Word of the Day
3 March 2026
snow load
nounConstruction
The live load due to the weight of snow on a structure, such as a roof; included in the design calculations.
Why this one
The uniform blanket is rarely what fails a roof. Drifts pile up behind parapets, in valleys and against taller adjacent walls, so design figures treat those areas separately from the open field.
In use
That canopy was never framed for the snow load we get up here, so it goes back to the engineer before we set a single post.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.