Roofing in Nicaragua

Nicaragua lies between the Pacific volcanic chain, where most people live, and a wide, wet Caribbean lowland. Its roofs reflect Spanish colonial building in the Pacific cities, Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean timber and thatch on the Caribbean coast, and widespread use of metal sheet today. Earthquakes and hurricanes have repeatedly shaped how it builds.

Climate and hazards

• Earthquakes. The 1972 earthquake that struck Managua prompted neighbouring Costa Rica to write its first seismic code.
• Hurricanes. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 killed at least 3,800 people in Nicaragua, destroyed 23,900 houses and damaged 17,600.
• Heavy rain on the Caribbean side and a long dry season on the Pacific side.

Roofing history

Colonial period. The ruins of the first Spanish city of León, León Viejo, were inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. The new León and Granada were built with adobe and masonry walls and clay tile roofs. León Cathedral, built from 1747 to the early 19th century to a design by the Guatemalan architect Diego José de Porres Esquivel, has low, thick towers that UNESCO describes as a response to earthquakes. It was inscribed in 2011.

Caribbean coast. Garifuna villages along the Caribbean coast traditionally had wooden or wattle-and-daub houses with thatched roofs, the wooden ones raised on posts.

Modern period. Corrugated metal sheet, known as zinc, became the usual roof for houses.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Teja on adobe, the colonial urban house.
• Thatch on Indigenous and Garifuna houses of the Caribbean coast.
• Raised timber houses with metal roofs on the Caribbean side.

Roofing today

A household table by income quintile published by the Central Bank of Nicaragua with its 2006-2007 results shows about 89.8% of households with zinc roofs, 5.3% with Plycem or Nicalit fibre-cement sheets and 4.2% with clay or cement tiles; concrete slabs, waste materials and thatch made up the small remainder.

Codes, standards and regulation

A 2012 comparative review listed the Reglamento Nacional de la Construcción of 2007 (RNC-07) as Nicaragua's seismic design code.

Notable roofs

• León Cathedral (UNESCO 2011): a large colonial cathedral with an ornamented sanctuary vault and earthquake-resistant low towers.
• Ruins of León Viejo (UNESCO 2000).

Local roofing terms

• Zinc: common name for corrugated metal roofing.
• Plycem, Nicalit: brand names used generically for fibre-cement sheets.
• Teja: clay tile.