Two portions, according to the City
The City's land use plan states that the industrial uses of the western portion developed mainly in the 2000s, and that part of the Centre industrial park is located there. The same plan describes the eastern portion as dominated by low-density residential uses.
The City does not describe the roofs of these buildings. If yours has a large flat roof, the rules specific to this kind of roof are on the roofing in Vimont page. Caution with snow is the same from one end of Laval to the other.
A large roof is prepared before winter
For a flat roof, the CNESST (Quebec's workplace health and safety board) asks snow removers to prepare before the winter season, in particular as follows:
- inventory the obstacles on the roof, including fragile surfaces such as a skylight,
- install a guardrail at the edge, to mark the area where the snow will be dumped,
- set up a warning line that creates a 2-metre buffer zone all around,
- plan what is needed to mark off, on the ground, the zone where snow and ice will fall.
None of this is done well once the roof is covered in snow. According to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ, Quebec's building authority), well-informed owners sign their snow removal contract at the start of the winter season. On a large building, this lead time lets us visit the roof while everything is still visible.
Give us what you have: a roof plan, the location of equipment and skylights, the access points.
The day of the work
The CNESST then asks snow removers to mark off the drop zone on the ground and bar access to it. Around an industrial building, this zone can cut off a door, a traffic lane or parking spaces.
Ask us for the schedule and have it written in the quote. Notify employees, tenants and delivery people expected that day. No employee goes up to lend the crew a hand.
The structure is an engineer's matter
We remove the load and we do not say what a roof frame can bear. The Régie entrusts this check to a structural engineer.
The signs it names apply to a warehouse as much as to a house: cracks in interior walls, interior doors that stick, unusual cracking sounds, a ceiling that deforms. If there are many, the Régie asks that the building be evacuated and the snow removed, whatever its depth. If a ceiling sags, get all staff out of the building and call 911.
On the residential side
In the eastern portion, the rule stays the same: the owner does not go up. The owner looks at the roof edge from the yard, takes photos and notes what can be seen inside.
For a house as for a plant, we prepare the quote from your request.
Frequently asked questions
Is a licence required to clear snow from an industrial roof?
No, according to the Régie du bâtiment: clearing snow from roofs does not require a licence from the Régie, and its text makes no separate case for industrial buildings. The Régie instead asks owners to make sure the company has the experience and the equipment. Also require its certificate of liability insurance.
Why does the edge of the roof stay snow-covered?
The CNESST provides for a 2-metre buffer zone all around a flat roof, marked by a warning line. This strip is not cleared.
Is a building from the 2000s safe?
No source on this page says so. The Régie writes that roofs are generally built to support the snow loads of Quebec winters, and asks owners to stay vigilant when accumulations are exceptional.