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Sweet Valentines
I hope you all had a sweet Valentine’s Day. Adjusting to being single again has been an ongoing process so I wondered how the day would unfold.

Happily, it was a good one filled with the sweetest Valentines and filled with lovely warm interactions.

My hope is that yours was lovely as well.

From what I hear the Moose Lodge was hopping–and Kevin did an outstanding job with the steak and lobster.

Fawnskin WinterFest
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the Fawnskin WinterFest on Saturday.

Sorry, but I didn’t get any notification (as you know, GG does not rate) and my recent commitments contributed to the fact that I missed any previous announcements.

The event was lightly attended, a few vendors were present in the Triangle but the vast number of visitors to the valley managed to motivate a few of the vendors to stay longer than the 10am-2pm time frame.

Roof Snow Issues
I got a few views of some of the roof damage here in the valley when I spent some time with a friend who happens to also be a contractor.

It seems that a lot of the roofs and porch coverings in the valley were not correctly secured with bolts–but with nails.

The recent snowfall put enough weight and strained to damage a number.

Down the road, I caught up with Jerry whose renovation was nearly complete when a neighboring tree crashed down through two areas of the house. Fortunately it missed the contractors who were present working on the finishing touches.

Unfortunately, the tree broke through two different areas of the home damaging the roof, rafters, and the water seepage ended up warping the floors. I had toured the remodel prior to the storm and am so sad that this has been a set back but Jerry stressed that the good thing was that nobody was hurt.

What a great attitude, ‘Atta Boy!

Man about Town
One of the major fundraisers for the Soroptomist of Big Bear Valley is the Man about Town fund-raising campaign. This year’s candidates include:

• Eric Schwartz (co-owner of Get the Burger),
• Gabriel Rojas (co-owner of Sonora Cantina and Old County Inn),
• and David Leach, president of the Arts Council and MARTA Board.

This year’s fundraiser’s goal is to support the ongoing effort of stopping teen violence in the valley.

Amgen Tour
Mountain Folks are into sports and the big buzz is over the weekend is that the 2010 Amgen Tour of California is officially coming to Big Bear.

The event will take place over eight days and our segment from Pasadena to Big Bear will take place on Friday, May 21st. Big Bear is part of the Stage Six route and has the distinction of being the event’s first mountain finish at 7,000 feet. (The May 21st will start at 9:45am and and will arrive in Big Bear Lake at approximately 3pm for the finish.)

Top professional cyclists who are participating include Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and George Hincapie.

The Amgen Tour of California is the largest cycling event in America and has been compared with the Tour de France.

Past host cities and surrounding regions report an economic benefit from the race and it is hoped that the Big Bear Valley and surrounding mountain communities benefit from the event and the media exposure.

Okay, that is the news for now. Have a great week!

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Above: Roof Snow Load Example

How do you know if your roof is in danger of failing under a snow load?

Recently I’ve been asked (several times) just how much snow is too much snow accumulation on a roof.

Beats me!

Probably the best thing to do is check with the local building department but I did some research on the topic and promised to report back so here are my findings.

Two main variables influence how much snow on the roof is too much.

1. Where you live and the building code requirements is one major influence. Obviously if you live in a state that regularly gets a lot of snow, the requirements are in alignment with that unique requirement, but here in Southern California it can be a bit tricky since heavy snow fall has not been a problem in a long while. Also the type of wood used to build a roof is an influencing factor.
2. Next, the other influence is the actual weight of the snow–which can vary greatly.

The weight of snow is estimated at pounds per square foot (or cubic foot).

Dry snow that is light and powdery might weigh about seven pounds per square foot while some of the sources I found estimate that the average snow weighs in at 15-20 pounds per square foot.

Then you have complicating factors to take into consideration such as compacted snow (or ice) and drift snow that may exceed 20 pounds per square foot.

Drift build ups come from surrounding buildings or trees and any multiple level roofs that can accumulate deep snow drifts, too.

How much snow weight can most roofs take?

Snow loads for many buildings in snow prone states are estimated to be about 20 lb per square foot but that figure does not take into account the weight of the actual wood used in roof support, nor does it take into account other factors.

How much does roof snow weigh?

The general rule of thumb is five point two pounds per square foot for a one inch layer of water or ice.

Most locals know that 12 inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of water.

BUT wet snow weighs more and so that means the load that could be withstood is less AND although the roof might be able to support the maximum snow load for a period of time (few days to a few week) wood can fail under prolonged load bearing.

What is a safe amount of snow to have on your roof over an extended period of time?

From what I read, a safe assumption would be to estimate about half of the estimated 20 pound design load of 20 pounds per square foot.

This translates into about two feet of snow, or one inch of ice and one foot of snow.

Dr. Jarl VonDevender and Doug Petty of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service wrote a snow load analysis and published this in March of 2006:

The water content of snow may range from 3% for very dry snow to 33% for a wet, heavy snow, to nearly 100% for ice. An inch of water depth weighs 5.2 lbs. per square foot. Thus, a roof designed to carry a snow load of 20 lbs. per horizontal square foot is expected to support nearly 12 inches of wet, heavy snow.”

In all likelihood, your roof is probably designed for a snow load of 20 lbs. per horizontal square foot. But keep in mind that poor materials and poor building construction methods can contribute to a lower rating. Ice is the real danger as it weighs nearly the same as liquid water. A cubic foot of solid ice weighs 92% of what a cubic foot of liquid water. This means that your roof can only support a few inches of ice.

Roof dangers and considerations to ponder in snow season include:

• A roof pitch of 3/12 (or less) tends to prevent snow or ice from sliding off,
• wind blown snow can create more snowdrift accumulation and uneven snow load,
• porch roofs and other low roofs accumulate additional build up as snow or ice sliding off roofs above them,
• shingle roofs (or other materials) that snow clings to don’t drop the accumulation as easily as metal roofs,
• roof valleys can collect a lot of snow.

When removing snow from the roof, keep it mind that

• shingles maybe brittle during cold temps,
• dislodging the pebbles from the surface of the shingles can shorten the roof life,
• any build up might be slippery and dangerous if you climb onto the roof to remove snow.

What do you do if you have too much snow on your roof?

Hopefully you will remove as soon as the weather clears. Most experts indicated that you do have some time between a large snowfall and possible structural failure.

Ways to remove snow include:

• hiring someone to clear it,
• raking the roof (taking care not to damage the exterior roofing materials),
• adding heated conduits that help to melt the snow so it slides off.

So, how do you make the decision to shovel off a roof?

Visually inspect the roof line, rafters and trusses. If they are bending or sagging downward or flexing one way or the other, your roof may be compromised.

I’d say it is better to be safe than sorry!

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Above: Deja Vu–More Snow in Fawnskin

So, not much is new in Fawnskin. Once again it is time to go out and shovel more snow since we got at least six inches since yesterday and some people report more.

I have not been out yet so I can’t say for sure. My deck tends to be light but as I go up the hillside the depth tends to increase.

More shoveling out, oh joy!

The NSIA met on Monday for the monthly potluck.

Sister Annette should have some news on her status. She’s been getting chemotherapy and everyone is hoping she is now clear.

Also, NSIA is investigating some generator options, hopefully the speaker will attend next month.

From what I was told, these generators apparently run on natural gas and click on automatically if the power goes out. NSIA is hoping that there can be some kind of group buying discount for those who want to purchase one for their home.

Neighbor Kat emailed early this week with a new option for those of you who need help clearing your roof. She recommends Ric of Finnish Man Construction (formerly known as Mountain Man Construction).

She said he is more economical than one of the other handyman services working in the area and you can reach him at (909) 744-4778 if you need help clearing your roof here in Fawnskin. (See my comment as to how much snow might be too much and I’ll be back on Friday with an article on the topic.)

This weekend is Valentine’s Day and you can still get your reservations in for a special dinner at the North Shore Tavern or Moose Lodge 2085 for Saturday night.

That is it for now, unless you have some breaking news for me…if so, leave it in the comments!

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