Snow Loads and what you do for your clients?

I was just reading a article that someones roof creaked and looked to be sagging.  They called their contractor and he said get out of the house, they did and their roof collapsed.  They credit him with saving their lives.

I can't remember over the years discussions about snow on roofs. A homeowner risks his safety and damage to the roof by shoveling but he needs to do something.

Do you guys get calls about it?  What is good advice that you give to your clients about how to handle a snow load?  Do you offer removal as a service?  What are some rules of thumb?  What tools or methods do you use or recommend?  Just curious.

The only time I've ever encountered this is in an older wartime home that had trusses that were more than 2-foot center.  Most homes in Ontario are built to withstand heavy snow load and it's actually a rule that we want to see MORE snow on the roof rather than less snow on the roof and a major ice dam at the eaves.

When we perform attic/roof inspections, we check to ensure the home is up to Ontario building code, and if it isn't as in the case above, we remove any excess weight due to snow or ice build-up and work with an engineer to design an adequate truss system that will meet or even exceed provincial code requirements for a long-term solution.

A roofing contractor (a friend of mine) in spokane Wa. removes snow from roofs almost every year for hire, a few years ago he was charging .35 sq ft. I have not asked what his rate is at this time

Another one in Wenatchee WA. (who has since retired and closed his business), got out of the snow removal part of the business due to L & I wanting an additional preimium, which was not reasonalble.

I moved my business here to the wenatchee area about 12 years ago. We have not had hard enough snow to worrie about, so have not been asked to provide the service