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Why someone needs to consider getting snow guards for their home/business

snow guards on brown metal tile roof

Installation of snow guards is an important investment into safety, whether it is a residential or commercial building. Getting snow guards for metal roof is crucial because ice and snowbanks do not hold on slippery metal roofs but fall off in dangerous piles.

Things to consider with a standing seam metal roof

A standing seam roof is made of metal: steel, aluminum, zinc, and copper. This means that, like any metal roof, standing seam roof must have a snow retention system to protect people and property. There are several things to consider before installation of snow guards on a standing seam metal roof.

Firstly, snow guards should not damage integrity of metal panels and thereby decrease service life of the roof. Owners of standing seam metal roofs know that this type of metal roof is quite an expensive solution. One of the main benefits of seamed panels are high durability and longevity because panels are installed with hidden fasteners. That is why it is important to install snow guards without making any holes on the roof.

Secondly, we need to consider material of standing seam roof and material of snow guards. For example, aluminum snow guards cannot be used on copper standing seam roof because these galvanic couple will create corrosion. For copper roof we offer copper snow guards or stainless-steel snow guards.

Chemical attachment

In the article “Why do I need snow guards?” (тут ссылка на эту статью) we described cleats type and fence type snow guards. Cleats are snow retainers that are made of small separate elements. Most of the polycarbonate cleats are glued to the metal roof (chemical attachment) and/or connected with screws to the base of the roof.

Based on our experience we do recommend fence style snow retention systems. Often, we must replace inefficient cleats by installing fence style snow guards because roofs. Cleats snow stoppers might work on small slopes with low pitches and minimal amount of snow.

Clamp-on attachment

Most of standing seam profiles allow clamp-on attachment of snow guards. Clamps or brackets are connected to the ribs of the standing seam profile without damaging integrity of the roof, i.e., without drilling any holes. This is particularly important advantage of clamp-on attachment of snow retention devices and other roof safety devices such as ladders and bridges. There are many types of standing seam metal roof profiles. We offer variety of snow guards for standing seam roofs with different types of clamps and brackets:

  • Clamps for single lock
  • Clamps for double lock
  • Clamps for snap lock
  • Clamps for T-seam

How to choose the best attachment method for your roof

The best attachment method for your roof is the one which does not reduce service life of the roof. This method depends on the type of roof. For most of standing seam metal roofs we can offer snow guards that are attached to the ribs of the profile with clamps and brackets.

For asphalt and metal shingles, metal tile and straight rib panels the only option to connect snow retention devices is to screw them to the base of the roof.

Final Thoughts

If you have any questions about snow retention safety systems or want to know the best way to mount snow guards to a metal roof, please contact us.

We offer you snow guards made in Canada or in Finland, Orima. Orima reliable safety roof solutions are equally good for residential and commercial property. Orima products are designed and manufactured to resist northern conditions, safely and constantly. Many quality certificates are received in and outside of Finland and other countries prove Orima’s competence and experience. That is why we provide up to 30 years guarantee for Orima roof safety systems, but their service life is much longer.