Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Water Ponding VS. Snow Load



The vast majority of building failures are weather related.  Most are caused by the weight of snow, but water ponding continues to be a major concern.

Snow doesn’t move (much), it generally stays where it  falls, BUT water is a different problem because it always moves & collects in low the spots.   

Run-a-way roof ponding starts with water collecting in a low spot, centralizing a load usually spread across the surrounding area.  This in turn deflects the supporting joists/purlins and leads to more water running into an increasingly deeper pond.  As the deflection increases, water from a larger and larger area runs toward one small roof area and ultimately causes a structural failure, or at least overwhelms HVAC curbing and other penetrations letting enormous amounts of water pour inside. Either way it’s a huge mess and expense that can be completely avoided.

Prevent a run-away roof loading cycle from overwhelming your business by adding Roof Deflection Monitoring as a predictive maintenance program.   

Simply put – “knowing when and where to act” saves time & money and helps you avoid a costly business disruption.

Visit our website to learn more about roof load monitoring. For over 20 years, we’ve been designing and installing systems to detect snow-related roof deflection. With us, you know your building is in safe hands.