- Thread starter robgil
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JoceAndChris
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I know absolutely b*gger all about thatching but that's the spirit!
There must be all sorts of interesting courses you can enrol on.
There must be all sorts of interesting courses you can enrol on.
chuckey
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Yes, about as difficult as plastering.
Frank :lol:
Frank :lol:
Stephen
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I have had a go - for one day - and it is not as easy as you think. I have been on a number of roofs during thatching and I know quite a few thatchers.
It may be easy to lay thatch to look OK, but to get it to stay there and last any length of time without leaking is another matter entirely.
Why do you want to DIY?
If you DIY where will you get the material?
Most thathcing material is spoken for as the growers will supply their regular thatchers before consider giving it to someone they do not know. How will you know good material from bad (especially if it is imported).
How will you learn to do it?
There are some courses, but for most it takes time and learning from an experienced thatcher to understand the quirks of the material. Remember thatch is a natural material that is not consistent (it is not like a manufactured or processed product).
Reed (and combed wheat reed) are easier to thatch with as they come in bundles and are easier to handle, etc. They are perhaps slightly more forgiving (although get reed wrong and it is a real pain to sort out). Long Straw is more difficult as each yealm has to be formed on site before being taken up on the roof and laid; once laid you cannot mess around with it much. Long Straw can however be patched - that is if you know where to patch to stop the leak!
It is of course possible to learn how to thatch and if that is what you want to do speak to local thatchers, the local MTA, etc. I can give you names if you PM me. I would warn you that there are no short courses or evening classes - you either learn to be a thatcher or you don't.
However, if your reasoning is simply that it looks easy - do not be mistaken it is not what it first appears to be.
Stephen
It may be easy to lay thatch to look OK, but to get it to stay there and last any length of time without leaking is another matter entirely.
Why do you want to DIY?
If you DIY where will you get the material?
Most thathcing material is spoken for as the growers will supply their regular thatchers before consider giving it to someone they do not know. How will you know good material from bad (especially if it is imported).
How will you learn to do it?
There are some courses, but for most it takes time and learning from an experienced thatcher to understand the quirks of the material. Remember thatch is a natural material that is not consistent (it is not like a manufactured or processed product).
Reed (and combed wheat reed) are easier to thatch with as they come in bundles and are easier to handle, etc. They are perhaps slightly more forgiving (although get reed wrong and it is a real pain to sort out). Long Straw is more difficult as each yealm has to be formed on site before being taken up on the roof and laid; once laid you cannot mess around with it much. Long Straw can however be patched - that is if you know where to patch to stop the leak!
It is of course possible to learn how to thatch and if that is what you want to do speak to local thatchers, the local MTA, etc. I can give you names if you PM me. I would warn you that there are no short courses or evening classes - you either learn to be a thatcher or you don't.
However, if your reasoning is simply that it looks easy - do not be mistaken it is not what it first appears to be.
Stephen
biffvernon
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Stephen is spot on. I've done a bit of helping for a friend who is a real thatcher. To do a proper job requires a long apprenticeship. Nothing like plastering at all. Anyone can plaster a wall if they don't mind a bumpy finish. Bad thatch is a seriously expensive mistake.
skier-hughes
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Monty was talking about thatching on Breakfast this morning. He said he wanted to be a thatcher, but at 22 was put off by the 7 year training period!!!
I might try to thatch my own log store, maybe even my shed - but my house? Nope.robgil said:
I guess you might be able to offer some labouring assistance to help reduce the cost and learn a bit but I wouldn't want the top of my house and therefore everything in it relying on my inexperience.
A GII renovation in the next village needed rethatching as the first step in a for profit project. The original quote was £30K which suited the developer until he asked when can you start "2 years" was the reply. To get the job done promptly he reputedly paid double that. If thatching were easy, there would be more people doing it & If thatching were as profitable as rural myth suggests then there would be more of them I reckon.
Flyfisher
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I hope I'm not being too out of order in suggesting this but as the cottage in question is not listed isn't there the option to change the roofing material?
Our house is believed to have been thatched originally (as indicated by the slope of the roof and the gable details apparently) but was changed to pantiles a long time ago. I suspect it's not unique in this respect and the practice must surely have been quite widespread.
I entirely agree with all the previous DIY thatching comments. An effective roof is fundamental to the well-being of any property; in this respect thatching can't be compared to plastering - a badly plastered wall will just look a mess but it won't threaten the integrity of the entire property as a badly thatched roof would.
Our house is believed to have been thatched originally (as indicated by the slope of the roof and the gable details apparently) but was changed to pantiles a long time ago. I suspect it's not unique in this respect and the practice must surely have been quite widespread.
I entirely agree with all the previous DIY thatching comments. An effective roof is fundamental to the well-being of any property; in this respect thatching can't be compared to plastering - a badly plastered wall will just look a mess but it won't threaten the integrity of the entire property as a badly thatched roof would.
Penners
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My sentiments entirely. Thatching requires many years of training, and is too important to take risks with. If your log store develops a drip or two, that's not important. But your house.....AMc said:
yup , i have to agree , robgil what were you thinking! 
perhaps as you say having a go on a wood store or shed may well be the way to dabble rather than on the house itself. the houses previous thatchers son said he could pencil me in for next year so its not a huge wait , he also said he would maintain the roof for free until then providing he got the job in the end.
i think most thatchers would tell you they dont make a huge amount of money and they do it because they enjoy it , but they dont work for nothing either so i suspect they do make a decent living.
the houses around the cottage were thatched at some point , they all have steeply pitched roofs and all are quite old houses but they , or most of them have been changed to pantiles at some point in their lives , because of this i feel obliged to keep it thatched simply because if every one changed to solid roofs there wouldnt be any thatched cottages left. except mine , which would then be worth a fortune.
i might thatch that 1970's block extension straight out of a diy magazine centrefold that has been grafted onto the side of the house, badly , then when it washes away it will save me the job of accidentally knocking it down with my sledge hammer.
perhaps as you say having a go on a wood store or shed may well be the way to dabble rather than on the house itself. the houses previous thatchers son said he could pencil me in for next year so its not a huge wait , he also said he would maintain the roof for free until then providing he got the job in the end.
i think most thatchers would tell you they dont make a huge amount of money and they do it because they enjoy it , but they dont work for nothing either so i suspect they do make a decent living.
the houses around the cottage were thatched at some point , they all have steeply pitched roofs and all are quite old houses but they , or most of them have been changed to pantiles at some point in their lives , because of this i feel obliged to keep it thatched simply because if every one changed to solid roofs there wouldnt be any thatched cottages left. except mine , which would then be worth a fortune.
i might thatch that 1970's block extension straight out of a diy magazine centrefold that has been grafted onto the side of the house, badly , then when it washes away it will save me the job of accidentally knocking it down with my sledge hammer.
Louis Henry
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"the houses previous thatchers son said he could pencil me in for next year so its not a huge wait , he also said he would maintain the roof for free until then providing he got the job in the end."
Yes, I've heard that before. Here on the Isle of Wight six months means two years and maintain means stick a tarpaulin over the top. Having said that he's a great bloke and does a good job so it's worth the wait. Otherwise I agree with all the other posts - I'll tackle more or less any job on my cottage except thatching, it's just too visible as well as vital.
Yes, I've heard that before. Here on the Isle of Wight six months means two years and maintain means stick a tarpaulin over the top. Having said that he's a great bloke and does a good job so it's worth the wait. Otherwise I agree with all the other posts - I'll tackle more or less any job on my cottage except thatching, it's just too visible as well as vital.
Inspector John
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I'd have a go
Tough on the ole hands I would guess not to mention the legs/knees
Ordinary roofing is bad enough
Better get into training before you attempt (that be excercise training :wink: )
Need a good eye
Tough on the ole hands I would guess not to mention the legs/knees
Ordinary roofing is bad enough
Better get into training before you attempt (that be excercise training :wink: )
Need a good eye
Stephen
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Should also mention that Health & Safety are pretty hot on thatchers and whereas historically they would work off ladders (they would often argue it is easier) they now have to have full scaffolding, etc. This is not cheap.
Most thatchers I know earn a reasonable wage in the summer and unless they have other jobs (often building related) they earn very little over winter. Very few thatchers earn what most of us would consider a good living.
Stephen
Most thatchers I know earn a reasonable wage in the summer and unless they have other jobs (often building related) they earn very little over winter. Very few thatchers earn what most of us would consider a good living.
Stephen
Penners
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robgil said:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
fjpdesigns
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I agree with Penners on this. I don't think I've ever met a poor ( monetary) thatcher. We had our ridge done last year ( first reridge) and I wish I could command the same rate as I was paying. He did do a good job though. The same guy did our roof as his final apprenticship piece about twenty eight years ago and it still has at least ten yers life in it - and it's long straw.
Stephen
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Whilst some of the big thatching companies do well, as do importers of thatch material, the one-man band thatcher does not fare so well.
Do not equate the cost to you as meaning the thatcher is well off. They can only thatch a few roofs each year and then only when weather permits. The materials, etc are not necessarily cheap and if the crop is poor in any year the cost increases. Most thatchers have to supplement their thatching income with other work, usually building related.
I am not suggesting they are poor and most make a reasonable living, but it is not the sort of job that pays well and it is very hard graft.
Do not equate the cost to you as meaning the thatcher is well off. They can only thatch a few roofs each year and then only when weather permits. The materials, etc are not necessarily cheap and if the crop is poor in any year the cost increases. Most thatchers have to supplement their thatching income with other work, usually building related.
I am not suggesting they are poor and most make a reasonable living, but it is not the sort of job that pays well and it is very hard graft.
Ushy M
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Rob, don't even think about it - unless you're going for the full (3 year) apprenticeship. Having watched ours at work, it's really not a job for amateurs. Our guys worked incredibly hard in freezing temperatures, did a beautiful job and earned every penny of the nose-bleedingly-expensive fee! But as others have observed, they're not at work earning that every day...
Jill
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Watch BBC 2 at 9pm on Friday 19th Feb. New series just started called Mastercrafts is going to cover Thatching next week.
biffvernon
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Jill said:
Last night's programme on greenwood chair-making was kinda interesting, but so many missed opportunities for being a usefully informative programme. Why is TV obsessed with the human story, the failures and successes of human emotion? A programme about how to make a chair would have been much better.
I expect next week's on thatching will follow the same mills&boon formula.