Thatched Roofs Britain

Loosely speaking thatching is the use of straw or grasses as a building material.

Thatched roofs britain.

At shearplace hall in dorset there are remains of a round hut that shows signs of thatching. That s because thatched roofing was a staple of british home construction for centuries. In southern england thatch was most commonly made with wheat straw while in east anglia reed was more common. Holiday cottages with thatched roofs as you might imagine from a site like historic uk thatched cottages are our proverbial bread and butter.

In fact very little research had been done into thatched roofing history in western europe until the early to mid 1990s. This method is very old and is still employed by some builders. It s hard to get more retro than a house covered with straw but in england thatched roofs a tradition of eras gone by have become a cool desirable home amenity. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions as insulation.

The materials are layered so any moisture is kept away from the inner roof. A good thatched roof not only makes a country cottage picturesque it is also remarkably long lasting. Thatched cottages and farm buildings were the norm in rural britain for a millennium or more. The final thatched roof is 10 larger than the roof timbers.

At the time of writing we currently offer 50 properties across england and scotland with the majority of these cottages in the southern english counties of kent cornwall gloucestershire including the cotswolds and oxfordshire. In countries like england thatched roofs are common on the oldest residential buildings. Workmen thatching a new roof. Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation like straw water reed sedge rushes or heather.

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. A square is 100sq ft 9 25sq m. Most thatch used in england is made of long wheat straw grown specially for the purpose. A ton tonne of straw thatch using the standard method of working would cover between four and five squares of roof.

Thatched roofs can be made from a variety of materials including straw heather flax water reed or sedge. A roof thatched by a skilled craftsman can last 40 to 50 years without needing refurbishment all the while providing excellent watertight insulation. The history of thatched roofing in great britain is not as clear as we d like it to be. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries usually with low.

Where applicable the eaves height is 6 ft 2m from the ground. Published on aug 14 2017 it s hard to get more retro than a house covered with straw but in england thatched roofs a tradition of eras gone by have become a cool desirable home amenity.