It is okay for you to inquire about how stable a roof is. Certain roofing jobs involve climbing to the rooftop. In this case, safety is very important and must be adhered to, as you can’t imagine taking a risk climbing to a height of between 15ft and 30ft without wanting to know how much weight the roof can absorb.
Though a building code might generally outline the weight a roof can absorb or support, the roof’s stability is affected naturally by wear and tear. You must know the weight that your roofing can support for safety purposes before agreeing to the potentially risky task of climbing a rooftop.
This article looks at the weight capacity of various roofs to help commercial and residential building owners know the least estimated weight their roof can absorb in different instances.
Standard Roof
Roofs are normally designed to hold out the weight of live (temporary) and dead (permanent) loads. This design approach ensures the property is structurally safe when additional weight is placed on them. For regular wooden or shingled roofs, a dead load weighs 97.6 kg per square meter. For tougher roofing materials like metal, or clay tile roofs, the weight of a dead load is about 132 kg per square meter.
Flat Roof
Most property owners are not usually aware of the danger associated with mounting flat roofs. Flat roofs are designed to have a relatively greater weight capacity. In some areas, the minimum concentrated weight supported or absorbed by flat roofs is 488 kg per square meter. This is because flat roofs are more likely to absorb much weight than standard roofs.
Roofs covered with Snow
Do you have a property or live in areas with colder climates? Sometimes you might be curious to know how much ice or snow your roof can absorb or withstand. Factors such as slope, ageing, exposure to certain weather conditions, and construction method can affect the capacity of a roof. Therefore, the weight of snow that your roof can absorb depends on several factors, including the factors mentioned above.
While a standard shingle roof can withstand an estimated weight of 97.6 kg per square meter, the addition of ice, water, and snow creates a significant difference in weight capacity. A snowfall of lightweight is about 14.6 kg per square meter. Therefore, your roof might be able to absorb the weight of at least 6-feet snow without any issue.
Conclusion
Knowing how much weight your roof can absorb guarantees the safety of the roofing structure and roofers in situations where your roof needs to be repaired or replaced, an HVAC system needs to be mounted on a flat roof, or Christmas lights installed on your rooftops. Such information can also help to save your money and time before carrying out a roofing project.