Roofer profile: Austin Barnhardt - Quality Roofing

By Rocky Mountain Snow Guards.

Experienced roofer, Austin Barnhardt, answers questions about snow retention systems for his roofing projects.

Austin Barnhardt, vice president of Quality Roofing & Sheet Metal in Bozeman, Montana, works in some rough weather conditions. For more than 40 years his team has serviced southwestern Montana, where snow retention is a primary need for both residential and commercial roofing. Learn how his company navigates these needs in today’s roofing environment. 

Q: Tell us about your geography and what kinds of snow retention systems are needed for your customers.

A: We work in the great Rocky Mountains with high elevations and truly high snow levels. In the Big Sky, Montana area where we do many jobs, it can snow multiple feet at a time. In this region we’re putting up a good amount of standing seam metal roof panels, so we’re constantly installing clamp-on rib-style bar systems to handle snow retention.

Q: What type of roofing material do you tend to install most, and what’s your favorite “go to” snow retention product you use repeatedly with that material?

A: We primarily install 16” W x 1.5” H double-fold mechanical lock roof panels. Quality Roofing has our own metal roll forming machine, so each roof is custom made. We also fabricate all flashings in our sheet metal shop to guarantee the perfect installation every time.

For snow retention, our go to product is the S-5!® ColorGard® Unpunched Bar, S-5!® VersaClips™ and S5! Clamps. These products hold up time and again, especially in our harsh winter conditions. We also install the two-bar style fence system, like the Blizzard II from Rocky Mountain Snow Guards.

Q: What’s the most challenging roofing project you’ve ever done involving a snow retention system?

A: There’s a project in the Big Sky area, involving a standing seam mechanical lock, 8/12 roof pitch, built-in gutter and beautiful stone landscaping and walkways all around the perimeter of the property. The owner was concerned about snow sliding off the roof. We installed the Blizzard II Heavy Duty Bar System and had it custom powder coated to match The Bryer Company’s Bonderized metal roof panels. The project turned out great and the owners loved the look and the performance of the snow retention system.

Q: How often do you use the free architectural snow retention plan service from Rocky Mountain Snow Guards with your projects?

A: Our team at Quality Roofing depends on Rocky Mountain Snow Guards quite a bit for their design and suggested layouts on virtually every metal roofing job we install. This free service is vital when dealing with both architects and property owners. It gives them the detailed information they need and makes the process seamless. The whole staff at RMSG is great to work with every time we need them.

Q: What keeps you coming back to Rocky Mountain Snow Guards for your snow retention needs?

A: We love the quick turnaround time and competitive pricing. In addition, the ability to have their experienced team do the layouts and calculations for us is invaluable. The entire team there is really supportive and can answer any questions we have at any time.