Houseworks: How to stop roof avalanches

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLifeHomes Houseworks: How to stop roof avalanches  Metal roofing is a great choice in Canada, just know that the roof itself needs a bit of help to keep things safe Author of the article: By Steve Maxwell Published Sep 08, 2026 Last updated 15 hours ago 3 minute read Join the conversation Ice guards eliminate the dangers of snow and ice from sliding off metal roofs in winter.   PHOTO BY AL KLASSEN  Article content If you have a metal roof on your house, then there’s a danger you need to understand. Metal roofs are almost always smooth, and warmth from the sun often starts winter trouble. Snow sitting on the roof can melt as the metal warms, then suddenly everything slides off the roof as one enormous mass. On roofs that aren’t especially well insulated, things are even worse. Heat escaping from the building contributes to melting, turning some of the rooftop snow into ice, with water underneath that lubricates the ice slab, making the situation even more treacherous.  Article content Article content I’m working on a building now where sliding ice has been an ongoing problem. It ripped the heaviest-gauge eavestrough that I’ve ever seen clean off the building, and even damaged the 2×6 railing of a wheelchair ramp running along one side of the place. Every winter that same ramp gets buried under two, three and sometimes even four feet of ice and snow dumped from the roof. Besides the damage, there’s the obvious safety and accessibility problem.  Article content Article content So I’m installing what’s variously called snow guards, ice guards or snow-retention rails. These fasten to the roof and mechanically prevent snow and ice from sliding freely off the eaves. Instead of an entire roof load suddenly becoming an avalanche, the snow and ice is held in place so it melts gradually in spring, with water running off the roof under the ice guard.  Article content This kind of protection matters most above doors, walkways, parking areas and anywhere people routinely pass, but my recommendation is to protect the full length of the eaves. You never really know where someone might happen to be standing when a roof load decides to let go.  Article content Article content There’s an important structural issue to understand, too. Snow guards transfer the force of potentially sliding snow and ice back into the roof and its supporting structure.…