Treating the source, not just the symptom

By Emma Peterson.

Snow retention not only protects your property from damages, but it also protects you from lawsuits.

Put simply, snow retention is about controlling and managing the snowpack that naturally builds up on a roof in regions that experience lots of snowfall in the winter. This is important because every year sees hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage and injuries due to uncontrolled snow movement from a roof (roof avalanches). In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Megan Ellsworth dives into this topic with David Stahler, the director of sales at S-5!®.

In his work, David has noticed that there is often a lot of hesitation about snow retention. Many home and building owners are not familiar with this roofing accessory and are left unsure about whether they “need” it for their roof. That’s why it’s important for you as their roofing contractor to introduce them to these systems and their value. One of the biggest reasons to install snow retention is liability. David explained, “Some people ask, ‘Why can’t I just put out a sign or a yellow tape?’ That’s not the same as snow retention and it's not going to really reduce liability. All those things do is say, ‘I know I have a problem, but I'm just going to put the sign or piece of tape up, not actually fix it.’”

A snow retention system will actually fix the core of the problem — the snow on the roof. David elaborated on how these systems do that, saying, “They keep the snow in place and make sure it doesn't come sliding off in a catastrophic avalanche. It turns a potential for disaster into a controlled harmless melt. That means your gutters, your architectural features, satellite dishes, landscaping beneath it, cars beneath it, HVAC units stay intact, but more importantly, so do the people around the roof.”

Not only is this good from the monetary perspective of protecting your property and an emotional perspective of keeping people out of harm’s way, but it is key from a liability standpoint. David shared, “From a liability standpoint, you're doing the right thing by protecting it... If you have a tile membrane or something similar that is slippery, you really have a responsibility to protect yourself and others. And as we said, a caution falling snow sign won't cut it if somebody gets hurt and neither will all the good intentions. Liability for personal injury or worse is no joke.” Ultimately, while it costs a bit more for home and building owners at the installation, investing in a snow retention system will pay for itself in avoiding expensive repairs and lawsuits.  

Read the transcript or Listen to the full episode to learn more about the importance of snow retention systems.