Snow protection

Home owners have a duty of care that includes, not only keeping traffic routes free of snow, but also preventing damage to people or property caused by so-called roof avalanches. They are therefore liable if falling chunks of snow or ice hit pedestrians or cars.

So, in order to prevent the snow on the roof from sliding and falling off the roof, so-called snow guard systems are installed. These are either a grid or also a beam, which are installed close to the edge of the roof. They accumulate snow at the edge of the roof and also protect gutters from clogging, overflowing or even falling down.

The most common are snow guards - these are basically small fences with a load capacity in the middle range, as well as snow guards with a high load capacity. The latter are used mainly in snowier areas and are also often arranged in several rows one above the other.

They are not required for every building. It depends on the location of the building, as well as on the snow conditions of the particular place. In Germany, there are 5 snow load zones, 1, 1a, 2, 2a and 3. In addition, the roof pitch plays a role, and whether the building is located, for example, directly on the street or separately in the middle of a large property.