Roofing in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's houses are dominated by light roofs of metal sheet on timber or steel framing, a choice that suits its tropical rains and its high earthquake risk. The country is known in Latin America for its seismic code, first drafted in the 1970s and revised regularly since.

Climate and hazards

• Earthquakes. Costa Rica has a high earthquake risk. The Managua earthquake of 1972 in neighbouring Nicaragua and the Arenal earthquake of 1973 prompted the country to write its first seismic code.
• Wind. The 2025 edition of the seismic code considered strong-wind loads on structures for the first time.
• Heavy tropical rain, especially on the Caribbean slope, and high humidity.

Roofing history

The pre-Columbian chiefdom settlements of the Diquís delta, known for their stone spheres, were inscribed by UNESCO in 2014. Colonial houses in the Central Valley were built of adobe and bahareque with clay tile roofs. Metal sheet on light timber or steel framing has since become the usual roof.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Teja on adobe or bahareque: colonial Central Valley houses.
• Natural-fibre roofs of bamboo, cane or chonta palm, still recorded as a separate category in household surveys.

Roofing today

INEC's National Household Survey (ENAHO) classifies roofs as metal or zinc sheet (lámina de metal o zinc), fibre-cement, entrepiso (a floor slab above), natural fibres (bamboo, cane, chonta), waste materials and other.

Codes, standards and regulation

The Código Sísmico de Costa Rica is drafted and updated by the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos (CFIA), which has that role under law. After a first edition in the 1970s, it was revised in 1986, 2002, 2010 and 2014 (CSCR-2010/14), and renewed again in 2025. The code is organised around seismic hazard and structural vulnerability, and each edition adds new materials and building methods. The 2025 edition expanded hazard information for the central Pacific region and, for the first time, addressed strong-wind hazard.

Local roofing terms

• Lámina de zinc or simply zinc: corrugated metal roofing.
• Fibrocemento: fibre-cement sheet.
• Entrepiso: an upper floor or slab serving as the roof of the storey below.
• Chonta: a palm used for natural-fibre roofs.