Third Coast Craftsman Snow Load

[bgoodrich86]

Does anyone have experience with the Third Coast Craftsman coop design and snow load? I'm in Eastern MA and we can (on occasion) get up to three feet of snow in a single storm, with totals reaching 6+ feet in bad years. I'm wondering whether anyone in a similar environment has been using the Third Coast Craftsman coop? Did you make any modifications to help prevent collapse due to snow? If I can avoid it, I'd rather not have to clear off the long roof of the run during the middle of a storm.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Hi! Welcome to BYC.

I'm from the same area. Unfortunately, I think roof raking is the only safe way to go. If you really wanted to reinforce, you could try and bury some supports posts along the center, but you need to go at least 3 feet deep in our zone. I have a mesh Omlet run with a tarp roof and cheap little poles for center supports. Hasn't collapsed yet, so I'm sure yours can tolerate a bit of snow load.

Also, heavy wet snow is the real killer. We'll even roof rake our house if we get enough of that!