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.
How thick does roof thatching need to be.
Over a period of time the roofs will become very thick because the thatcher will not strip much of the old thatch away.
On the low side a long straw roof might have to be replaced or re coated after 15 years.
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.
However the roof ridge will have to be replaced roughly every 8 10 years.
An example of how a thatcher s skill.
Perform a few simple tests to see whether or not your thatch has gotten too thick.
Repairing or replacing the ridge.
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.
A general rule is that thatch should be less than inch 1 9 cm.
How long does a thatched roof last.
Thatch is the layer of dead grass roots and leaves between the grass and the soil.
Other structural issues may also be found that need to be corrected before the roof and can be re thatched.
Already half way to the fixing simply because the coatwork was too thick.
Other types of shingles including number 1 wood cedar shake and tile are thicker although the thickness depends upon the individual brand of shingles you select.
When thatched properly by professionals the major portion of such a roof the water reed should last 40 to 50 years.
Thatched roofs only need replacing when thatching materials break down to the point of no longer being effective.
In other words as long as any other roof.
It is a very old roofing method and has been used in.
Standard asphalt shingles add very little thickness to the roof because a standard three tab shingle is about 3 16 inch thick.
A two year old roof i once surveyed had water penetrating a good nine inches 225mm up the stems of the thatch.
Thatch is important for drainage and moisture retention but thatch that gets too thick is bad for the grass.
When installed however the shingles overlap doubling the thickness.