Dependable Snow Retention
Yeti Snow Guards Help Protect South Dakota Church
by Marcus Dodson, publisher
In Spearfish, South Dakota, the average snowfall is 70-1/2” a year. So, when Weather-Tite Exteriors was hired to reroof St. Joseph Catholic Church in the western part of the state, they knew a critical part of the project would be adding a dependable snow retention system.
The skilled team started by removing batten metal panels from the church roof. The roofing contractors next installed 12 squares of TPO membrane followed by 173 squares of Vermont Slate Hail Proof EuroShield roofing. The slippery nature of the synthetic roofing, made from 95% recycled rubber tires, made it necessary for a comprehensive snow guard system to be included in the redesign of the roof. As he has for the past seven years, Nick Hildebrand, project manager at Weather-Tite Exteriors in Rapid City, South Dakota, turned to Rocky Mountain Snow Guards for a solution.
“We always rely on Rocky Mountain Snow Guards to recommend the snow retention products that will work the best with our projects,” said Hildebrand. “In this case it was the Yeti 18 in a dark bronze finish to complement the roof. These snow guards were installed over the entire church roof to help prevent avalanching of melting snows on the people and property. The Yeti products were easy to work with and are made with high-quality materials.”
Created with an appealing gusseted half round design, the Yeti Series of snow guards can handle loads in excess of 800 lbs. The .40”-thick aluminum snow guards combine greater strength and a larger pad area like the company’s RG snow guards with the half-round style of their ST snow guards.
Yeti snow guards feature a flange around the pad face to hold snow in place so it can’t slide from side to side. With the flange included, the face area of the Yeti is more than five square inches. The snow guards come in five different series, 6”, 9”, 11”, 18”, and 11” Tile Hook, for use with asphalt, metal, concrete, tile, and synthetic roofing. All Yeti products are available in pre-coated and custom powder-coated aluminum, plus copper.
“We installed 1,975 of the Yeti 18 snow guards on this church project,” said Hildebrand. “Rocky Mountain Snow Guards took our roof profile and did a free product placement take off. We knew exactly where to install the snow guards for maximum effectiveness.
“St. Joseph Catholic Church is very pleased with the roof and the snow retention system. Yeti is now our go-to snow guard, and Rocky Mountain Snow Guards is our company for any type of snow guard needs in the future.”
