# Roofing in Samoa

> Samoan roofing: the open-sided fale with a domed thatched roof lashed with sennit, now largely roofed with corrugated iron.

- URL: https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-samoa/
- Topic: Roofing Around the World
- Also known as: Samoan roofing
- Regions: Oceania
- First published: 2026-11-02 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
- Cite as: "Roofing in Samoa." roof.wiki. https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-samoa/

## Key facts

- **Dominant material today:** Corrugated iron (67.6% of 2011 census records)
- **Traditional materials:** Sugarcane-leaf or coconut-frond thatch; ʻafa sennit lashing
- **Thatch share:** 21.1% thatch, 10.7% iron and thatch (2011)
- **Climate driver:** Tropical cyclones, heavy rain
- **Building code:** National building code (1990, updated 2017)

Samoa's roofing tradition is built around the *fale*, an open-sided house whose high domed roof rests on timber posts. The frame was lashed without metal fasteners using *ʻafa* (coconut-fibre sennit), and thatched with sugarcane leaves or coconut fronds. Corrugated iron is now the majority roof, but thatch remained on about a fifth of buildings recorded in the 2011 census.

## Climate and hazards

Samoa has a hot, humid tropical climate with heavy rain and lies in the South Pacific cyclone belt. The open fale suits the heat, letting breezes pass beneath a roof that sheds rain and gives shade. Metal roofs are hotter and noisier and corrode quickly near the sea.

## Roofing history

The classic fale is round or oval with no walls. Before contact with Europeans no metal fasteners were used: the frame was lashed with ʻafa, plaited from dried coconut husk fibre, and an ordinary fale used 30,000-50,000 ft (roughly 9-15 km) of it, traditionally prepared by older men or chiefs (*matai*). Construction was led by master builders, the *tufuga fau fale*, who belonged to an old guild and were engaged through negotiation and customary exchange. Women made the thatch, overlapping it from the eaves upward in a double layer that lasted about seven years.

Corrugated iron later spread widely. Many fale are now rectangular rather than round, and many small beach fale and village cookhouses (*umukuka*) have iron roofs.

## Traditional and vernacular roofs

- **[Fale](https://roof.wiki/samoan-fale/)**: open-sided house with a domed roof on posts.
- **Fale tele** ("big house"): the main, usually round, meeting house of a family compound, used for councils, ceremonies, funerals and the bestowal of chiefly titles.
- **Pola**: woven coconut-frond blinds hung from the roof frame and lowered against sun, wind or rain.

## Roofing today

In the 2011 Population and Housing Census data file, 67.6% of buildings with a recorded roof material had corrugated iron, 21.1% thatch, 10.7% a combination of iron and thatch, and 0.4% tarpaulin. These are case counts from the census file rather than published summary tables.

## Codes, standards and regulation

Samoa's national building code dates from 1990 and was updated in 2017; building is regulated under the Ministry of Works Act 2002.

## Notable roofs

The fale tele of village and family compounds are the principal traditional roofs.

## Local roofing terms

- **Fale**: house. **Fale tele**: big (meeting) house.
- **ʻAfa**: coconut-fibre sennit.
- **Tufuga fau fale**: master house builder.
- **Pola**: coconut-frond blinds. **Umukuka**: cookhouse.

## Sources and gaps

No information on domestic roofing manufacturers was found in published sources. No individually documented landmark roof was found.

Roof-material results from the 2016 and 2021 censuses: published information is limited.

## Sources

1. Architecture of Samoa — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Samoa
2. Fale — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fale
3. Samoa Population and Housing Census 2011, roof materials (H5) — Samoa Bureau of Statistics. https://microdata.sbs.gov.ws/index.php/catalog/15/variable/V288
4. Status of building codes in the Pacific — Pacific Legal Network. https://www.pln.com.au/single-post/status-of-building-codes-in-the-pacific