If you’re building in an area that sees a lot of snowfall you’ll want to plan your home accordingly.

Happy Trade Tip Tuesday! We’re in the midst of a two-day snowstorm up here in Maine so I guess we need to accept winter is really here. The first big snowfall of the year has done more than give all the kids a snow day though, it’s also inspired this week’s Tip: Plan Your Home to Handle Snow.

Obviously, this is a region-dependent suggestion but our experience shows us that a large percentage of people who are looking to build a log home are doing so in areas that experience snow…sometimes an incredible amount of snow. Oakfield, Maine definitely does which is why all of our home and roof designs have been created with that in mind. But even with that there are some things you should consider when designing your own home.

Your home’s roof lines, valleys, dormers, porches, decks, and even your landscaping, need to be designed with snow in mind.

First, you need to know what your snow load will actually be. You can use a site like https://hazards.atcouncil.org/ to calculate the average you can expect. With that information, Katahdin’s design team will design your roof to meet the snow load recommendations.

The home design will take more into consideration than just weight. Roof lines and dormers create valleys where snow could pile up. Porches and decks can end up taking a lot of weight when the snow slides off. If you’re doing a shallow roof pitch, can you easily access it to rake the snow? Even your future landscaping should take the snow into consideration…you don’t want to put in beautiful shrubberies only to have them taken out by 3 ft. of the fluffy stuff!

With proper planning, and your dealer, your future log home will be ready for any amount of snowfall.

Your dealer will help you manage these considerations and work with Katahdin’s design team to ensure your home is ready to be a winter wonderland. Thank you for tuning into this week’s Trade Tip and we’ll see you next week!