Nathan Smedley
Hello I plan on building a 40×50 horse barn in the mountains but I need a roof snow load of 97psf. How do I increase this from the current plans?
Nathan Smedley
Hello I plan on building a 40×50 horse barn in the mountains but I need a roof snow load of 97psf. How do I increase this from the current plans?
There are several ways to increase your snow load. The first and easiest is to rotate your purlins 90 degrees so they are standing up on the rafter beams instead of laying down. You will need to cut short pieces to block between each purlin to prevent them from racking. The next thing you can do is to increase the thickness of the roof sheathing by using 1.5 inch thick tongue and groove decking, over the purlins. Another way to increase your snow load is to use steel roofing, instead of asphalt shingles. And finally you can double the size of your purlins to 6×6 instead of 3×6.