Roof Popping After Heavy Snow

In des plaines illinois a popular restaurant cafe la cave suffered a partial ceiling collapse after a heavy snowstorm.

Roof popping after heavy snow.

Snow and ice build up are another reason for roofs to pop and creak. The cracking and popping could also be from the joists or beams as they contract and expand. Flat roofs are particularly vulnerable because the snow is not able to slide off causing the pile to grow and increase in weight. These leaks are thought to have been caused by the heavy accumulation of snow up to 7 feet in some areas on the building s roof.

Only 3 5 inches of old snow is needed to reach that 5 lb of per square foot of roof space so over 2 feet of packed snow may be too much stress for your roof. According to our math in this example your roof is probably doing just fine. Remember you don t necessarily need to clear your roof of all snow. So about 4 feet of fresh snow would have to be on your roof for it to become stressed.

That works out to be 11 25 pounds per square foot. The most dangerous situations are when the roof is about to. Roof rakes can be roof savers after days or weeks of continuous snow. Long island s smith haven hall was evacuated due to leaks in over two dozen of its 140 stores.

Roof cracking sounds are somewhat common in the winter. Roof cracking sounds in the winter are common. Try to remove two to three inches of snow from your roofline and work your way upward from there. In very rare cases the sounds are a symptom of undue stress and you will need a professional roof inspection.

Heavy snow accumulation on your roof can lead to severe water damage which generally leads to roof repair costs of around 2 386. Packed snow is a little different. If a snowstorm just dumped about 9 inches of heavy snow on your roof the equation to determine snow load is 9 x 1 25.