Retro-fit Snow Retention. What to do?

August 19th, 2016

One of my older relatives used to say, when confronted with a dilemma, “What to do, what to do….”  It made me chuckle!

But, this phrase describes a dilemma for people confronted with snow and ice avalanching off their already installed roof.  They want to keep the snow up there

snow clips, snow guards, snow bracket

rather than down there

Snow Avalanche Off A RoofFalling Snow in Park City, UT

but what is the best solution?

First of all, retrofit is similar as well as different from new construction.  Basic questions need to be answered for new and retrofit construction.

  • What is the slope?
  • What is the snowload in the area?
  • What type of roofing product is being used?
  • What type of sheathing is under the roofing material?

For retrofit, snow retention installers don’t have the luxury of applying the snow retention devices as the roofing material is installed in a new project.  This is when “What to do, what to do…” might be heard under their breath!

How do you keep snow and ice from falling off while also maintaining a water-tight system when the roofing is already on the roof?  How hard is it to do this?

Contractors need a simple and effective solution.

For asphalt shingles, simulated shake, and other similar roofs, using TRA’s H Snow Bracket, there is no need to pull back the headlap to install a device. Butyl or caulking can be applied on the surface of the roofing product, then the bracket is installed directly into the sheathing using screws.  A clip is then placed over the screws.

Snow-Bracket-H-Short

Snow Bracket H

Easy.  Effective.

The reason this system will work on retrofit is because TRA’s engineering is done using the specific factors as mentioned above.  When installed using the engineered layout, the roof will now hold back the snow and ice that would have fallen off, damaging people or property below.

At TRA Snow and Sun, we help you find an Engineered Solution.  Call us for a free layout, provided within 2 working days.

Snow Bracket H

Designed for most roof types

Available with or without fastener cover clip

Can be powder-coated to match roofing material

Available in 16 g steel, 48 oz copper, 26 g Cor-Ten, 16 ga stainless steel, .063″ aluminum

Finishes – Electro-galvanized, hot-dipped galvanized, mill finish aluminum, copper or Cor-Ten

Power-coating available in many colors.