Snow Load for Tahoe Donner Homes

Snow Load for Tahoe Donner Homes 

After the last few big snow storms, a lot of homeowners in the Tahoe Truckee area get very worried looking at the snow piling on their roofs and wondered if their roofs can withstand the heavy snow load coming down recently. 

Based upon a snow core sample taken by Matt Mc Lean of Quality Roofing on Monday, the snow loading for his 6.5 foot sample (taken in Tahoe Donner) was 105 pounds per square. Therefore 3 feet of snow would equal about 50 pounds per sf, 9 feet, about 160 

Our neighbor's roof after the last storm

At the moment most roofs and homes are safe from any damage. 

The architectural snow loading (engineering) requirements vary by location and elevation. The graphic map above shows the snow load map for Tahoe Donner which illustrates the heavier snow loading requirements from the bottom of the subdivision to the top.
If  doors or windows begin to stick, or if drywall cracks start appearing, that may be an indicator that some snow shoveling should take place. 

He also said there has been a high number of reports of leaks due to ice dams, especially on composition roofs, and in roof valleys.  This has to do with warm days, and cold nights that create the ice dams….not necessarily having to do with snow loading. 

If you have any further questions or if any of your clients have some roofing or shoveling needs, I strongly recommend calling Matt McLean at (530) 550-9100. 

(courtesy of Norm Nicholls)