The Batten Seam Roof And The Abominable Snow Monster
The stylish batten seam roof is a great way to show off your building
, but it has limitations that should be carefully considered. It is attractive on its own and can be used in so many architectural applications from the large to the small. From enhancing the lines of a grand dome to providing an interesting detail on a decorative kitchen hood, the style is undeniable.
The issue lies in WHERE the roof is installed. You wouldn't pick your fluffy slippers as your footwear of choice while trekking through the Yukon. Why then do builders insist on building roofs in designs such as the batten seam in totally inappropriate areas?
Let's get down to brass tacks. Any region with moderate snow or ice accumulation needs a roof built to handle the rigors those conditions impose. A batten seam roof is not one of those. To answer why this is the case, allow me to illustrate a personal example:
Last year I was approached by a very competent architectural firm inquiring about how to solve gutter damage from ice and snow on a prominent and well-known building in a prominent and well-known city. The roof was made of stainless steel and the building and contents therein were also very valuable. The chosen solution had to be the best option, period.
Trouble was, this important, valuable building was crowned with batten seam and was located in an area notorious for really nasty winters. Batten seams are built by seaming in a "cap" covering the batten to the low areas touching the roof substrate. This lock system as you can imagine doesn't have the holding power to handle powerful snow and ice loads.
Making matters worse was the quandary of what to do about snow and ice abatement. Snow guards are made for every roof type under the sun, but batten seam solutions are precious few.
I come from Germany. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, you will only rarely see batten seam roofs anywhere there's a chance for snow accumulation. You stand to get in a lot of trouble if there is a road or walkway under the roof and you build one anyway and someone or something gets hurt or damaged. I mean LOTS of trouble. Europeans don't tend to run with scissors as much as Americans do when it comes to building.
My first inclination was to tell this architect to tell his client, "Scrap the roof and start over with a standing seam!" Besides the obvious cost issue of that demand, I knew I was dealing with pride and sensitive feelings and a different way of doing things in the U.S., so I had to bite my tongue. But I sure didn't want to.
The architect showed me a clamp system snow guard he was thinking about using (made primarily for use on a standing seam) that had been clamped on to the corner of one of the battens crushing the edge. It was tightened and secured with two tiny screws. Despite the manufacturer's insistence and test trials proving that this method works well, it's been banned in Europe.
Leave all the engineering and math behind and think logically for a second. Would you trust anything secured merely by the sharp point of two screws to hold any weight? And if it did, and was clamped onto a weak point on the roof, what would you expect to happen?
Well, I have unfortunately seen the outcome of this method many times (before the ban was enforced) and the damage is extreme. Oh, the clamps can indeed hold a little as they claim, but no matter how well made the roof, the ROOF can't stand the stress and starts to tear.
I have seen enormous chunks of roof torn off because of this clamp system. Why they're still selling this method and getting away with it in the U.S., I'll never know.
The only real option to solve this, and the one this architect chose to use, is a special snow guard system made in Germany. The brackets sit low on the battens, and are installed by screwing directly into the battens and the sheathing for strength.
"Aaak!" You scream. "Blasphemy!" "You are violating the cardinal rule of metal roofing by making a puncture!" Yes. I know. Calm down.
This system comes with a healing strip tested for 15 years, and the engineers as well as I have never seen any unfavorable outcomes nor do we expect to. It works amazingly well and it lasts. It is by far the best solution in the world to date.
I will NEVER recommend caulk, soldering, nailing or other cheap tricks used to mask knowledge on how to properly solve a detail. This is probably the ONLY time I will ever recommend making an intentional puncture.
I'll say it again. Batten seam roofs aren't made for places with winter. When someone develops the perfect solution, I guarantee I'll be one of the first to know and you'll be the second.
by: Christina Lauritzen
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