Roofing in the Bahamas

The Bahamas is a low-lying archipelago directly in the path of Atlantic hurricanes. It has been described by the catastrophe modeller AIR Worldwide as the first Commonwealth Caribbean country with a mandatory modern building code, yet Hurricane Dorian in 2019 showed how far real roofs could fall short of it.

Climate and hazards

• Hurricanes: Dorian struck the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama in early September 2019 with Category 5 winds that exceeded design levels, causing roof uplift, failure of roof ties and collapse of walls and roofs.
• Storm surge and flooding on low islands.
• Termites and timber decay, which weakened many destroyed buildings.
• Salt air corrosion of fasteners and metal roofing.

Roofing history

The Lucayan Taíno who lived in the islands before European contact had the smallest Taíno villages in the Caribbean, with thatched houses of poles and palm leaves (see bohio).

Roofing today

Post-Dorian reports concentrate on how roofs are tied down rather than on the covering, citing failed roof ties, uplift and aged or termite-damaged timber.

Codes, standards and regulation

• The Bahamas Building Code was introduced in the early 1970s as a mandatory code.
• A 1987 revision closely followed the South Florida Building Code.
• The 2003 edition adopted ASCE 7 load methods, raised the design wind speed from 120 mph (193 km/h) to 150 mph (241 km/h) and made hurricane shutters mandatory on applicable new buildings.
• Analysts noted that the code lacked detailed requirements for some roof elements such as ridges and overhangs.
• A November 2019 government reconnaissance found a glaring absence of code compliance in many destroyed buildings on Abaco and Grand Bahama, and recommended limiting roof overhangs to 18 in (457 mm) unless the framing is engineered for greater uplift, and providing dormers or a vented gable as an emergency exit in flood-prone areas. A revised code was being finalised in 2021.

Notable roofs

No individually roofs are listed.

Sources and gaps

Published accounts of later colonial roofing: published information is limited. No information on domestic roofing manufacturers was found in published sources.

Published historic and vernacular roof details and material statistics are limited.