Which Roof Pitch?

[GrassLakeRon]

If you had an 8' span to cover, which pitch would you use to be safe near fairbanks in snow load? Thanks for your insight!

[AK Mauler]

What are you covering your roof with? When I have trusses built to be used under a metal roof, I have them engineered for the maximum snow load possible (SBS uses Valdez as a baseline) and they recommend a 6/12 pitch which is the minimum I've always used.

[GrassLakeRon]

Shipping container and adding a steel roof.

[LeonardC]

Our land is just west of Wasilla. Our friends built their home with help from SBS. They were told to go with 5/12. They are on a lake and the wind pattern was taken into account??

I spoke with a person from SBS this summer about how to set up our house and some guidelines before I got too far into the design. He told me the snow would not slide off no matter how steep the roof was! I was not impressed with his "help".

Edit: our cabin has a very steep roof. I never measured the roof, but I think the cabin is 10 feet wide and I can stand up straight in the center of the loft, so maybe 8 ft at the center peak? So that's what 19.2/12. We've never had any snow damage to the roof!

[GrassLakeRon]

I could go 12/12 but that is a bit much to cover a container. The weight barring will be on the best parts of the container, plus it will have internal walls. The roof rails will be 4x6's bolted to steel channel.

[andweav]

Stick with a 4/12 to 6/12. Easy to walk on and work on. Snow load is mostly a nonissue, especially in the interior. I don't like roofs that slide, dangerous and unnecessary in my experience.

[Daveinthebush]

Stick with a 4/12 to 6/12. Easy to walk on and work on. Snow load is mostly a nonissue, especially in the interior. I don't like roofs that slide, dangerous and unnecessary in my experience.

Ditto. I live n Valdez and that is what I use. House is 6/12. Roof on conex is 4.8/12.

[NRick]

An 8/12 steel roof will slide pretty often. That's what our cabin near Talkeetn has. Great if you want to get the weight off and where the snow lands is not an issue. Around Fairbanks, it wouldn't take much to design the roof to hold the annual snow load so keeping it on the roof may be the better option. Personally, I like to have the snow come off the roof several times a winter.

[GrassLakeRon]

Thank you all for the advice.

[AKBEE]

I have been having the roof pitch discussion with lots of smart folks as I am helping a buddy build his cabin now and will build mine next summer. I originally thought I needed 12/12 but 6/12 seemed to be the majority advice with it being metal and well supported. Have you considered hurricane strap ties? (TBH I hadn't even considered middle ground like 8/12 as NRick suggested- hmmm).

[AKDoug]

The biggest reason to go 12/12 on a cabin is to get living space under it. If that's not a real concern I prefer a much lower pitch. Even with hidden fastener steel roofing, my 12/12 pitch will still hold upwards of 3' of snow on some occasions. It makes a mess when it comes off. If I had it to do all over again I would be doing less of a pitch, designing the roof to hold the snow, and use architectural asphalt shingles.

For a roof over a connex, in FBX, I would just go a 4/12 with steel roofing.

[GrassLakeRon]

I have been having the roof pitch discussion with lots of smart folks as I am helping a buddy build his cabin now and will build mine next summer. I originally thought I needed 12/12 but 6/12 seemed to be the majority advice with it being metal and well supported. Have you considered hurricane strap ties? (TBH I hadn't even considered middle ground like 8/12 as NRick suggested- hmmm).

I was thinking about running c-channel across the top of the conex so that the C points up. Drilling holes through the channel so I can bolt down the 4x6 to them, then putting on the roof secured to the 4x6. That way if I need to move, I can unbolt the roof and move the two pieces, container and roof.

[AKBEE]

I was thinking about running c-channel across the top of the conex so that the C points up. Drilling holes through the channel so I can bolt down the 4x6 to them, then putting on the roof secured to the 4x6. That way if I need to move, I can unbolt the roof and move the two pieces, container and roof.

That sounds very secure and innovative!

[andweav]

If you're just covering a single connex, why not just build a shed-style roof? Much simpler.