-looking beauty to a roof, but composites are slippery when wet, and they release snow quickly,” says Walsh, whose company is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin. “For the safety of our customers, we use Rocky Mountain Snow Guards with these synthetic roof projects.”
First-Time Snow Fence Installation
However, for a recent re-roof project in Madison, Walsh’s customer had a different idea. She requested more snow retention protection than just strategically spaced snow guards … she wanted snow fences placed around the perimeter of her entire home. And she specifically requested two levels of snow fences above her three-car garage.
“This was our first time working with snow fences,” says Walsh. “We immediately turned to the experts at Rocky Mountain Snow Guards for support. They reviewed the roof measurements and diagrams. Then their team provided a free layout, along with installation instructions for their No-Flash II snow retention system.”
The aluminum 2-pipe No-Flash II snow retention system involves a bolt-down bracket and galvanneal steel baseplate. For this home, recommended positioning called for placement starting on the third course of DaVinci Multi-Width Slate shingles with baseplates spaced 18 inches on center.
To complement the Castle Gray color of the DaVinci tiles, the No-Flash II system was powder coated a custom Liberty Gray color.
Win-Win Job
The DuraShield Roofing & Contracting team found installation of the snow fence to be fairly straightforward. “The product is very sturdy and we were impressed by it,” says Walsh. “In the end, the homeowner loves her new DaVinci roof and has great confidence in the snow retention system, so it’s a win-win all the way around.
“For us, we’ve always been a dedicated Rocky Mountain Snow Guard customer for our snow guard needs with synthetic roofing projects. Now we’ll add snow fences to that list!”
