# Barn roofs failing under heavy snow load



## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

We had a foot of snow on the barn roof because it snowed and then we had freezing rain, so it's basically 12" of ice... thankfully the warm weather today on that metal roof has caused it all to slide off. We had stuffed the horses into the round pen this morning thinking it would go, and it did! It's going to take several hours with the loader to clear the ice away from the run-in entrance and doors, but at least it's all off now and no collapse. That barn has been there 90 years and never had snow on it like this.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

I haven't heard of any coming down here this year, but last year there were a couple. So scary.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

SilverMaple said:


> thankfully the warm weather today on that metal roof has caused it all to slide off.



Gotta love metal roofs, and the steeper the better. When I was a kid, one winter we noticed heavy snow sliding off the roof of the pole barn that was attached to the dairy barn. So we climbed up there multiple times to start our own little avalanches and ride them down. It's a miracle any of us lived to adulthood.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Joel Reiter said:


> Gotta love metal roofs, and the steeper the better. When I was a kid, one winter we noticed heavy snow sliding off the roof of the pole barn that was attached to the dairy barn. So we climbed up there multiple times to start our own little avalanches and ride them down. It's a miracle any of us lived to adulthood.



My dad grew up on a family farm with a huge dairy/cattle/horse barn. In the winter, they'd sled off the roof across the gap next to the barn and onto the drift several feet away, then ride it down into the barnyard. Dad remembers one spring the snow had thawed along the edge of the roof, so rather than sailing over the gap and landing on the snow, his sled stalled and he did a header off the roof onto the wind-swept clear ground between the barn and the drift -- a fall of about 30 feet. His cousin said dad was out cold for a couple of minutes before he came to... they didn't tell anyone for YEARS because sledding off the barn was such fun. *sigh*


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

We didn't get enough snow to worry about the roofs collapsing but in past years with a LOT of snow there have been a few that caved in. All these were newer buildings, all the old one some over 100 years all stood firm. must have something to do with the way newer ones are built, maybe too much space between rafters or supports.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

We have had to shovel off barn roof and garage roof this year. Over 3 feet of snow on both. Now with rain in forcast good thing we did. 

Several barns pole building have collapsed in our area. Our house has a steep metal roof so for most part slides off. Only back corner doesn't hubby cleared snow off that part yesterday. 

Neighbors one barn has a lot of snow on roof. Hubby told them better shovel it off. They said oh it will be fine was last winter. This winter isn't like last winter um fencing is buried and have 6 to 8 foot snow banks every where it's been plowed.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

SilverMaple said:


> they didn't tell anyone for YEARS because sledding off the barn was such fun. *sigh*



My mother didn't want to know what we did in the barn because she didn't want to worry. And we didn't want her to know because we knew our activities would have been severely restricted. Kids today just don't have the same opportunities to kill themselves that we had. Like climbing the 30 foot ladder to the crow's nest, and the rope that hung from the pulley on the rail that ran the length of the ridge (originally built to facilitate the transfer of loose hay from the door to the back of the barn at various heights.) We watched Tarzan movies after school and then went out to the barn and tried to duplicate everything we had seen.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

Every Canadian child has almost died sledding.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Joel Reiter said:


> My mother didn't want to know what we did in the barn because she didn't want to worry. And we didn't want her to know because we knew our activities would have been severely restricted. Kids today just don't have the same opportunities to kill themselves that we had. Like climbing the 30 foot ladder to the crow's nest, and the rope that hung from the pulley on the rail that ran the length of the ridge (originally built to facilitate the transfer of loose hay from the door to the back of the barn at various heights.) We watched Tarzan movies after school and then went out to the barn and tried to duplicate everything we had seen.


I grew up on the same farm my mom did. She actually showed us how to swing across the big center bay to the mows on either side on the old hay pulley rope, lol. Such fun! My brother fell down a feed chute once and got stuck. Dad had to come help get him out. He screwed a piece of wood over the hole and left us to our devices. Of course, we also had a swingset that would come out of the ground and buck back and forth if you swung too hard, and that wasn't considered a big deal, either. We learned how far we could swing before it fell over, and considered it a learning experience!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Woodhaven said:


> Every Canadian child has almost died sledding.


Yep!!! hahahaha

Luckily, our barn roof tends not to have a lot of snow accumulate on it, but I have raked it off once, just to keep it from all sliding off at once and spooking the horses. We haven't had as much ice this year though, just a fair bit of snow. 

It's rare for roofs to collapse in our area because we're so used to large amounts of snow (and in recent years, freeze-thaw cycles). The snow load here is really high, and any builder worth his salt is not going to take a chance. The only buildings that have failed are very old barns that were half collapsed already, malls (because of the flat roof), and some of those tarp structures sometimes used as riding arenas. Surprisingly, even those usually do ok if they're recent. Still, always a good idea to keep an eye on things and take the snow off the roof if necessary.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

We learned a lot about consequences and that every action had an equal and opposite reaction (sometimes seemed like that was all out of proportion to the action) back then, didn't we?


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

This is a good point to make.


My husband works at a construction company and last year they had a job at a dairy barn where half of their ALMOST NEW roof collapsed. They examined the current structure and determined it was never built correctly in the first place (certainly not enough support for the amount of snow we can get here in North Dakota). Of course, they rebuilt it correctly and also fixed the rest of the barn (that was still standing) so it wouldn't collapse in the future either.



It can be very challenging for the non-construction person when they trust that their contractor is doing a good job for them, because that isn't always the case.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

My friends bought a place with a big barn. Stalls on the outside edges of covered arena big. 

They lived in a mobile home on the property. One year in March,(we are really close to the anniversary...) they lost the barn to a tornado. Insurance covered it, and they rebuilt. 

Three years later, we are expecting a few inches of snow and a little preceding ice, so they put BOTH of their vehicles in the barn.....and it collapsed under the i1/2 inch of ice and 14 inches of snow!!


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Part of the lovely old cattle barn at the Minnesota State Fair collapsed this morning due to heavy snow/rain.


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

@SilverMaple I saw that! Everyone's worried about the Horse Expo since that's a little more than a month away and most of the vendors are in the cattle barn. They said snow fell from a neighboring roof... So sad!


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

SilverMaple said:


> Part of the lovely old cattle barn at the Minnesota State Fair collapsed this morning due to heavy snow/rain.



Dang. 



And the blizzard is on the way for us and Minnesota. What is that Sam Jackson says in Jurassic Park? *"Hold onto your butts."*


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

QueenofFrance08 said:


> Everyone's worried about the Horse Expo since that's a little more than a month away and most of the vendors are in the cattle barn.



Maybe when they fix the roof they can do something about the temperature in there. On the last weekend in April, you can count on the cattle barn at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds to be the coldest place on earth. I always feel very sorry for people who sit in booths there all day long for the expo.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Joel Reiter said:


> Maybe when they fix the roof they can do something about the temperature in there. On the last weekend in April, you can count on the cattle barn at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds to be the coldest place on earth. I always feel very sorry for people who sit in booths there all day long for the expo.



Well, it was built long ago to stay cooler for cattle in the summer heat, not to keep people warm in April! I love it in there; I'll take cold over hot any day!


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I realize this is getting off topic but old barns can be fun. Today I was over at Sis's to do chores and three of her granddaughters were there and of course they come out to the barn to "help". I had to throw down some bales so they all climbed up with me and did they have fun. It was cold and muddy outside so they did their running around in the mow, climbing bales, an uncle put up a tire swing up there and some swing ropes which they put to good use, then played hide and seek for a while' 
By the time I returned them to the house they were ready to settle down for quiet time.

I sure would hate to see this wonderful old barn cave in from snow but it has stood for close to a century so I'm hoping it never happens.


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