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40,000 BC |
10,000 BC |
3,000 BC |
1,000 BC |
500 BC |
100 BC |
350 AD |
1600 |
1800 |
1900 |
1950 |
1970 |
Mamoth Skin 40,000 BC Siberia |
Bark 35,000 BC Aborigines |
Thatch 30,000 BC Babylon |
Natural Asphalt 30,000 BC Babylon |
Deer Hide 28,000 BC N. America |
7,000 BC Molded Bricks Jerico |
Clay Tile 10,000 BC China |
Clay Tile 9,500 BC Middle East |
Reed 6,000 BC Sumerians |
Pyramids 2,780 BC Egyptians |
Slate 2,500 BC British |
Dirt 1,200 BC North America |
Wattle & Daub 850 BC Denmark |
Arch 600 BC Babylon |
Copper 450 BC Rome |
Bamboo 200 BC Japanese |
Pyramid 100 BC Mexico |
Cement 55 BC Rome |
Cave 350 AD N. America |
6000 BC Bricks Iran |
3100 BC Writting Started |
3000 BC Copper Babylon |
2500 BC Pitch Babylon |
300 BC Cement Mortar Rome |
200 AD Lead Roof Rome |
Bark & Sod 500 AD Germany |
900 AD Horizontal Planks Denmark |
Rubber 1600 S. America |
Tar 1600 Finnish |
Asphalt 1800 America |
Tin Roof 1800 America |
Bitumen 1843 Britian |
Coal-Tar 1850 America |
Urethane Foam Developed 1930 |
Rubber 1940 Europe |
Urethane 1950 America |
PVC 1960 Europe |
Modified-Bitumen 1967 Italy |
EPDM 1970 America |
PVC 1970 America |
1700 Gas/Kerosene Lamps |
Patent 1800 Aluminum Denmark |
Patent 1844 Vulcanized Rubber Britain |
Patent 1874 Plywood America |
Time Chart of Roofing Systems and materials from around the world |
Roofing systems have come along way Early humans didn’t have the luxury of early morning coffee, couldn’t hang their feet off the bed before taking the first morning step and the idea of a hot shower had not even been dreamed up yet. When it came to building dwellings, there were pictures to get ideas from, no blue prints to follow and they couldn’t walk around the neighborhood and see what the Johnsons were doing. When mankind stopped living in caves they couldn’t call up the nearest construction company and tell the contractor to build a 3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms. They had to make their dwellings from scratch. According to archeologists, in 3100 BC writing started and history was put down on tablets for everybody to read. Before then, cave wall drawings and drawings in the dirt would have been the only way to sketch ideas for dwellings. What was the first roof ever built? A good question for which there isn’t an answer yet. The earliest roof used readily available materials from the surrounding terrain and needed to be portable. Most likely the first roof was covered with dirt, underlayed with branches and supported by wooden beams. Areas without plentiful wood could have used mammoth and whale bones as beams. Over 30,000 years ago, Aborigines used bark from birch trees for their roofs. But in places like Siberia where birch trees were not available, hunter gathers used mammoth skins to cover their dwellings. Other nomadic people such as Folsom man in North America used Reindeer skin for roofs. In colder climates, the first houses were dug into the ground, not unlike the caves they left, but weren’t used year around. More advanced civilizations used thatch and reeds to build dwelling roofs. The dwellings were more permanent structures but were designed to be easily dismantled because of spring floods. Later these dwellings became permanent when built on piled or rock foundations. Agriculture based people had more time to spend building a dwelling and had the opportunity to search out different materials. Agriculture based people had more time to spend building a dwelling and had the opportunity to search out different materials. Natural asphalt was first used as early as 30,000 BC as a waterproofing technique, something that is still used today. Ceramic tiles, another familiar roofing product, was created around 10,000 BC by the Chinese and shortly after in the Middle East. |
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The History or Roofing |
Aborigine dwellings with birch bark roofs. Early man had to use products from
his surroundings. Bark was readily available for the Aborigines. |
The Egyptian Pyramids date back to 2,780 BC. Although the pyramid isn't considered
a roof, it is a total roofing system. Later, in 100 BC the Aztec
and Myans built pyramids in South America. |
-staff writer |
Mamoth Skins are one of the oldest roofing materials known to mankind. The
whale skin huts would have been similar in design. |
The Sod Roof system is one the original "Green Roofs" and one of the oldest flat
roofing systems know. Dirt roofs might be the oldest flat roofs ever made.
Although Sod Roofs are ancient in design, early American settlers in the
Great Plains used this design in the 1800's. |
The Thatch Roof dates back to around 30,000 BC. This style of roof is still
being used in parts of Africa where climates although for use of such housing. |
Clay Tile roofs are the oldest roofing product to still be used today. The
Chinese developed Clay baked tiles around 10,000 BC. Shortly after Clay Tiles
were produced in the Middle East. |
A little old world with new world. This is a picture of a new house being constructed
with SIPs. The house is attached to the old log cabin. The
roofing product is a Duro-Last PVC, single-ply membrane. (picture 2003) |
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Roofing Index: |