A university professor who specializes in structural dynamics says a large accumulation of snow on the roofs of buildings isn’t necessarily a threat.
But, if there are lingering safety concerns it’s always best to hire a professional engineer to conduct an inspection.
Ahmed Elshaer, an associate professor at Lakehead University, says that the National Building Code of Canada set the design load for Sault Ste. Marie at 3.1 kilopascals as a base value, which is equivalent to roughly 300 kilograms per square metre.
“It’s not a bad idea to try to remove the snow from the top of the roofs so it can reduce the accumulated snow,” in the event of large amounts of snowfall, said Elshaer, who teaches civil engineering.
The university professor says it’s also better to rid rooftops of snow sooner rather than later because the snow has less density when it’s fresh.
“If we wait for the snow to accumulate, it could get more compacted,” Elshaer said.
As previously reported by SooToday, a recent winter blast that produced snow squalls and staggering amounts of snowfall locally led to the City of Sault Ste. Marie declaring a significant weather event and one local contractor declaring the winter blast an emergency.
Last week, the Ministry of Labour confirmed that it had launched an investigation into a roof collapse at Algoma Steel. At the time, the Sault steelmaker said the collapse was likely due to excessive snow accumulation.
Elshaer suggests hiring an accredited professional to assess the structural integrity of any roof if there are concerns.
“If you see any signs of damage, if you feel that there is a part of the roof that is a little bit saggy, especially with old buildings that happen to deteriorate over time, it is never a bad idea to ask for a professional engineer to do an inspection to see if a specific building is at risk or not,” he said.