Thatched Roof-Moss

[leonlb]

Good morning

I am a new member to the Forum having just moved in to our lovely Thatched Cottage. We have a four hundred year old cottage that is not due to be Re-Thatched for around round 8-10 years. The previous owner allowed the surrounding trees to grow extremely high. We think this is a contributing factor, for the build up of moss on one side of the roof. The tree surgeons will be dealing with the issue during February but just wondered if anyone can give us some advice about the moss. Does it damage the Thatch, should we treat it, if so how?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Leon

 

[PeterI]

Giving this a bump as first posts drop down.

Sadly I've no idea but several members have experience with thatch.

Sorry folks just the duplicate post...

 

[masochists-r-us]

We don't have a thatched roof, but plenty of our neighbours have and we have been told that lots of moss on the thatch indicates it is nearing the end of its life. One of the larger houses had their moss all scraped off on one side along with a part re-thatch as they couldn't afford to do it all, but it all grew back again pretty quickly. It doesn't have any trees around it so I don't think that can be the cause, but the side affected does face east so doesn't get much sunlight.
Sorry can't be more helpful.

 

[Penners]

Moss is not uncommon on thatched roofs, and will tend to grow when the roof is in a dampish, wind-free position.

My daughter and her husband live in a thatched house. They had considerable moss coverage on the rear face of the roof until a year or so ago, when they had a thatcher come in to give the thatch a mid-term brush down.

I don't think moss is necessarily an indication that the thatch is failing, but it does tend to harbour moisture and prevent the thatch from breathing freely and drying out after wet weather. So it can accelerate deterioration. Some people say that the inclusion of a copper strip along the ridge will help to deter moss growth by trickling copper salts down the roof, but I have no idea whether this is actually the case.

I suggest you ask a local thatcher to come and advise you. He'll tell you if the roof needs a brush-down. Your only problem is likely to be finding a thatcher who can come in soon. They're always extremely busy (and if you find one who's not, you might want to wonder why). And they ain't cheap!

There are several "professional bodies" who say that they recognise, vet and recommend thatchers. I have idea which one is the best, but here's one such organisation (which comes without any particular endorsement from me):
http://www.nsmtltd.co.uk/FindAThatcher.html

PPUK has a very useful page of advice about living in a thatched property:-
http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/ppuk_discovering_article_026.shtml

I am not a specialist and have no personal experience of thatching or thatchers.