Thatched roof experiences

Speedster

Speedster

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Wife and I are considering a new place and currently have our eye on a lovely place with a thatched roof. Neither of us have every lived under a thatched roof, so I am not all that sure what to expect.

It's double storey, and the rooms / bathrooms on the top floor all have ceilings. It is just the living area and kitchen which are open all the way to the thatch.

I've already concluded that mounting solar panels won't be an option. Is there anything else I should be aware of or look out for?

TIA
 
Speedster said:
Wife and I are considering a new place and currently have our eye on a lovely place with a thatched roof. Neither of us have every lived under a thatched roof, so I am not all that sure what to expect.

It's double storey, and the rooms / bathrooms on the top floor all have ceilings. It is just the living area and kitchen which are open all the way to the thatch.

I've already concluded that mounting solar panels won't be an option. Is there anything else I should be aware of or look out for?

TIA
Click to expand...

Can get very dusty up in the thatched roof. It’s difficult to clean, not impossible, but requires regular cleaning.

Aesthetically, thatched roof is not for everyone. I personally don’t like the look and if you are buying, be 100% certain it’s what YOU like.

All the best.
 
Speedster said:
I've read various takes on this. Do you have personal experience of this?
Click to expand...

Indirectly yes. Because it’s a major fire hazard.

I wouldn’t say double but will definitely be more.

That being said building insurance isn’t expensive to begin with.

Just get a quote up front and be informed.
 
SauRoNZA said:
I wouldn’t say double but will definitely be more.
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Speedster said:
I've read various takes on this. Do you have personal experience of this?
Click to expand...
My wife was in short term insurance. They will double it unless you negotiate. Unlikely that you will pay anything close to your regular premium.
 
Part of the reason for the insurance is that if you have a fire, the fire service will completely strip the entire roof, even if the fire is out. The thatch can smoulder for days can alight again.
 
You need to get a quote on rethatching. It can be a hefty bill and must be done every 10 years at least. By hefty I mean several hundred thousand. It would be prudent to find out when last it was done and work this into your bond repayments as total cost of ownership.
 
Given the significantly lower demand for thatch houses for the other reasons mentioned here. Negotiate a lower price as they tend to sit on the market for a while. I got mine 18 months plus after the initial listing and at 25% off the initial asking price.

Used this to fund the renovation and roof change. The house hadn't been lived in, and looked like it had been set up for Halloween inadvertently complete with webs, spiders and intense water damage since the roof hadn't been maintained for a few years. The roof also had ceiling boards in some rooms however this reduced but didn't prevent dust ingress.
 
Mosgi said:
Given the significantly lower demand for thatch houses for the other reasons mentioned here. Negotiate a lower price as they tend to sit on the market for a while. I got mine 18 months plus after the initial listing and at 25% off the initial asking price.

Used this to fund the renovation and roof change. The house hadn't been lived in, and looked like it had been set up for Halloween inadvertently complete with webs, spiders and intense water damage since the roof hadn't been maintained for a few years. The roof also had ceiling boards in some rooms however this reduced but didn't prevent dust ingress.
Click to expand...
Roof change? Tell me more
 
Thatch is a huge fire risk. Not just from an electrical short or something internal, but also if your neighbour's house catches on fire, if there's a nearby veld fire, etc, etc. Down the road from where I live a thatch house burnt down from a fire that started in their neighbour's house which had a normal roof. They were able to save the house where the fire originally started but that thatch roof house went up like a Christmas cracker.

Plus all the maintenance issues with thatch, and there are also health issues to consider if you have asthma or any sort of respiratory illnesses.
 
Speedster said:
Roof change? Tell me more
Click to expand...
Initially the plan was to just change the roof from thatch to IBR with substantially the same design. However the roof came down aggressively to the corners of the floor in each of the upstairs bedrooms. This effectively meant the demolishing of the 2nd floor and rebuilt differently, since patching up corners would prove potentially problematic to join the new and old walls.

Process is currently underway, so far I can say the thatch removal both takes time and costs with a lot of clean up. Took 4 weeks just to take it off, but this was also due to a double layer on the bigger section of the house. Have recovered some of the costs in selling some of the newer thatch, and Gumpoles.

We were assisted substantially by the fact the previous owner had already drawn up plans that were previously approved.
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We've had a thatch house for something like 6 years now, and here's our findings.
- Insurance insisted on a lightning conductor being installed @R15,000. That being said, the actually cost of insurance isn't the biggest pain.
- At LEAST every 4 years it will need a brush and fill, probably more often. Sometimes nesting birds will pull patches out, strong winds may damage it etc. Roadside guys can charge from R4,000 while professionals have charged around R14,000.
- Ours leaks, no matter what the thatch people do. Usually with heavy rain and wind. The latest leak is above my bed.
- Bugs haven't been a problem. We fog the house every few months anyway.
- Dust. Plenty of dust.
- It's pretty cold in the winter, but cool in the summer.
- It looks nice.
- It smells nice.
 
schuits said:
We've had a thatch house for something like 6 years now, and here's our findings.
- Insurance insisted on a lightning conductor being installed @R15,000. That being said, the actually cost of insurance isn't the biggest pain.
- At LEAST every 4 years it will need a brush and fill, probably more often. Sometimes nesting birds will pull patches out, strong winds may damage it etc. Roadside guys can charge from R4,000 while professionals have charged around R14,000.
- Ours leaks, no matter what the thatch people do. Usually with heavy rain and wind. The latest leak is above my bed.
- Bugs haven't been a problem. We fog the house every few months anyway.
- Dust. Plenty of dust.
- It's pretty cold in the winter, but cool in the summer.
- It looks nice.
- It smells nice.
Click to expand...
Thanks. This is very helpful. One of the challenges is wading through the urban legend and myths to find the actual facts around thatch. Fortunately there is already a really big-ass lightning conductor, so that should be sorted. The estimate on the actual cost of brushing and filling helps a lot too.
 
deweyzeph said:
Thatch is a huge fire risk. Not just from an electrical short or something internal, but also if your neighbour's house catches on fire, if there's a nearby veld fire, etc, etc. Down the road from where I live a thatch house burnt down from a fire that started in their neighbour's house which had a normal roof. They were able to save the house where the fire originally started but that thatch roof house went up like a Christmas cracker.
Click to expand...
You just need to google St Francis Bay fires.
 
From another forum : https://www.4x4community.co.za/foru...ch-Roof-House-Yes-or-No?p=3769802#post3769802

We have thatch in our holiday place. I like it there but would not have in the main house. Some comments:
- Tends to keep dropping dust and pieces of grass = plenty cleaning
- Normally high rooms resulting heat going up during winter
- There is a grass smell
- More expensive insurance
- Maintenance cost can be high
- Before buying you need to check the roof condition. We can get very cheap repairs compared to JHB/Pretoria. Check your area
- Some roof makers cheat. Thick on bottom and thin on top. You cannot see the grass thickness on top without getting up
- Fire hazard
- Gas installation is more problematic with thatch roof. Bottles must be away from the house with fire wall
- Creepies love grass
- If there are baboons = potential problems
- We have birds = must have chicken mesh on top to prevent them pulling the grass out
- Check the pitch. If too shallow = problems
- Check if there are valleys. They work but can be a problem
- Wet thatch roof is heavy. Check walls that they are not falling over. Many "cheaply built" units in our holiday place have had problems. There are problems especially if not enough wood to keep the roof together
- Check load bearing poles. If longitudinal cracks it is OK. I had one main pole with a crack in the bottom. Had to be replaced like yesterday.
- Check if there is a lightning pole. Most insurance companies ask for one. Ask if the current owner has the pole certified. Every 2 to 3 years
- Ask SWAMBO and make agreement who cleans
 
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