Snow on the roof can not only cause damage, it can also become a hazard.
Find out what homeowners should look out for here.
Children especially when it snows a lot in winter.
A lot of snow can not only cause problems on the streets, it can also pose a threat on the roofs of houses.
Roof avalanches, damage and even
danger to life
are threatened.
Snow load on the roof: You should watch out for these warning signs
As a homeowner, you should not only pay attention to the evacuation requirement when it snows, but also to your roof.
The more snow there is on the roof, the more load the roof has to bear.
And that can lead to damage or even collapse.
Prof. Norbert Gebbeken, President of the Bavarian Chamber of Engineers
, recommends
paying attention
to
warning signs
on
the upper floor
.
Cracks in cladding or jammed doors and windows indicate imminent danger.
If the building shows signs of damage, the snow on the roof should be cleared by professionals.
But even with cleared snow cover, the roof should be checked from the outside and repaired if necessary.
Also important
when it is snowing
:
facts and tips on evacuation requirements in winter.
Various factors affect the roof's portable snow load
When the snow on the roof becomes too much depends on a few factors.
The
construction of
the roof influences the load.
This also depends on the
altitude
and the
specified snow load zone
.
Because in snowy areas the possible load must be higher.
Prof. Gebbeken cites roofs in Munich as an example, which can withstand around 110 kilograms of snow per square meter, while in the foothills of the Alps the portable load is definitely higher.
It should be noted, however, that
existing damage and older roofs
affect the values.
+
Snow on the roof can be dangerous: In 2006, a riding hall in Bernried, Lower Bavaria, collapsed under the load of snow, claiming fatalities.
© Armin Weigel dpa / lby
Older roofs in Munich, for example, can only carry around 75 kilograms of snow per square meter.
Furthermore, larger accumulations of snow cause a higher load at individual points.
And while rain and condensation can run off on sloping roofs, it can accumulate on flat roofs and cause moisture damage.
How to find out the load capacity of your roof
How much load your roof should withstand exactly can be
looked up
in the
building documents of the house
(section Load assumptions), says Prof. Gebbeken.
If in doubt, you can also
ask
the
local building authority
or
structural engineer
.
In general, if the roof has to withstand too much snow and thus too high a load, cracks can occur.
In the worst case scenario, the roof can collapse sooner or later.
Also good to know:
When do tenants actually have to clear snow?
How to determine the snow load on your roof
How much snow your roof has to withstand is best determined by an expert.
In order to roughly estimate the snow load yourself, Prof. Gebekken provides a method:
To
do this, cut out a
square of ten by ten centimeters
of
snow
.
Weigh
this snow sample and
multiply the weight by 100
.
This results in the
weight of
snow per square meter
that your roof lifts.
Important here:
Go
never unsecured on the roof
to get to the snow.
You can also use snow from the ground for the calculation.
In addition, in the case of pitched roofs, the result still has to be converted to the pitched surface, says Prof. Gebbeken.
Especially interesting in winter
: Finally sleep well again: This is how you heat your bedroom properly.
Snow chaos - the expert clarifies the legal situation to Merkur.de:
In this case, parents get vacation when their child has no school. *
dpa / from
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network