Thatching The Roofs Of The World

Ridge advice

I increasingly hear from thatch owners who have been misled about the lifespan of their thatch and the maintenance required within that lifespan.

There was the building Company  back in the 1980’s who sold their new thatched houses  and told the purchasers the roofs would  last  40-50 years;  what they did not tell these same people was that the roofs would need new ridges within this time frame.  Several of the properties were purchased by retired people who got quite a shock a dozen years later when faced with a re-ridging quote of £3000-£4000!

I spoke to one of our customers recently who when he bought his thatched property was told by the previous owners that a water reed roof would last up to 90 years and within that time would need three ridges….

As a rule of thumb thatch owners should budget for a new ridge every 10-12 years, irrespective of whether the roof is thatched in straw or reed.  There are very few roofs that will last more than 50 years.  There is little agreement between thatchers as to how long Water Reed , Combed Wheat Reed and Long straw roofs should last and thatchers tend to cite examples of roofs which have lasted longer than expected as evidence that one cannot generalise.

I disagree and with all things being equal in terms of quality of materials, workmanship, pitch of roof, aspect etc,  a water reed roof should outlast a Combed Wheat Reed – CWR (straw) roof and  a Long straw roof should not last as long as a CWR roof.  The problem is that with no substantive records of life spans of roofs the misinformation and subjectivity, especially coming from well meaning people not in the trade will continue to confuse people (see our piece on life spans of thatch) click here

The two photos show an old ridge, with a very poor pitch and a ridge we recently completed. The steeper the ridge the more likely it is to last as it will shed water better!

Outbuilding thatch

Maybe you do not live under thatch but like the idea of having a thatched shed or summerhouse. These photos show how easy it is to transform a bulk standard garden building into an attractive eye catching statement.  The large overhang of the thatch will also protect the walls from the weather. Please also view our summerhouse/gazebo page HERE

Scaffold Tip

Chimney Tip

Have you ever wondered about the condition of the top of your chimney stack and the pot etc; why not get your thatcher to take photos?  These can be kept for future reference and   for chimneys without pots; the thatcher can take a photo down the chimney to record details of the chimney lining, which may be invaluable if you are thinking of installing a real fire.

If this is done at the outset of the job, either the thatcher or local builder may be able to utilise the scaffolding that the thatcher  is working from to carry out repairs.

A Question of Ridge?

A question arose from a visitor to the website about the relative merits of ridging in sedge and straw.

Most thatchers would agree that sedge will last longer than straw.

However the components of a ridge are the skirts which hang down each side and out of which the thatcher cuts the ridge design; second the saddle which fits over the top and hangs down both sides over the skirts and finally the decorative criss-cross pattern-work and straight horizontal strips of wood which give the ridge a diamond pattern.

Unfortunately it is generally the latter which wears first because both the skirts and saddle are held in place by twisted hazel pieces of wood and these will eventually break at the twist.

The result is the sedge or straw becomes loose and eventually a new ridge will be needed whether the ridge is done in sedge or straw. I am also assuming that all other factors are equal ie- the craftsmanship is good whether straw or sedge is used and that the ridge is of a good steep pitch.

The saving of sedge over straw is when the ridge is re renewed in that most of the existing sedge can be re-used, whereas the straw will have to be got rid of- although this saving is usually made by the thatcher and not the client as the thatcher will still charge for a standard re-ridge and say the saving on sedge is negligible.

We find that no matter how well sedge is cleaned by the marshman and then the thatcher, it tends to shed and curl up at the cut of the ridge and makes the ridge untidy; we therefore use straw on the skirts and sedge on the saddle, which over 25 years we have found to be the best solution.

Winter wonders?

Many customers ask how thatchers can work in the extreme cold and the snow.

I find as with any outdoor work it is essential to dress for the weather – lots of layers with the outside one being waterproof, lots of pairs of gloves that can be changed during the working day when they get wet and a hat.

Many thatchers will sheet over their work at the end of the day, so that any overnight snow or frost can be kept off the working area.  Unlike a lot of trades people for example brick layers or plasterers, we are fortunate that we can work in the rain and snow – although some thatchers reading this might use the word unfortunately…

Often it is not the cold or snow on the roof that will stop the thatcher working, but his inability to get down the minor roads to work, which will not have been cleared of snow.  I find that when it’s cold, you can keep the cold at bay, but when its 30 degrees plus there is absolutely nothing you can do to keep cool.  Which is worse? – Any extremes are bad!

An enquiry was received from a visitor to the website who wanted to know if with the recent heavy snowfalls, the weight of the snow could compress and water log the thatch.

This is unlikely unless the thatch is very old and worn.  As with a tiled or slate roof, the snow will not penetrate into the thatch and melting snow will result in the water running off the surface and dripping off the outside edge of the eave line, which can create some spectacular icicles.  If the thatch is very old then often the water will penetrate further into the thatch and valley areas especially should be renewed, if the rest of the roof is in relatively good condition.

Snowy Thatch

The cold weather has brought some spectacular Christmas card views as these photos of a roof we thatched in Lincolnshire show. Thanks to Anita for sending them in.

Once upon a time…..

All thatcher’s agreed that higher thatching prices and many more new roofs to thatch would be good business for all of them.  This meant (putting aside trying to get higher prices) that there would have to be more new build thatch (or less thatchers).

Not to think like this was irrational and none of them were irrational.

If thatching was to change from being a quaint cottage industry, thatchers knew thatching had to be sold to outside bodies: they had to deal with people who were not thatchers such as planners, architects, builders and surveyors – they had to allay people’s concerns about the risk of fire, they had to encourage Insurance Companies to lower their premiums.  They had to show that thatching had not only a history but also a future as a viable roofing product.

The thatchers new this, they understood that they and they alone were uniquely placed to talk and advise about thatching.  They could draw on their traditions their skills, their inventiveness, their ability to adapt and they knew their weight of argument passed on from generation to generation would stand them in good stead.

However it soon became apparent that the thatchers fierce independence and suspicion of outside bodies was also a problem in dealing constructively with outside organisations; very soon thatchers saw any move to rationalise the trade as unwanted interference; the exceptions to this  was helping in the development of fire preventive products and other periphery non thatching  topics.

After a period of time, the thatchers met to discuss progress;

Yes- the thatchers had no written manual on agreed good practice, they could not agree on what exactly constituted a square of thatch, they could not agree on an industry wide guarantee, they could not agree on what the term Master Thatcher meant, they could not agree on how long a thatched roof should last when thatched in different materials, they could not show how any of their number were actually qualified to thatch and they were represented by different named  trade organisations vying to be the official mouthpiece of thatchers.

This subjectivity meant if they could not agree amongst themselves, how could they convince an often sceptic public?

However thatchers were comforted by the fact that all those things did not matter because thatching was a craft and it was up to these outside bodies to accept that fact – history had after all proven that to be the case.  The thatchers argued that thatching continued to be a craft  because  there was often not an absolute definitive answer to questions  in thatching (because thatching had evolved over many years), who was to say what was RIGHT and WRONG?

The thatchers’  knew deep down that theirs WAS a cottage industry and many of them were happy  to continue  to thatch in Straw and some in Reed, some in this style and some in another and many were swayed by the  2001  English Heritage(EH) document which said:

“Thatching is in a unique position as an industry or craft: the thatcher exercises a degree of independence unknown in other building trades, and information about thatching is often subjectively presented”

The problem was that EH were not concerned with helping  to  create more thatch as many thatchers wanted but in maintaining the existing stock of thatch much of which was listed (EH said 24,000 buildings were listed); EH concentrated on looking to the past as some thatchers did; they worked with conservation officers and listed building officers who enforced their views and whilst some thatchers agreed with the views of EH, many did not and the status Quo continued – there were very few new roofs that were built for thatch.

The planners and architects continued to view thatchers as a small unique group of people and the UK thatching styles to be unlike those found in other countries; nothing much changed  and it was left  to the thatching industry to carry on with their traditions and different trade organisations ….. and that was the catch – in order to understand about thatching one had to be a thatcher and to be a thatcher and accepted as one, one had to accept its traditions….

EcoShow Belfast

Master Thatchers North exhibited at the first ever EcoShow Live at The Kings Hall Belfast on 8-10 October.  We provided a sample of thatched roofing together with the latest fire retardant products for thatch.  As well as the age old craft of thatching at the other end of the spectrum Toyota had a stand demonstrating the latest in electric cars.

Lantern risk?

Bonfire night has just passed and whist watching fireworks I noticed several of these floating Chinese lanterns with a naked flame burning strongly within them. Would these be more of a hazard to thatched roofs than even a rocket landing on the surface of the thatch?