Integrated Buildings & Structures

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  • 1.  Snow drift for existing building

    Posted 10 days ago

    I am working on a project with an existing building that is 50'-0" wide, is a gable roof with a 6:12 roof slope.  At the center of the roof there is an additional gable roof that extends 6'-0" tall.  Essentially this is a 12'-0" wide gable roof over the peak of the lower roof.  We are adding a new taller structure adjacent to this existing building creating a valley to trap snow between the new building and existing double gable roof.  I calculated the roof drift for the windward and leeward snow drifts but am worried this does not properly account for the valley being created.  Are there additional provisions to be taken when a structure is essentially trapped on all sides by taller structures?



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    Christopher Volk P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
    Structural Engineer
    Venetia PA
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  • 2.  RE: Snow drift for existing building

    Posted 8 days ago

    Christopher, in situations like this a standard windward/leeward drift check often isn't enough.
    When a new taller structure creates a narrow valley next to an existing roof, it typically acts as a snow-trap, so you should also consider a valley / unbalanced drift case in addition to the regular drifts.

    In practice the safest approach is to treat the area between the two roofs as a separate drift load case with a larger effective drift height and width, since snow tends to accumulate more aggressively when it's confined on both sides.

    It's a common issue with additions to existing buildings - we usually check windward, leeward and a "captured snow" case as separate load scenarios.

    If you can share the height difference and the horizontal gap, I can sketch what that load case might look like.



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    Darya Stanskova M.ASCE
    Cost Estimator, Construction Engineer, Power Engineer, Project Manager
    Fort Myers FL
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  • 3.  RE: Snow drift for existing building

    Posted 7 days ago
      |   view attached
    Hi Darya,

    Thank you for the response.  I was looking into that section of the code but wasn't sure if this was meant for my condition.  So the unbalanced snow load for the valley (2pf/Ce) should be in addition to the roof drift based off worst case condition of windward and leeward cases?  The buildings are going to be next to each other so assume no gap.

    Thank you,

    Chris



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