How Do English Thatched Roofs Work

Then the real work begins.

How do english thatched roofs work.

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. Southern england cottages in hampshire dorset and devon use a heavy layer of wheat straw to create the roof. Thatched roofs have become part of the very fabric of the english countryside depicted in paintings photographs and other media. Getting a thatched roof initially installed is a labour intensive process as is a full re thatch.

Tie the four corner boards together by nailing in cross members extending from each corner parallel to the ridge pole and 24 inches apart. He picks up a spar a branch of split hazel wood that has been tapered to a point at each end and. All houses with thatch roofs need to have lightning conductors installed to protect them from being struck by lightning and consequently burning down. 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.

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. Thatching needs whole straws so that they can be aligned in bundles to place on the roof. 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. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions as insulation.

For this the straw needs to be harvested by hand. The type of thatching used in english cottages varies depending on the region. These conductors need to be in accordance with the sabs code of practice. Sometimes holloway strips the thatch right off and lays new timbers.

Thatching included as one of the crafting activities for the roofing process. This process can take a good few weeks and is priced on the size of your property. A thatcher will take into consideration the following. The larger the property the higher the price is likely to be.

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. Build with dry vegetation materials including water reed heather straw rushes and also palm branches. Disadvantages of a thatched roof. Size of the roof.