


If you live in the US, our snow load calculator compares the total weight on your roof with the permissible load calculated according to the standards issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers regarding the Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE7-16).

The weight of snow is measured in kg or lbs. Snow weight = length × width / cos(pitch(°)) × snow load The result - snow load, or the pressure exerted by the snow - has the units of kN/m² or lbs/ft². If you want to calculate these values by hand, use the following formulas: You can also find the load per square meter or square foot of roofing by opening the advanced mode. Once you know these values, our snow load calculator automatically finds the total weight of snow on your roof. If you're unsure which type to choose, always settle for the wetter types, as they are denser. The density of snow depends on whether it's fresh, wet, wind-packed, or mixed with ice. Intuitively, this is the number of inches of snow on your roof in the place where the cover is the thickest. If you don't know the value, check our roof pitch calculator, which will tell you in a second. You can enter this value either as a ratio x:12 or as an angle, whichever suits you better. If your roof is pitched, enter the length and width of the flat area covered by the roof. You can enter these values in any units you'd like, including meters and feet. You need to supply the following information: The roof pitch chart contains a diagram illustrating different roof shapes, and a table of associated values of the slope (with conversion to an angle) and multiplier.To calculate the weight of snow on a roof, use the first two sections of our snow load calculator. The roof slope table shows all of the important information in one place. While steep roofs may sometimes be desirable, they tend to cover more surface area and therefore require more building materials and result in a higher overall cost. It is important to think about the roof pitch when building your home because this will have a significant effect on what construction materials you need and the total cost. Example 2: Calculating surface area using the roof pitch chart.Example 1: Calculating rafter length using the roof pitch chart.This is why the conversion chart can be extremely helpful. It is also common to see roof pitch described as an angle or characterized by a roof slope multiplier. Just multiply the ratio of rise to run by 12: The idea is that the roof rises x inches for every 12 inches it runs (or spans) in the horizontal direction. Usually, the slope is converted into an equivalent ratio in the form x/12. One way to calculate the rise is to measure the height of the roof at its highest point (floor to ceiling) and then subtract the height at its lowest point (typically from the floor to the lowest point of the roof). The rise is the height of the roof from its lowest to highest points. The run is the horizontal span of the roof measured from the roof ridge to the side of the building. You might remember the mathematical formula for slope is It is most common for roof pitch to be expressed as a slope. Roofs that are roughly flat have a small pitch, while very steep roofs have larger pitches. The roof pitch is essentially a measure of the steepness of your roof.
