HAMBURG, N.Y. — Joe Boncore is a long-time code enforcement officer in the Town of Hamburg and someone very familiar with the risk that snow loads carry for homes.
"We started tracking the calls for this storm on the 19th, we have well over 100 calls total," said Boncore.
Those calls have ranged from concerns about cracks to collapsed roofs so for code enforcement assessing the degree of severity is the first step.
With as much as 3 feet or more of snow sitting on a roof, Boncore shared some telltale signs of roof strain.
"Cracks in the corners of your ceiling, cracks over archways, in your walls, especially walls that are load bearing, that are supporting a good amount of the roof," he said.
But how heavy can snow really be? Well, without knowing the density or water content Boncore said 20 pounds per cubic foot is a good average. If your is 30 feet by 30 feet or 900 square feet and the snow on your roof is 3 feet high, it could weigh the same as 27 bison.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bison can weigh anywhere between 882 lbs. to 2,205 lbs. For this example, we'll use the high end of that range.
"That translates to 27 tons of snow that you can have on a roof rob... so yeah that’s an awful lot," Boncore said.
Town of Evans code enforcement told 2 On Your Side that they've received between 50 and 60 calls regarding roof concerns as of Monday. In Orchard Park, however, Supervising Code Enforcement Officer Steve Bremer said they’ve only had a few requests for building evaluations.
Boncore said roof rakes, which are designed to pull off snow from the edges of a roof can help alleviate some of the stress but in other cases, a roofing contractor may be needed. Flat roofs are much easier to shovel off and don't shed snow like ones with a steeper slope.
If you are concerned, Boncore said to call your local emergency dispatch or an architect, to help determine the appropriate response. Hamburg code enforcement started responding to residential calls on Tuesday after prioritizing imminent dangers like Braymiller's Lanes and Nickel City Designs both of which were deemed total losses and in need of demolition.
"Flat roofs are most susceptible however we’ve noticed what is causing the most difficulty now are the low-pitched roofs," said Boncore.
As of 2020, New York State Building Code requires that homes be built to hold 50 pounds of snow per square foot. Older homes however like many of those in the Village of Hamburg, across the City of Buffalo, and any of Western New York's historic villages are much older and were built to much lower snow load specifications, which could make them more susceptible to damage.
Boncore said that rising temperatures will help alleviate some of the strain, melting the snow down to size, but he added that rain, which is forecasted to fall later this week, could worsen the situation.
"Snow tends to hold on to rain, making it heavier which is not a good thing."
The most crucial advice Boncore said he could provide was to contact your insurance company if you are concerned about damage. You may be covered but it will depend on your plan and provider.
