Why Did Adobe Houses Have Flat Roofs

A lot of adobe houses have stuck to the traditional designs that include a flat roof with beams which support the rooms that stick out to the exterior walls.

Why did adobe houses have flat roofs. Having lived most of my life in rain country these seem problematic to me in terms of maintenance and leak potential yet they are obviously a very popular choice in new mexico. With adobe they pack the earth to form walls and place timbers across the top of the walls to support the roof which is usually also made of adobe. It s easier to put a sloped roof on a small residential home but to do the same on a very large commercial building would be impractical dangerous and difficult. I have had the house inspected by a licensed nm inspector.

Flat or adobe style roofs are found mostly in the desert areas because they do not have to funnel snow ice and water off the roofs. However some homes feature conventional roofing but that depends on the design. While the original pueblo houses were built from adobe bricks made of sunbaked mud and. Southwestern adobe houses typically have flat roofs and thick walls with rooms enclosing a central courtyard.

Also the reduced surface area of the roof helps prevent the. Of all the different roof types for homes and buildings one of the most controversial is the flat roof. Used commonly on large buildings and outbuildings the flat roof has its own special set of needs and challenges. It was part of the construction that determined.

The vigas span is a little over 20. He did not seem to think the sag was a major problem in an adobe house that old but he did have a problem with the ponding.