How Snow Retention Plans are Created

Since 2010, Rocky Mountain Snow Guards has completed more than 15,000 snow retention plans for new and retrofit residential and commercial roofs. About 70 percent of these plans were for roofing contractors, 20 percent for architects/engineers, and 10 percent for homeowners. Every single plan is created free by skilled professionals.

"Our estimators are trained in the 'art' of snow retention design," says Brian Cross, sales and marketing director at Rocky Mountain Snow Guards. "They start with an aerial report or blueprint of the roof from a company like EagleView, Hover or RoofScope. From there, they get the eave and rake dimensions as well as the total area of the roof.

"The first thing we look at is the roofing material, roof pitch, and snow load. These three things are the main way we categorize which snow retention system will work best for a customer."

What Types of Roofs Need Snow Retention?

From the North Carolina mountains "just in case" snow situations to the "everyday snowfall" conditions of Montana, snow retention is needed on a great many roofs across the country. Any type of roof may need snow retention. It's less a factor of the roofing material and more a factor of the individual roof characteristics.

"Roof pitch is a consideration," says Cross. "Counterintuitively, a low slope roof can be more dangerous than say a 6/12 pitch due to the fact that more snow will build up on it prior to a release of snow. If we were to look at a 14/12 roof pitch, the snow is naturally going to sluff off rather than collect on the roof."

Which Product Gets Specified?

To prevent snow from avalanching off a roof, there are three main types of snow retention:  snow guards, snow fences, and snow bars. Some plans call for a combination of these products, depending on the roofing material, roof pitch, snow load, and budget for the project.

"With snow retention being our sole focus, we live and breathe this business," says Cross. "We operate with the highest level of integrity and quality of products. We truly have our customers' best interests at heart and act accordingly.

"We may specify a combination of products if the customer is value engineering the project. For any standing seam metal roof, we will usually indicate clamp-to-seam snow fences or bars so the panel manufacturer's warranty is not invalidated. On most shingle roofs, we specify snow guards. All of this really has to do with cost.  We always recommend the most cost-effective system for each roof."

What Patterns Are Specified?

Once product decisions are made, the next determination is the placement of each product. At Rocky Mountain Snow Guards, three specific layouts are repeatedly used:

• Multiple Soldier Row
• Soldier Row with Spread Pattern
• Spread Pattern

With all three layouts, spacing between each row is determined based on the individual roof characteristics.

How Many Plans Does RMSG Create?

When creating a snow retention plan, Lead Estimator/Designer Dylan Quirk has economic factors and quality in mind. "We typically send the most cost-effective snow retention system to the customer, but we'll always do our best to meet their specific needs for each project," says Quirk. "If they want to see 'tiers' of systems, we will show them that. 

"For example, someone might wish to see the difference between an S-5!® ColorGard bar and a Blizzard II system. We're happy to work that up for them. Both have similar strengths on a roof, but there's a big aesthetic difference."

Quirk relates that customers may also ask for recommendations on snow retention for only specific sections of a roof, such as the roof deck over a doorway or garage door. The company can provide as many optional plans as the customer desires.

"We're here for our customers every step of the way," says Quirk. "The process is very transparent. They hand us the plans and we give them back a dependable snow retention system they can rely on with quality products and installation instructions. We're solution-based to make their life easier."