Roofing in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, a US territory, combines a Taíno and Spanish colonial building heritage with US model codes. Most houses are reinforced concrete, but many lighter timber-and-zinc houses, often built informally, were stripped of their roofs by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Climate and hazards

• Hurricanes: Maria made landfall on 20 September 2017 and left tens of thousands of homes open to the weather.
• Earthquakes: the island is seismically active, and the 2018 codes adopted new seismic design category maps.
• Salt air, which drives corrosion of fasteners, straps and exposed steel.

Roofing history

Taíno. Taíno villages on Puerto Rico (Borikén) were among the largest in the Caribbean, with circular thatched family houses (bohíos) of poles, woven straw and palm leaves around a central plaza and rectangular chief's houses (caney) (see bohio).

20th century. Informal construction remained widespread: at a 2018 legislative hearing, officials of the Office of Permit Management (OGPe) said that more than 75,000 informal structures did not meet construction codes.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Bohío: palm-thatched rural house.

Roofing today

Hurricane Maria's damage fell heavily on lighter roofs, and the 2018 codes target the connections, fasteners and straps that hold them on.

Hurricane Maria and the blue roofs

Under FEMA's Operation Blue Roof, the US Army Corps of Engineers covered damaged roofs with plastic sheeting intended as a temporary repair lasting about 30 days. About 60,000 roofs were needed. Only 439 were installed in the first 30 days; about 30,000 had been completed by 30 December 2017, and the last of 59,469 was installed about six months after the storm. A contract for plastic sheeting was cancelled when the supplier failed to deliver, slowing the start. Months later, thousands of households were still waiting for permanent repairs, and blue tarps became a symbol of the slow recovery.

Codes, standards and regulation

In 2018 Puerto Rico replaced its 2011 code with the Puerto Rico Codes 2018, based on the 2018 International Code Council family with local amendments, including the Puerto Rico Building Code and Puerto Rico Residential Code. The update added new wind speed maps, including microzone maps that account for topographic speed-up, new seismic maps, corrosion-resistance requirements for exposed connections, fasteners and metal straps, and rules for rooftop photovoltaic panels (see international-building-code and international-residential-code).

Local roofing terms

• Techo de cemento / placa: concrete slab roof.
• Techo de zinc: corrugated metal roof.
• Toldo azul: blue tarp.

Sources and gaps

No information on island roofing manufacturers was found in published sources.

Island-wide shares of roof materials, Spanish colonial roofing and individual heritage roofs: published information is limited.