Normally the two words “drift” and “roof” to folks in our trade would create a picture of prevailing winds forcing a snow drift to bank its weight on one particular part of the roofing structure, creating a stress point for the building, and additional liability for any objects below that might get damaged by a pending ice or snow avalanche. However, to the rest of the world, “drift” and “roof” probably bring up an image of four smartly dressed African-Americans singing soothing tunes–that’s right, the classic “Up on the Roof” by the Drifters!

As the above image illustrates, knowing the wind patterns around your structure can be an important factor in determining how many snow guards you need to place, and where they need to be placed, as to give the best and most efficient protection for your property. Of course, evenly spreading them out everywhere will do the trick too, although this could be wasteful if certain parts of the roof do not require guards.

Anyway, as important as calculating all of this might be, remember to take a few minutes today to break away from the worries of the world, and find your “roof” so you can look at life from a different vantage point, and better appreciate it when you come back down. Take time to relax, Up on the Roof.