Snow Load

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Quick Start

Calculate your first snow load in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• A ClearCalcs API key (get one here)
• A project ID (create via Projects API)

Basic Calculation

Calculate snow load for a 30-foot wide building with a 4:12 roof slope:

Code
 
curl -X POST https://api.calcs.com/v1/snow-load/asce7-16/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "projectId": "your-project-id",
    "name": "Warehouse Roof",
    "attributes": {
      "exposure": "Partially Exposed",
      "thermalCondition": "1",
      "eaveToRidgeDistance": 30,
      "roofSlope": 4
    }
  }'

Response

Code
 
{
  "sheetId": "sheet_abc123",
  "name": "Warehouse Roof",
  "standard": "ASCE 7-16",
  "status": "solved",
  "results": {
    "passed": true,
    "outputs": {}
  },
  "inputs": {
    "standard": "ASCE 7-16",
    "roofSlope": "4:12",
    "eaveToRidgeDistance": "30 ft",
    "exposure": "Partially Exposed",
    "thermalCondition": "1"
  }
}

Note: ASCE 7-16 returns minimal outputs. For detailed snow load calculations, use the ASCE 7-22 endpoint which returns full results.

ASCE 7-22 Response (Recommended)

The ASCE 7-22 endpoint returns comprehensive snow load results:

Code
 
{
  "sheetId": "sheet_abc123",
  "name": "Warehouse Roof",
  "standard": "ASCE 7-22",
  "status": "solved",
  "results": {
    "passed": true,
    "outputs": {
      "pF": 24.99,
      "pS": 24.99,
      "pDesign": 24.99,
      "unbalGeneral": 20.7,
      "unbalGeneralWidth": 9.25
    }
  },
  "inputs": {
    "standard": "ASCE 7-22",
    "roofSlope": "4:12",
    "eaveToRidgeDistance": "30 ft",
    "exposure": "Partially Exposed",
    "thermalCondition": "All other structures"
  }
}

Understanding Results

Snow Load Values

Field	Description	Unit
pF	Flat roof snow load (Eq. 7.3-1)	psf
pS	Sloped roof snow load (Eq. 7.4-1)	psf
pDesign	Design roof snow load	psf
unbalGeneral	Unbalanced snow load	psf
unbalGeneralWidth	Width of unbalanced load zone	ft

Override Project Defaults

To specify your own ground snow load and other site parameters:

Code
 
curl -X POST https://api.calcs.com/v1/snow-load/asce7-16/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "projectId": "your-project-id",
    "attributes": {
      "overrideDefaults": true,
      "riskCategory": "II",
      "groundSnowLoad": 35,
      "roughnessCategory": "C",
      "exposure": "Fully Exposed",
      "thermalCondition": "1",
      "eaveToRidgeDistance": 25,
      "roofSlope": 6
    }
  }'

Using ASCE 7-22

For ASCE 7-22, use the descriptive thermal conditions:

Code
 
curl -X POST https://api.calcs.com/v1/snow-load/asce7-22/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "projectId": "your-project-id",
    "attributes": {
      "exposure": "Partially Exposed",
      "thermalCondition": "All other structures",
      "eaveToRidgeDistance": 40,
      "roofSlope": 3,
      "roofInsulationRValue": 30
    }
  }'

Next Steps

• See Attributes for all available input parameters
• Check the API Reference for full endpoint documentation