Over a period of time the roofs will become very thick because the thatcher will not strip much of the old thatch away.
How thick does roof thatching need to be.
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge cladium mariscus rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions as insulation.
In other words as long as any other roof.
Already half way to the fixing simply because the coatwork was too thick.
Repairing or replacing the ridge.
Thatched roofs only need replacing when thatching materials break down to the point of no longer being effective.
A general rule is that thatch should be less than inch 1 9 cm.
Standard asphalt shingles add very little thickness to the roof because a standard three tab shingle is about 3 16 inch thick.
The problem with many of these re coating jobs is that in order to maintain a steep pitch at the apex of the roof the thatcher will have to build up the height of the ridge to such an extent that in some cases the new thatch will get very close to the top of the chimney.
On the high side a well built water reed roof could last between 40 and 60 years before needing to be replaced.
Perform a few simple tests to see whether or not your thatch has gotten too thick.
Thatch is the layer of dead grass roots and leaves between the grass and the soil.
When thatched properly by professionals the major portion of such a roof the water reed should last 40 to 50 years.
Thatch is important for drainage and moisture retention but thatch that gets too thick is bad for the grass.
An example of how a thatcher s skill.
Q how often do thatched roofs need replacing.
Or lack of it can determine a roof s longevity.
When installed however the shingles overlap doubling the thickness.
Although a thatched roof should last around 30 years before it must be replaced the ridge should be replaced every 10 to 15 years as it receives the most wear and tear from the weather.
Other structural issues may also be found that need to be corrected before the roof and can be re thatched.
It is a very old roofing method and has been used in.
A two year old roof i once surveyed had water penetrating a good nine inches 225mm up the stems of the thatch.
However the roof ridge will have to be replaced roughly every 8 10 years.