![]() ![]() In other words, snow guards can be made so that snow and ice must either: pass over the surface of the mounting base before being halted by the perpendicular face pass halfway over the mounting base or encounter the perpendicular face first, so that snow and ice do not pass over the mounting base at all. ![]() In addition, the face may stand up from the edge of the mounting base or from the middle, so the guard looks either like a letter "L" or an upside down "T." Further, the L-shaped products can be designed so that the perpendicular face which holds back the snow is on either the forward or rear edge of the mounting base. Snow guards not only come in different heights and with different faces. The flat surface should stand at least the height of the seam, creating a connected field to hold snow and ice stationary until it can melt off safely." "Snow guards need to be mounted in the lowest portion of a roofing panel where the snow and ice actually moves. "The height and shape of the face of a snow guard determines its ability to hold back layers of ice and snow," continues McMullen. Second, he favors a flat face rather than a pointed design, since he believes the latter is more decorative than functional and does not hold back snow. Minimum size, he suggests, is 2.25 inches high and 3 inches across. While all agree how snow guards are supposed to work, how can gutter installers choose among the many different designs? "First, the face of the snow guard has got to be big enough to hold the snow," advises McMullen. In turn, the ice dam will prevent the mass of snow from sloughing off the roof all at once in a single avalanche. The idea is that, as snow and ice back up against the guards, it will harden and create a dam. Snow guards are roof-mounted at spaced intervals and in two or more rows near the edge of a roof. You just have to be comfortable walking on the roof.įor gutter installers interested in adding snow guards to their product offerings, the first step is to understand how they work and how to choose among the many guards on the market. "You get a wholesale price to buy 100 at a time, which is basically one house. "But the fact is that you can make money installing snow guards," replies McMullen. Others may believe it is more profitable to move on and install another gutter system at another home, rather than spending the time to put snow guards on a roof. Perhaps the reason for gutter companies' lack of awareness is because snow guards are mounted on the roof surface, so that installers regard the product as outside their territory. And second, homeowners who buy the products have a right to ask, 'Why didn't my gutter installer tell me about this problem?'" First, installers aren't very aware of snow guards. ![]() "On the other, we don't sell many snow guards to gutter companies. "For the residential market we sell most of our snow guards to homeowners, especially when the homeowner is having a problem with snow," reports McMullen. Public awareness of snow guards is increasing because a growing number of new products have been introduced. "But I think gutter installers also have an obligation to tell their customers about how to protect gutter systems from catastrophe," he believes. Home builders and their roofing contractors are in the know. Architects are learning the importance of specifying them. Paradoxically, though, McMullen has observed the gutter installers in general lack awareness about snow guards - even though "the number one reason for using them is to protect the gutters from being ripped off the roof." Homeowners are increasingly aware of snow guards. They don't anticipate snow and so they install gutters that aren't made as strong." In fact, sometimes it's the southern states that can have real problems. "All it takes is just one snow to ruin your whole investment in a gutter system. "Take a place like the Florida panhandle," he says. And to those who believe the guards are only for northern climates, McMullen says his company has sold its products in every state except Hawaii. Snow guards are a critical element in protecting gutters from damage, especially when a commercial building or home has a glossy coated metal or slate roof. "How about a mass of snow and ice that avalanches off the roof and takes the whole gutter system with it," suggests Brion McMullen, president of SnoBlox-SnoJax, a maker of roof-mounted snow guards based in Lemoyne, Pa. ![]()
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