Roof Snow Insulation

Twelve inches of snow have roughly the same insulating value as a 2x4 wall filled with fiberglass insulation.

Roof snow insulation.

Pat yourself on the back while enjoying the comfort of your home. Who would have the energy to spend each morning meticulously shoveling the snow off the roof. A properly insulated home doesn t show bare patches of melted snow on the roof. Snow accumulating in decent amounts on your roof without melting in certain unusual spots is a testimony that your attic is doing its job meaning there s no heat loss through the roof due to poor insulation.

2018 international building code. Its r value varies depending on moisture content and density of the snow granules. If you roof has a nice even snow cover it means your home is well insulated and vented. Snow is an insulator.

If you re shoveling a tad too much you can damage the roofing tiles. And more importantly where should you store all of it. Your roof and your neighbors roofs are still covered with snow. Also extremely relevant to roofs with sections on rain loads snow loads and wind loads.

Generally most roofs max out at about 20 pounds of snow per square foot which translates to around two feet of wet snow or up to four feet of light fluffy snow. Additionally insulation serves as a way to enhance sound proofing on the uppermost envelop of your house. Once you notice the differences you can begin to interpret what that means for your home s insulation. In some cases roof snow melt systems or heat tape can be used to combat ice accumulation on eaves and in valleys.

On the poorly sealed and insulated roofs the snow on the roof melts which in turn freezes at night creating the ice dams. Shed dormers are easier to waterproof and shed snow better than gable dormers. Insulating in and around your roof attic space also prevents long term damage from moisture build up or ice damming which results from the warm air trying to escape through the apex of the roof but instead heating up the snow. In essence creating a vented unvented hybrid roof assembly.

Proper roof ventilation and high r value roof insulation is essential to minimizing ice dam formation. In extreme snow regions it is typical to add a vented air space between the roof cladding shingles and the rigid insulation in figure 7 to flush heat away trapped due to the insulating value of the snow the snow becomes an insulating blanket. A layer of snow insulates your house from above preventing the heat from escaping and thus significantly lowering your electricity bill. Your roof is built to withstand snow but if the old accumulation hasn t yet melted away more snow on top of this older wet layer can be quite heavy.

Chapter 16 structural design.