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This thread gives me an opening to ask this....

I've lived in my current home Brick/wood frame cookie cutter, ranch, subdivision grade house long enough to know that it can withstand a decent hurricane without damage. (though I admit I found myself scared to death, hiding in the basement and bathtub a few times when the wind just sounded like it was peeling the outer layer of the earth off, but I digress...) But I also live in an area that doesn't get too much snow, until now. So tonight I'm wondering exactly how much snow can the roof of such a house safely support, before one needs to start worrying? I would say that currently there is likely a foot and a half of the heavy wet variety resting up there.
 
Tried to get a good angle...

But you still cant really see how much is actually up there. I'd guess there will be a lot more by the time it's all over. This is why I wondered.

retroguy++2-5-2010-21-21-43.jpg
 
Douglas:

A lot depends on the pitch of your roof (how steep it is) and how strong your roof trusses are. A house built early in the 20th century will typically have stronger trusses than something built in, say, the Skimpy Seventies. A well-pitched roof can take more snow (and release it faster) than a relatively flat, or flat, roof can.

There are devices called roof rakes that help to knock snow off roofs, but I have an idea they wouldn't be the easiest thing to find in D.C., which is a Southern city, after all.

What you could do is improvise one with a pole and a board or a piece of sheet metal. There's never any harm done by being careful about snow weight; getting the snow off will do only good.
 
Sandy....

1980's vintage, many gabled type roof. A roof rake. I like that. probably kill myself trying to do the job though. LOL
 
Douglas:

I just saw your pic.

You need to get that snow off, at least at the edge. What will happen is that ice dams will form at the edge of the roof where your gutters are, damaging the roof edge and gutters. Your house appears to be from the '60s, so it's better built than something from ten or twenty years later, but still, that's a very respectable amount of snow.

Here's a pic of the business end of a roof rake, so you know what you're improvising a copy of. This one is a Garelick rake with a 21-foot pole; Walmart carries them, at least in regions with regular snowfall. If you really feel like you need one, a visit to the link below and a look at Walmart's store-stock indicator would tell you if it's available to you that way.

It's very important to be careful with a roof rake, because you can damage shingles with one. The Garelick pictured has rollers to prevent that, but of course rigging that up on an improvised rake would be pretty difficult.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Garelick-...0000003260350&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=13062183
danemodsandy++2-5-2010-21-33-52.jpg
 
Douglas:

You stand at ground level to use a roof rake; that's why they're equipped with such long pole handles. You just kind of manhandle the head of the rake onto the roof from ground level, and then drag it towards you. Not dangerous at all.
 
Sandy:

I totally appreciate the answers. I will try to do something. I wish the house was from the 60's after what you said about the strength of structures built twenty years later, because it was. =)

Incidentally I just heard what sounded like an avalanche nearby. Maybe I'm off the hook! =) (The roof is rather steeply pitched. I'm just concerned with where the pitches meet each other on the down slope now, I guess.)
 
Douglas:

Your main concern here is ice dams. What happens is, the moisture in the snow will collect at roof's edge, and freeze in the night. Since water expands as it freezes, that has the potential to dislodge shingles in that area, as well as to dislodge gutters from their mounts. Ice dam damage (which should be termed "damned ice dam damage") can be expensive to repair, and it's almost completely avoidable under most circumstances. A lot depends on your predicted low temp for tonight, and tomorrow's high. If you'll be back in the '50s tomorrow with sun, I wouldn't worry overmuch. But below freezing, and yes, I'd be getting that roof edge as clear as I could.
 
P.S.:

Where your gables meet the roof is also of concern; clear those areas as well if you can. Since you say the roof is pretty well-pitched, I don't think the weight is as much a problem as ice dams.
 
Sunny and 50...

Unfortunately we're going to be way below average for the next several days. I better pry myself away from the computer and see what I can do.

I've ordered the roof rake from walmart.com. Obviously it won't help me this time, but in 10 years when it happens again.....=)

Thanks Sandy!
 
Sandy:

Don't be sorry. I'm happy to have gotten the answers I was looking for, and I appreciate your time,knowledge, and willingness to help!

Now let me tell you a little secret about myself...
*in a stage whisper* If there is a way to do something that makes it MORE difficult, THAT is the way I will find.

Hopefully, this could be considered cute, or maybe a part of my charm or something. =)
 
By the Way, Favorit...

...You live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Cortina d'Ampezzo is a place I have always dreamt of visiting. If you are near there, you are very fortunate indeed. However, I would not be unhappy anywhere in the Alps, in any country. In Germany, Bavaria is very beautiful (there's a town called Rosenheim about 40 miles southeast of Munich I hope to visit someday), and the Swiss Alps are too.
 
Thanks Sandy

Alps are very beautiful and never humdrum : what amazes me is that landscape and shapes change suddenly in a few kilometres. Starting from France, through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria to Slovenia they are a neverending, everchanging beauty

The mountain in the pic I posted yesterday is the Lyskamm (Monte Rosa Massif). Actually I live about 100 km downstream ...in the "rice belt".
Here is a Monte Rosa shot I took from my town last december, before it started snowing down here too.

favorit++2-6-2010-15-23-36.jpg
 
Another interesting point about wood-frame construction

It is easier to make alterations - e.g. add a room, floor, whatever. You can also pick up a wooden home and move it somewhere else. Here in Austtralia we have companies that specialize in whole home transportation. Stick built homes can be factory built in sections off site. When all the sections are completed they are transported to the assembly site, where they are put together in a day.
 
The termite problem

Termites can largely be deterred through proper materials and construction methods. Heart redwood or pressure treated fir is used in contact with the foundation. The redwood has a lot of tannins that repel the termites. If they can't get a grip on the redwood, it's unlikely they will migrate into the rest of the home. No vines or other plants should be allowed to grow into contact with the wood of the home; these plants can provide the termites with a path into the wood. And of course, no wood in direct contact with the earth.
 
Suds:

In the South, it's really necessary to have things professionally treated. Those little critters just love the climate there, and the Formosan ones are really voracious. They're subterranean termites, and they dote on stuff like pine. Nasty little beasts.
 
Yes, I have heard that termites really like pine. Which is why it's a good idea to build the sill plate from heart redwood or treated lumber. And fir is a more resistant wood (but not termite proof), which may not be as attractive to termites as pine.

And yes, here in most of California I suppose the termites are not as problematic as in the Southeast. But they can be a problem just about anywhere.
 

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