How installing a snow retention system can protect you and your loved ones this winter

By Emma Peterson.  

Heavy snow naturally accumulates on the roofs of buildings, but it can become dangerous when it slides off uncontrolled. Mindy Dalhquist explains the benefits installing a snow retention system this season.  

In Season 1, Episode 5 of MetalCast™, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Mindy Dahlquist, a business development manager from TRA Snow & Sun, to talk about wintertime roof safety and snow retention systems.  

For places like Utah, where Mindy is located, wintertime means frequent snowfall and a lot of that snow ends up on residential roofs. The danger comes when heat from the building starts to melt the layer of collected snow. This causes it to slide off roofs, especially metal ones with less friction. These mini avalanches can be dangerous and in worst cases, deadly. Mindy shared that these deadly events are common, having heard of residents of all ages across Utah, Idaho, California and Colorado sadly passing from snowfall incidents. 

The commonality of these unfortunate events highlights the true danger snow accumulation can pose, prompting homeowners to find solutions to prevent these disasters. To mitigate the risk, homeowners should consider investing in snow retention systems. As Mindy explained, “Snow retention is basically holding the snow on the roof and allowing it to melt off, it does create that insulating blanket, and it also really looks nice on the roof as well. But beyond that, it does create safe access to and from a home or building, and then it just really gives that snow a place to stop.” Preventing snow falls with retention systems can save lives. 

These systems are unique to each roof as each roof has different characteristics such as material and pitch. Some metal roofs need a clamp-on system. While others may require systems such as a mounted fence. TRA Snow & Sun’s C22Z Clamp-on is a great option for many homeowners because it doesn’t compromise aesthetics for function. This two-bar system is “pretty much what most people go with just because they like the aesthetic of the two bars and not just having one little bar going through there,” Mindy explained. It does make it stick up a little bit more, but it does look very nice, and it pulls the whole building together as far as looking very finished and well taken care of.”  

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the video to learn more about snow retention systems and why they are so important.