Snow Retention System – Technical Bulletin from MCA
SNOW RETENTION (SNOW GUARDS)
Snow Retention System: (Syn: Snow-Guard System) A series of unitized snow-guard devices or continuous assemblies installed for the purpose of retaining snow on a roof and allow the snow to evacuate slowly via thaw and sublimation rather than suddenly and unexpectedly via rooftop avalanche.
WHO IS THE MCA (METAL CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION)
The Metal Construction Association is an organization of manufacturers and suppliers whose metal products are used in structures throughout the world. Since it was formed in 1983, MCA has focused on one key strategy – to promote the use of metal in the building envelope through marketing, education, and action on public policies that affect metal’s use.
MCA’s marketing and technical activities create awareness of metal, its applications, and its benefits. MCA also works to eliminate barriers to metal’s use in construction by supporting product performance testing, initiating research, and monitoring and responding to codes and regulations that affect metal.
These well-established activities help educate building owners, designers, installers, educators and those who determine relevant codes and standards. The result – more metal products are chosen for a broader scope of projects.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SNOW RETENTION
With metal roofs becoming more popular due to their longevity and environmental friendly nature, metal roofs are recyclable unlike asphalt roofs, the risk of sliding snow has increased. For the most part, when people have metal roofs installed they are not informed of the risk of sliding snow until damage to the roof or property occurs or the installers do not have the proper knowledge to provide a properly designed and engineered snow retention system.
Sky Products continuously receives calls from home and business owners stating they did not know that sliding snow could damage or shear their gutters from the eaves. Sky Product’s main business is to provide properly designed and engineered snow retention systems while educating clients on the subject of sliding snow from metal roofs.
Sky Products has based its design criteria on a couple of factors
- Industry leading S-5! clamps that have been extensively load tested and can provide proof of those load tests www.s-5.com
- MCA Roof Design for Cold Climates. www.metalconstruction.org/Tech-Resources.www.metalconstruction.org/Tech-Resources.
Sky Products has designed and engineered snow retention systems for Federal, Provincial, Municipal and private construction projects across Canada since 2010. With the ability to provided stamped engineered drawings backed by factual load test results, Sky Products has been sought out by some of the largest metal roof companies and their installers to assist with their snow retention requirements.
The link below is the newest Bulletin from MCA on Snow Retention.