How Do English Thatched Roofs Work

The basic principle is to layer the thatch material in such a way that rainwater is shed away from the inner roof and off the side of the building providing a waterproof barrier much the same as that granted by typical slate tile based roofs.

How do english thatched roofs work.

Getting a thatched roof initially installed is a labour intensive process as is a full re thatch. Thatching is the craft of building a roof with a variety of dry vegetation ranging from wheat and water reed through to long straw and heather. Then the real work begins. Size of the roof.

Build the roof structure for the thatching by nailing a 2 by 4 inch piece of lumber from each of the four corners of the building up to a center ridge pole that runs parallel to the ground. Disadvantages of a thatched roof. Tie the four corner boards together by nailing in cross members extending from each corner parallel to the ridge pole and 24 inches apart. When thatch ceased to be the cheapest form of roofing because tile especially welsh slate in the 1820 s became available the english thatched cottage began its decline.

Thatched roofs have become part of the very fabric of the english countryside depicted in paintings photographs and other media. All houses with thatch roofs need to have lightning conductors installed to protect them from being struck by lightning and consequently burning down. A thatcher will take into consideration the following. Thatching needs whole straws so that they can be aligned in bundles to place on the roof.

Thatching included as one of the crafting activities for the roofing process. The larger the property the higher the price is likely to be. You need to layering the vegetation to make sure if the shed would help the water run away. Build with dry vegetation materials including water reed heather straw rushes and also palm branches.

Each thatch layer is built up to a thickness of around 12 inches and gravity carries rain sleet and snow down and off the roof. These conductors need to be in accordance with the sabs code of practice. Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge cladium mariscus rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Sometimes holloway strips the thatch right off and lays new timbers.

The thatchers art consists of carefully laying 5 to 6 foot bundles of reeds atop one another so that an impenetrable shell of waterproofing covers a roof. For this the straw needs to be harvested by hand. Southern england cottages in hampshire dorset and devon use a heavy layer of wheat straw to create the roof. This process can take a good few weeks and is priced on the size of your property.