Why roofers should care about snow retention

By Emma Peterson.

Learn from expert Mindy Dahlquist about how snow retention protects people and property.

In a new episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Mindy Dahlquist from TRA Snow and Sun stopped by to talk to Karen Edwards about how important it is for roofing professionals to understand snow retention. Mindy, who is TRA’s business development manager, explained that snow retention installation often falls to roofing contractors. She shared, “Roofing contractors, gutter contractors, are usually the ones that are going to be installing the snow retention. Every now and then you'll have solar contractors, but I would say roofers make up 95% of the installers of snow retention.”

So, what is snow retention? The idea of retaining the snow rather than getting it off as quickly as possible is a newer one. Mindy explained, “It's interesting how we've always just wanted to get the snow off of our roof as fast as possible. A lot of that came with the building standards at the time. Anything built prior to the mid-1970s we were not even considering snow loads... But over in European countries and Asian countries, it's something that has been going on for centuries.” Today, the building codes have changed and companies like TRA are out there helping people understand that removal is not always the best option.

The big concern when it comes to snow on the roof is the damage it can cause as it slides off uncontrolled. This is where snow retention systems come into play. Mindy elaborated, “Snow retention is basically the concept of holding back the snow and allowing it to melt off in place instead of allowing it to slide off of the roof and come down where it's able to create damage along the way.” This not only protects property like the roof, but it can potentially save people’s lives as well.  

But because snow retention is newer to the United States, it can be a challenge for contractors to work with. That’s where TRA team members like Mindy come in. She shared a bit of what she does to support contractors learning about and looking to install snow retention systems, saying, “If a contractor is not feeling like they're getting the support they need, they can say, ‘Hey Mindy, I have some issues going on, this architect's not quite hearing me out.’ Then I can always either stop in for a visit, give them a phone call, send some training information.”

If you are looking for that type of training and education support from TRA experts like Mindy, make sure to register for their Winter Snow Retention Training Seminar on February 4, 2025! Hosted at the Hampton Inn in Grand Junction, Colorado, the seminar begins at 9:30 a.m and ends at 1:00 p.m. MT.

Read the transcript or Listen to the full conversation to learn more about snow retention in general!