Snow guards protect your roof system by spreading the snow load across the entire roof surface. However, the weight of the accumulated snow and the sudden snow avalanches can damage your gutters and the roof's edge.

Metal roofs are designed to allow snow to slide off. This reduces the risk of a rooftop avalanche and protects people, landscaping, and other property on the ground from being damaged by falling snow and ice. They are designed to hold the snow load on your roof and let it melt gradually or fall off in small amounts. Snow guards, also known as snow stops, snow fences, or snow retention systems, prevent damage from sliding snow off your roof. So, why do you need a metal roof for snow guards? Here are some of the advantages they offer. The Importance of Snow Guards on a Metal Roof This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process. Luckily, you have a reliable solution: installing snow guards on your metal roof. This common occurrence can cause serious property damage and may even threaten life. Learn more about installing snow guard systems and weather proofing at you live in a region where winter means heavy snowfall, then you're probably familiar with the phenomenon of rooftop avalanches. So, What’s on Your Roof?Ī quality snow guard system will help preserve your roof and allow snow pack to exit the roof in a more controlled manner. Download this comprehensive technical bulletin for invaluable information for helping you evaluate snow guard products and systems for proper performance and durability for the life of the roof. Visit MC A (then click on “Metal Roofs”) for more information. The MCA (Metal Construction Association) technical documents are an additional aid for snow guard selection criteria. We’ve put together a quick video to show viewers some examples. But as S-5! has witnessed countless times over the years, adhesive-mounted snow guard systems generally fail long before the roof does. So, obviously a snow retention device must actually remain on the roof – for the life of the roof. Keep Snow on the RoofĪ snow guard system’s number one purpose is to hold snow back and allow it to leave the roof slowly, (in small amounts or as melt water). When compared with our mechanically attached products, load test failure data has shown it can take up to 10 adhered parts to equal the strength of just one row of our ColorGard ® system. In bright sunlight, they are highly reflective, so they tend to glow like light bulbs.īeyond aesthetics, the progressively low failure load of plastic snow guards requires an over-populated (polka-dotted) design on the roof to prevent failure. Manufactured with petroleum derivatives, oils and plasticizers leach out of the material and cause the guards to yellow over time. Less Conspicuous?Ĭlear plastic snow guards are a misnomer in name too. The bond weakens over time and when it fails, the guard can rip away paint and protective roof coatings, potentially leading to corrosion. Snow Guards for Metal RoofsĪt S-5!, we don’t recommend installing adhesive-mounted snow guards on metal roofs. From both an economic and design perspective, glued on plastic snow guards typically have low holding strength and are unable to handle harsh weather-related elements. With the newest update to the National Building Code of Canada 2015 that addresses snow guards “for a guard to be considered effective in retaining snow, it must be constructed of horizontal rails with a minimum diameter of 25 mm spaced no more than 100 mm apart”. Structural Commentaries (User’s Guide – NBC 2015: Part 4 of Division B), it is important to work with a company who can provide a proper snow guard solution for your specific roof! Sky Products Ltd recommends S-5! products as they have been rigorously tested in both laboratory and field conditions. Sky Products Ltd has been a proud stocking distributor of S-5! since 2010 and since then has grown to be the number one source in Canada for anything S-5!. Reposted with permission – original post can be found at Sky Products Ltd and S-5! Metal Roof Attachments.

Installing snow guards for metal roofs