Metal Roof Gutters And Snow

A nice homeowner named lisa emailed me the following about her recent issues with the gutters on her home being torn off by sliding snow.

Metal roof gutters and snow.

I came across an old posting of yours in which you were giving advice to a homeowner like me who had a metal roof and problems with cascading snow ripping the gutter off. And to those who believe the guards are only for northern climates mcmullen says his company has sold its products in every state except hawaii. Go to switzerland look at a chalet and you ll see the roof is designed with an eye toward where the snow will slide off notes curtis middleton owner of rms solutions inc a metal roofing and gutter contractor in arvada colo. Snow guards are a critical element in protecting gutters from damage especially when a commercial building or home has a glossy coated metal or slate roof.

Position the rain gutter right the rain gutter should be installed a bit lower down so it is not directly in the path of the sliding snow and the metal roof should hang almost halfway over the gutter. How to stop it. As a result ice and snowpack can build up inside the gutters which produce additional weight on the gutter sections and the fasteners that hold them. If a metal roof is fitted with a gutter improperly the gutters themselves can be ripped off as a result of harsh weather heavy snowfall or excessive ice naturally forming on your roof.

All of this cold snow and ice can wreak havoc on gutters. If a gutter system is left uncleaned then water can build up and damage your building in all of the ways the gutter system is meant to prevent. Ideally snow and ice should melt and run through a guttering system but constant subfreezing temperatures tend to hinder that process. You will have to adjust all of this according to how regular.

The swiss are accustomed to snow. If these issues are addressed during the design stage and the roofing contractor does his job these systems will almost always perform as intended. By mark ward sr. A method of retaining snow and ice on a metal roof so it will melt in place rather than shooting off the roof in a dangerous avalanche.

A client has a steep metal roof with gutters that got ripped out last year after a heavy snow fall. I just had the identical problem. Every year the snow and ice slipping down from one of our viewers roofs does great damage to their rain gutters.