The roof of a shed at Olds Home Hardware collapsed on Jan. 4 due to excessive snow, causing extensive damage.
An estimated 150 centimetres of snow had accumulated on the roof of the shed since October, said Doran Thorburn, the building materials manager at the store. The roof collapsed sometime after the store had closed for the day at 6 p.m. on Jan. 4. The building was used as storage for oak and maple medium density fibreboard, stair railings, windows and other building products.
ìIt's a good thing that it happened when nobody was there,î Thorburn said.
While store manager Tasha Bieber said staff were still assessing the damage to the building and the amount of product that was ruined last week, she was glad the collapse didn't happen during the day when customers and staff could have been around the building.
ìIt will be expensive to fix the damage itself and replace (the product). Thank goodness it happened then and nobody was there and nobody got hurt,î Bieber said.
Management at the store called in Webb's Excavating to remove the excess snow and damaged portions of the building. Bieber said until the building could be replaced, the damage would affect store operations slightly.
Shane Webb, owner of Webb's Excavating, said people should periodically check the amount of snow that has accumulated on a roof and remove it when there is an accumulation of about 30 centimetres. Snow removal should be done sooner than a 30-centimetre accumulation if the snow is heavy and wet or if the roof is flat rather than peaked, he added.
