Thatch costs

[Bogart]

Is there anywhere that is an obvious port of call to get the rough cost of thatching a roof, apart from contacting thatchers Is there a sort of ball park figure? Have been give a quote which I think is rather excessive, so
before I make any move want to find out if I am being taken for a ride.

 

[Cubist]

Hi Bogart,
It can be tough finding someone who can do the work and also asks a reasonable price and can also commit to a timescale that meets your needs. A couple of years back I had the ridge replaced here and at the time received quotes ranging from £3-10K. Lord knows what it might cost now but I'd guess you could add at least 10-15% to those numbers quite easily. What is the main roof thatched with, reed or straw? Won't affect the price much but it will have a bearing on timescale as reed is less commonly used and hence tends only to be ordered by the thatcher when theres a firm order and up-front materials payment on the table. For a complete roof, depending on its size and complexity, you can reckon on at least £20k to apply a new top coat and replace the ridge.

BTW; when I was looking into it I found it sensible to get indicative prices based on a 'square' (a 10ft by 10ft area). That, I thought at the time, would help me to narrow the field a little but afterwards I wasn't convinced it did.
Cheers,
Cubist

 

[TudorCottage]

We are having ours done this summer.

Price is for complete renewal of the original cottage roof (larger roof) New ridge on both original and extension roof. Tidy of extension roof and new wire mesh over the whole roof. Total cost £29k including vat.

It’s water Reed being imported from Austria.

For context, the original cottage roof is 45 years old and both ridges and extension roof are 12 years old.
The original roof looks tired close up but still keeps out whatever is thrown at it and is probably good for a good few years yet. I took the view that I’m young enough to hopefully get a good few years enjoyment from it but old enough not to have it done again

Got a few quotes around the same price but the guy doing it did the extension roof 12 years ago and is very local.

 

[Bogart]

I will admit is a big roof but only the front is in need of attention. Been quoted £60k for roof plus scaffolding/ £38k for only ridge. I cannot get my head around this last figure. Had another guy around to look at it and did want to do it. Not sure as wife spoke to him. Will be reed not straw. Attached is a pic from a few years ago. The width of the house is around 19m.

 

[mims&pip]

I know the previous owner of our last-but-one house (on the Wiltshire side of the border with Dorset) paid £20k for a complete re-thatch in 2007.

That was for straw on a 50' wide, one room deep (not including the extensions which were roofed in slate), three-storey house.

I imagine it would be considerably more now!

Mims x

 

[TudorCottage]

£38k for the ridge does seem excessive, does that include the bay windows?

Most Thatcher’s seem to be in high demand and with inflation running so high prices for everything seem excessive at the moment.

Every time I buy anything I seem to utter the words ‘how much’

 

[Cubist]

Will be reed not straw. Attached is a pic from a few years ago. The width of the house is around 19m.

Reed is not used for the ridge, it's always straw and hence has a shorter life-span, circa 15 years. The price differential quoted is due to the relative complexity, there much less work needed for the main roof. Also, the thatcher would inevitably need to 'tidy' the main roof even if a new coat were not to be applied.

 

[tobydog]

Our reed thatch is 40ft long plus one dormer with ridge at the front. The ridges was replaced about 4 years ago. Nothing too fancy but cost around £5,000. Two years ago we had a master thatcher round to fix some problems with the main thatch. In places it has a fungal infestation that turns the reed to crumbs. I need to get him back to look at overhauling the whole roof so that it lasts until the next ridge replacement is due which will probably be around 10 years. I asked him at the time what it would cost to replace the whole thing and, off the cuff, he gave me a figure of £35,000!!!

At some point in the next few years we will likely move, however, I wouldn't be surprised if any prospective buyer simply looked to reduce their offer by whatever the roof replacement will cost. I'll be stuck with paying for it one way or another.

 

[Cubist]

Considering... that modern new-build houses have a life expectancy of circa 30 years and that tiled roofs can be problematic after fifty years or so, the argument that thatch creates a negotiation advantage for a prospective buyer is, to my mind, weak. In fact when you can point to thatched houses in which the original thatch layers can be reliably dated back hundreds of years makes it a complete nonsense.

 

[tobydog]

Yes, it is good to see straw thatched houses that still have their original and earlier base layers. Unfortunately, as you know, with reed it all comes off each time. If we are still here in 10 years then we may also look at removing the bitumen felt under the thatch with a breathable membrane which will add to the cost.

We have a new build site close to us and it's shocking how feeble the roof timbers look these days. You can see why 50 years for a tiled roof on a new build could cause problems.

I've read that new houses generally have a design life of circa 60-80 years, however, if it all remains dry and the roof doesn't sag, what other main things are expected to go wrong? We hear about rogue builders and certain dodgy developments, some of which are even demolished, but wouldn't a generalised 30 years make them all pretty much un-mortgageable?

I have lived in a 10 year old house and a brand new one. I had no reason to think that they wouldn't be there for many years to come. The 10 year old is now 50 and I drive passed it every so often. Apart from double glazing, it still has all its original main bits and looks like it's standing strong. It's on a development of a few hundred houses and very few, if any, new roofs. Have new build standards increased over the years or actually dropped since the 80's?

 

[Cubist]

I must admit that, other than frangibility, no-one I've spoken to about the matter has offered a convincing reason for removing all of a reed thatch. That said, given the considerably greater life expectancy of reed its always stuck me as the more cost effective material over time. Ours has another 25/30 years in it, according to the chap I used to replace the ridge, so it will most likely see me out.

My daughter purchased a new build a few years back and at the time I was appalled in particular at the nature of the timbers used in the roof spaces. I appreciate that the truss design imparts considerable strength to the structure but this, it seems to me, has been used as a rationale to reduce the key dimensions and weight of the timber to make the roof lighter and cheaper at the expense of durability. The frequent use of OBI's as part of the truss structure is also worrying from a longevity perspective.

 

[a twig]

I must admit that, other than frangibility, no-one I've spoken to about the matter has offered a convincing reason for removing all of a reed thatch. That said, given the considerably greater life expectancy of reed its always stuck me as the more cost effective material over time. Ours has another 25/30 years in it, according to the chap I used to replace the ridge, so it will most likely see me out.

My daughter purchased a new build a few years back and at the time I was appalled in particular at the nature of the timbers used in the roof spaces. I appreciate that the truss design imparts considerable strength to the structure but this, it seems to me, has been used as a rationale to reduce the key dimensions and weight of the timber to make the roof lighter and cheaper at the expense of durability. The frequent use of OBI's as part of the truss structure is also worrying from a longevity perspective.

Sorry Cubist - new one on me, what’s an OBI?

 

[stuart45]

Saw the ridge being replaced at Barrington Court yesterday with Dutch ridge tiles. The Thatcher said it's the first time he's used this method, but apparently it's common in Holland.

 

[Bogart]

Suppose I will have to trawl around the county asking any thatchers that I come across.

 

[Cubist]

Sorry Cubist - new one on me, what’s an OBI?

Sorry Twig, I thought I had replied to your question earlier, seemingly not. OBI was an 'oops', I had intended to say OSB - Oriented Stranded Board. Not sure how I converted that to OBI but I'm looking at the auto-correct feature a little more closely.

Anyone other than me seeing some thread topics start and then vanish for no apparent reason? I know my imagination is quite active but never to that extent...

 

[Cubist]

Suppose I will have to trawl around the county asking any thatchers that I come across.

When I was trying to get quotes I was surprised by the distance that some were prepared to travel to assess the work. One chap travelled around 200 miles on a round trip. Beside cost the big issue is 'when', it may be necessary to book an outfit for a year or even two down-track.