| $5,000–$5,999 | 5% off |
| $6,000–$6,999 | 6% off |
| $7,000–$7,999 | 7% off |
| $8,000–$8,999 | 8% off |
| $9,000–$9,999 | 9% off |
| $10,000–$24,999 | 20% off |
| $25,000+ | 25% off |
| Wood Sheds | ~4 weeks |
| Metal Buildings | ~10 weeks |
| Greenhouses | ~5 weeks |
What snow load ratings mean, how roof style and steel gauge change what a building can carry, and how to work out what you need where you actually live.
Snow load is the weight a roof has to carry when snow sits on it, measured in pounds per square foot (PSF). A building rated for 30 PSF is engineered to hold thirty pounds on every square foot of roof area at once.
Two numbers get used and they are not the same thing. Ground snow load is the regional figure your local code adopts, based on historical snowfall for your area. Roof snow load is what the engineer calculates from it, adjusting for roof pitch, exposure, shape and whether the building is heated. Roof load is usually lower than ground load, because snow slides and blows off a pitched roof rather than accumulating the way it does on flat ground.
The intuition people get wrong: snow weight is about water content, not depth. Ten inches of dry powder can weigh less than three inches of the wet, dense snow that falls through much of Appalachia — and a warm spell followed by rain is the worst case of all, because the snowpack absorbs the rain and gets dramatically heavier without getting any deeper.
These are the counties our seven locations serve. Requirements are set by the locally adopted building code, and they can vary within a county with elevation — a ridge property may be held to a higher figure than a valley property a few miles away. Because of that, the authoritative figure for your build is the one your county confirms for your address.
Confirm the requirement for your address before you order
Snow load is set by your local building code and can change with elevation inside a single county, so the figure that applies to your property is the one your county gives you — not a number on a supplier’s website. Use the links below to confirm it, or bring us the address and we will help you find out. Once you have the number, we will specify a building that meets it and supply drawings if your permit office needs them.
| County | Nearest location | Ground snow load | Confirm with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh County, WV | Beckley | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Mercer County, WV | Princeton | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Nicholas County, WV | Summersville | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Greenbrier County, WV | Lewisburg | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Montgomery County, VA | Christiansburg | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Alleghany County, VA | Covington | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
| Campbell County, VA | Lynchburg | Confirm with your county | County building dept |
Roof style matters more than most buyers expect. The difference is not only strength — it is whether snow leaves the roof on its own.
| Roof style | How panels run | Snow behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | Horizontal, with rounded eaves | The entry-level option. Panel ridges run across the slope, so snow tends to sit rather than slide. Fine for mild exposure; not what we recommend for heavy-snow sites. |
| A-frame / boxed eave | Horizontal, with a peaked roof | A true pitched roof, which sheds better than a rounded one. Panels still run horizontally, so shedding is not as clean as vertical. |
| Vertical Best for snow | Vertically, peak to eave | Panel ridges run downhill, giving snow and meltwater a channel straight off the roof. This is the style to choose anywhere that gets real accumulation, and it is normally required for the higher certified ratings. |
Pitch matters alongside style: a steeper roof sheds sooner. So does what is above the building — a roof under trees holds snow longer than one in the open, and drifting against a wall or a neighbouring structure concentrates weight in one place that the average figure does not describe.
Gauge is the one specification buyers most often read backwards. A lower gauge number means thicker steel. 12-gauge framing is heavier and stronger than 14-gauge, not weaker.
The standard framing on most carports and lighter buildings. Perfectly adequate for moderate exposure, and it is what keeps entry-level pricing where it is.
Noticeably thicker tubing. It is the upgrade that matters most for high snow load, long spans and wide open buildings, and it is often what makes a higher certified rating achievable at all. If you are on a ridge, at elevation, or covering a wide span without interior posts, this is where the money is best spent.
Gauge is not the only lever. Bracing, anchor type and bow spacing — how far apart the frames sit — matter just as much. Tightening bow spacing from five feet to four is a common and effective way to raise snow capacity.
A PSF rating describes a uniform load — the same weight everywhere on the roof. Real snow does not behave that way, and the difference is what actually brings buildings down. Engineers design for it; buyers rarely think about it.
If your building sits beside a house, a barn or a bank, wind pushes snow into the angle between them. That strip can carry several times the load of the open roof beside it. It is the single most common reason a building fails in a storm that other buildings nearby survived. Tell us if the building will sit against something taller — it changes the specification.
A lean-to or carport tucked under the eave of a larger roof receives everything that roof sheds, arriving all at once. The receiving structure needs to be specified for that surge, not for the snowfall alone.
Wind strips the windward slope and deposits on the leeward one. The building ends up loaded far more heavily on one side, which is a different structural problem from being loaded evenly — and it is why bracing and anchoring matter as much as roof strength.
The worst case in this region is not a blizzard. It is a heavy snow followed by a warm rain before the snow has cleared. The pack absorbs the rain, weight climbs sharply, and nothing about the depth on the roof looks different. Appalachian winters produce this pattern regularly, which is a good reason not to specify to the bare minimum.
A single county figure hides a lot of variation here. Ground snow load rises with elevation, and our service area has significant relief within short distances — a property up on a ridge can face a materially higher requirement than one in the valley a few miles away and several hundred feet lower.
This is why we ask for the address rather than the county. Two customers in the same county can correctly end up with different buildings, and the one at elevation is not being upsold.
Buildings rarely collapse without warning. The usual sequence is that framing deflects under load, doors begin to bind or stop latching, and panels oil-can or ripple where they are being worked. Those are the signals that a roof is carrying more than it was designed for.
If you see them, clear the roof from the ground with a roof rake — never by climbing onto it — and keep people and vehicles out from underneath until it is clear. Then call us. Deflection that recovers once the snow is gone is worth an inspection; deflection that does not recover is a structural problem.
A certified building is engineered and stamped to meet specific wind and snow loads for its location, and comes with drawings a building department will accept. A non-certified building is built to the same general design without that engineering package.
You generally need certified when:
Certification adds cost. It is worth it in most of our service area, and it is the part people most regret skipping — not because the building fails, but because the permit office asks for paperwork that does not exist.
You do not need to work the numbers out yourself. Tell us the address and what is going under the roof, and we will specify a building that meets the local requirement — roof style, gauge, bracing and bow spacing together, not one in isolation. Where drawings are needed for a permit, we provide them.
If you want to see options first, the 3D builder lets you set size, roof style and colours before you talk to anyone.
The questions we field most from buyers comparing ratings.
Tell us the address and what is going under it. We will handle the snow load, the roof style and the paperwork.