Thatching is the art or craft of covering a roof with vegetative materials such as straw, reed or sedge.
Thatch is one of the oldest roofing materials and has been used by traditional builders on every continent except Antarctica. It offers excellent insulation value (generally R40) at little or no cost for materials and is relatively easy to repair.
Thatch has fallen out of favor in much of the industrialized world due to it's relative flammability and the lack of skilled thatchers. New flame retardants make thatch more competitive with modern materials but insurance companies and municipal building inspectors often discourage its use. England, which is currently undergoing a revival in thatching, has at least 30,000 thatched buildings and is widely regarded as having some of the best examples of the art.
A roof thatched with water reed (a more durable and water-resistant material than straw) will last approximately 70 years with very little maintenance. When a thatch roof is in need of repair a new layer is often placed over the old. On old buildings up to four feet of thatch can accumulate.
A modern professional thatcher
A thatched pub (The Williams Arms) at Wrafton, near Braunton, North Devon, England
Thatchedroofs were forbidden in London by the Normans in the 12th century - not after the Great Fire of London in 1666 as many believe (the rapid spread of the Great Fire had nothing to do with thatch).
Thatched cottages and farm buildings were the norm in rural Britain for a millennium or more.
Thatched buildings appear in almost every county in the United Kingdom although the West Country - Cornwall, Devon and Dorset have probably the highest number of buildings which still retain a thatchedroof.
First the thatch is tied in bundles, then laid in an underlayer on the roof beams and pegged in place with rods made of hazel or withy.
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