Clearing snow from rooftop deck

We had a few inches of snow last night. I have a rooftop deck with a wooden flooring. Do I need to clear the snow or can I just leave it to melt and clear on it’s own?

Krisdan47

in General Discussion 1 year and 3 months ago

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hkapstein | 1 year and 3 months ago

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The deck and roof should have been designed to handle snow loads, but you never know. It’s unlikely the snow we have seen recently would be a problem for anything. But if you want the deck clear you could consider snow melting mats(check drainage), or a plastic shovel that would be less likely to damage the wood. If there is ice, you can use a non-marking rubber mallet to break the ice off the wooden deck without damaging the wood. In my opinion though, it should not be necessary to clear snow from the deck to reasonably maintain it, and if it is, there is probably something wrong with the deck. Inspect it in the spring, and perform the appropriate maintenance for your deck finish. Wood decking will not last forever, but at least 10 or 20 years should be expected on the low end and substantially more for a well built and maintained deck.

patrickburnsjr | 1 year and 3 months ago

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RCL NZ, if your concern is snow damaging the wood itself I don’t think the wood’s condition would be at risk and attempting to shovel arctic temperature-hardened snow would scrape/scratch your wood. If the snow was lighter you would broom sweep it off if that would be your choice to feel more comfortable.
Alternatively, if NYC had a snow load of 8-10″ then the concern would be to remove the snow load and distribute it sensibly off the deck if the deck-weight-load is sitting directly on the roof. Roof Decks suspended off the roof on Steel I-Beams are not a snow-weight-load problem.

justinromeu26 | 1 year and 3 months ago

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I grew up in a house with a wooden deck and my mom has a deck now. Generally, the wood used on the decks is chosen because it can weather the elements. In the house i grew up in and in my mom’s house today, the only shoveling that got or gets done was or is a path for the dogs to walk off the deck to do their business. Aside from simple paths, everything else remains snow covered.

I am not saying that the best practice is. I am telling you how we have always dealt with the snow.