What are Typical Costs for Snow Guards?

gutter, downspout, and snowy roof
  • 1-10 hours
  • Intermediate
  • 5-1,000

There are many ways to protect your property from the elements, including the use of snow guards. Snow guards are not as expensive as you might imagine which will make them a popular addition to any house. If you are considering protecting your house with snow guards then there are some important things that you might want to know.

Snow Slides

When it snows your roof will cover in a blanket of snow, which often looks very attractive. However, snow is also a real danger. It's not just slippery, but it can also be pretty heavy.

If a large chunk of snow or ice falls from your roof then this can cause serious damage. Snow and ice can quite easily cause expensive damage to cars, other property, and people. Although you can't control the weather you can stop snow slides from occurring. Just because you didn't create the snow certainly doesn't mean that you are not responsible. Without the right protection you will be exposed to a variety of costs and expenses.

Snow Guards

There is an answer to this problem and that's to use a snow guard. A snow guard is a fairly simple device which is screwed onto the surface of your roof. It's designed to catch sheets of ice and snow before it has a chance to pose a threat to the public. Many homeowners put off installing these snow guards thinking that they are an unnecessary expense, however by installing them you will be able to save yourself from lots of very nasty and unexpected costs.

Affordability

The beauty of snow guards is that they will prevent you having to pay out a lot of money in damages because nobody will ever get injured. The snow guards will protect the public from falling snow and ice which will actually save you a fortune. If anyone ever sued you because of being hurt by falling snow or ice from your property then you would be liable. This could quite easily bankrupt you.

A snow guard is quite a small cost to pay to prevent snow and ice from ever hurting anyone. The snow guards will capture the snow and hold it in one place until it melts and it's no longer a danger.

There are many different types of snow guards and these are all made out of different materials. The average snow guard is a simple piece of polycarbonate which is screwed and fixed onto your roof. These shouldn't cost any more than $5 each, the number of snow guards required will depend on the size of your roof and the expected snow fall.

Installing Snow Guards

The snow guard is fixed onto the surface of the roof using some silicone adhesive, a large layer of this adhesive is required as it will weatherproof and waterproof the snow guard. You will then need to fix the snow guard down to the roof by using screws which are screwed into the roof joists. The whole thing needs to be left for around 24 hours for the adhesive to fully harden and for the snow guard to be as strong as possible.

Try to fix snow guards during the summer months as the glue will cure faster and hold stronger. There should also be less danger of snow pressing on the snow guards before they are fixed properly.

The cost of snow guards will depend on the size of your roof and your requirements. If you can install them yourself then they shouldn't cost you any more than a couple of hundred dollars.