Metal roofs offer homeowners many advantages like long life, aesthetics, and increased home value. For homeowners in colder climates that experience snow and ice, metal roofs also have another advantage; snow slides right off of them. So instead of settling on top of your roof and weighing it down, snow often slides off.
When snow settles onto a roof, it can weigh the roof down. Snow can also melt during the day and refreeze at night, creating ice that can dam or harm gutters. Metal roofs allow snow to slide off, helping to prevent these issues.
For homeowners in areas that only experience infrequent or minimal snow, this feature of a metal roof can be an advantage.
However, for homes in climates that experience a lot of snow accumulation, the amount of snow that could potentially accumulate and then slide off can create an avalanche that can be dangerous. This is an issue no matter the roof type, but if you are worried that snow sliding off your metal roof might be a hazard (to landscaping or people, for example) snow retention systems are available.
Snow retention systems can be used to help prevent the sudden release of built-up snow from a metal roof. Snow retention systems increase the friction between the snow and the roof and allow the snow to exit the roof in a controlled way. Because snow retention systems keep snow on the roof longer, the snow has a chance to melt or evaporate rather than sliding off the roof in an avalanche.
Rocks and logs have been used for hundreds of years as low-tech snow retention systems, but today's homeowners have more sophisticated solutions available to them. S-5!® offers homeowners a number of snow retention systems and their clamp innovation is the optimal way to attach snow retention systems and most ancillary products to a metal roof.
Contact us to learn more about our metal roof accessories including snow retention systems.