Anyone got thatch
Discussion
Looking at buying a house which is thatched. Buyer is telling me all is good and won't need redoing for 20 years.
Some friends know said house and have warned to check the thatch. [alarmbells]
Before I go the whole hog and get a survey, does any Ph'er have a thatched house that can give me a nosales bulls
t breakdown of what is needed when owning one. I am thinking maintenance, insurance and precautions with woodburners etc.Can an experienced thatcher see any issues or concerns from the roadside without having to get in the attics?
Cheers.
Kev
Haven't got a thatch but I was tlaking to a guy in the office about his (roof that is)
First check what it is thatched with (Reed or Straw). If it is in Norfolk it will probably be reed (Suffolk seem to have a lot of straw). Reed can last up to 70 years but will need re-ridging every 15 years or so.
They got a survey done by a thacher before they bought their house http://www.eamta.co.uk/members.htm
Hope that helps
First check what it is thatched with (Reed or Straw). If it is in Norfolk it will probably be reed (Suffolk seem to have a lot of straw). Reed can last up to 70 years but will need re-ridging every 15 years or so.
They got a survey done by a thacher before they bought their house http://www.eamta.co.uk/members.htm
Hope that helps
I own a thatched cottage and have lived here for ten years now. First you may find it helpful to know if the home you are considering is a listed building or not. Also is it in a conservation area. If the answer is yes and yes this will have a bearing on the thatched roof. To expain, my cottage is not listed or in conservation area therefore if I wanted to remove the thatch in favour of a tiled roof then I would have far fewer problems in doing so. (I don't want to do that but just make the point)
Longstraw is the most common thatch material in Suffolk and has a life span of anything between 15 - 20 years. Longstraw has a 'poured on' look about it, softer in appearance.
Wheatstraw is similar but has a more 'ordered look' on the roof, flatter and more even.
Reed, long lasting 50 years and more, but the ridge will need looking at after 15 years as that will be wheatstraw.
Thatchers will charge for re-thatch by the 'thatchers square' that is 10feet x 10 feet of roof area.
A thatcher will offer you a survey of the roof of the home you are considering. That is a skilled eye over the thatch material will tell him how good or otherwise the thatch is.
Most thatch fires are started by use of multifuel stoves being used without a stainless steel insulated liner being fitted in the chimney. I won't go into how and why but it is a fact.
A number of home building/contents insurance providers are available, it is a specialised market and a waste of time going to the usual insurance companies. Premiums are not excessive but a little more expensive than a standard house build insurance
Fire some questions and hopefully I should be able to provide answers.
Longstraw is the most common thatch material in Suffolk and has a life span of anything between 15 - 20 years. Longstraw has a 'poured on' look about it, softer in appearance.
Wheatstraw is similar but has a more 'ordered look' on the roof, flatter and more even.
Reed, long lasting 50 years and more, but the ridge will need looking at after 15 years as that will be wheatstraw.
Thatchers will charge for re-thatch by the 'thatchers square' that is 10feet x 10 feet of roof area.
A thatcher will offer you a survey of the roof of the home you are considering. That is a skilled eye over the thatch material will tell him how good or otherwise the thatch is.
Most thatch fires are started by use of multifuel stoves being used without a stainless steel insulated liner being fitted in the chimney. I won't go into how and why but it is a fact.
A number of home building/contents insurance providers are available, it is a specialised market and a waste of time going to the usual insurance companies. Premiums are not excessive but a little more expensive than a standard house build insurance
Fire some questions and hopefully I should be able to provide answers.
Thatch on our house was done in 1996 , hasn't been touched since . Ridge may need tidying up soon but still looks not bad , make sure you got a good fine wire net over it otherwise the birds will pull it about too much , fitted wood burner 10 years ago , no issues , just make sure chimney is lined , the heat radiates from inside chimney through the brickwork then ignits the thatch so make sure it's lined at the thatchline at least . Ours was lined when wood burner went in , took one day for full fitting . Spark arresters are not recommended these days and cause more problems and fires than anything , so I'm told .
Thanks for the replies.
So far owner has not got any fires in the property whether open or wood burners. All heating comes from underfloor kind. Probably keep it that way to be safe than sorry for a start.
However, currently we are holding off as found out the fields around the back of the property are being assessed by South Norfolk as potential Development land thanks to the Government relaxing the rules in their Framework Proposals that became law yesterday.
There is potential to have 20-30 houses built at the end of the garden....Not something we want..
So may have to find somewhere else altogether if South Norfolk decide in favour of the plot...
Thanks for the help though. Very interesting.
Cheers
KevF
So far owner has not got any fires in the property whether open or wood burners. All heating comes from underfloor kind. Probably keep it that way to be safe than sorry for a start.
However, currently we are holding off as found out the fields around the back of the property are being assessed by South Norfolk as potential Development land thanks to the Government relaxing the rules in their Framework Proposals that became law yesterday.
There is potential to have 20-30 houses built at the end of the garden....Not something we want..
So may have to find somewhere else altogether if South Norfolk decide in favour of the plot...
Thanks for the help though. Very interesting.
Cheers
KevF
BliarOut said:
Even a properly lined chimney can ignite a thatch if you've got a woodburner...
No , that's why they line it out , thatch fires mainly caused through radiated heat at the thatch line and the bricks in the chimney , if it's done correctly not by some bob the builder down the pub the lining prevents heat from radiating and setting fire to your thatch . You may still get a thatch fire by other means but not radiated heat . It's recommended only to burn seasoned timber and have the flue cleaned once a year , then there should be no problems . Fires in thatch building is not so common these days because of these well documented measures taken by home owners . The main problem with thatch nowadays is rodent infestation or faulty electical wiring which can be costly to repair . Edited by Sesto on Wednesday 28th March 22:29
BliarOut said:
Tell that to my mate whose thatch burned down a couple of weeks ago. Everything was done properly but it turns out one of the joists had shrunk causing a localised hot spot. Impossible to know about until the roof had burned away 
Damn , that's bad luck , hope insurance paid out and no one hurt . If all done correct and passed and certified shouldn't have no worries with a claim of insurance . On the whole though it's a rare event normally , suppose there's still a risk even if you take all precautons . BliarOut said:
Fully insured and all done 'correctly' but there's still a risk with all that heat so close to a thatch. They all got out, that's the main thing 
That's the main thing all got out , still a shame to lose a home though . Luckily I have a single brick skin between thatch and flue so that slows down the radiate heat somewhat , with the lining heat transfer is pretty much non existent . I wouldn't recommend wood burners if all you had were joists between the thatch and lining of the flue , and I think nowadays a proffessional wouldn't even consider fitting a wood burner if that were the case . The risk is too great as you friend unfortunately found out .Agree with Sesto, the problem is that people like to install the modern 'secondary air' type multifuel burners. These, as we know, create tremendously hot flu gases, much hotter than a traditional open stove or open fire. We switched house insurers last year which meant the new company insisted upon a electrical wiring certification. Our previous insurer had never bothered with this but I later found that I was in breach of the policy reg's which would have left me uninsured relating to a fire claim! Anyway I am lucky that our son has recently qualified as a sparky and of course he carried out the inspection for us. What he found when lifting the upper storey floor boards was truly frightening. Mice had eaten away all of the insulation covering on the wires, how we hadn't had an electrical fire is a minor miracle. Needless to say we are now re-wired.
Last comment is very true!!
Even if they don't ask you for a certificate for electrics, or fire cleaning, or tree near to the house, or anything!!! if its covered in the policy, and you are not up to standard they might not pay.
Even people are being told they can't clean their own chimney any more. It has to be done by a proffesional and certificated in some cases.
My Insurance company said that about 98% of all thatch fires are due to wood/coal burners.
Mine is straw, which may just catch fire if you look at it to hard, so i'm going to go down the gas route. There are some great Calor gas flueless, and flued coal and wood style burners. They appear chaep to run, start up and heat straight away and safe to use.
Any one out there tried them??
Gadgit.
Even if they don't ask you for a certificate for electrics, or fire cleaning, or tree near to the house, or anything!!! if its covered in the policy, and you are not up to standard they might not pay.
Even people are being told they can't clean their own chimney any more. It has to be done by a proffesional and certificated in some cases.
My Insurance company said that about 98% of all thatch fires are due to wood/coal burners.
Mine is straw, which may just catch fire if you look at it to hard, so i'm going to go down the gas route. There are some great Calor gas flueless, and flued coal and wood style burners. They appear chaep to run, start up and heat straight away and safe to use.
Any one out there tried them??
Gadgit.
I think if I was the owner of a thatched cottage then high on my priority list would be to install a sprinkler system into the roof/attic along with two or three smoke alarms.
Even a rudimentary system permanently hooked up to a stop cock must be a sensible decision. It never ceases to surprise me how many cottages are burnt to the ground because the fire brigade arrived when the fire was firmly established and there was insufficient household protection to even have a fighting chance of putting the fire out.
Basic maintenance such as electric safety checks, chimney temperature checks and so forth would be part and parcel of ownership in as much that we check the tyres and oil in the car.
There is a company in Nayland/Colchester called The Specialist Flue Group 08707 707870 who are, as the name says.
HTH
Even a rudimentary system permanently hooked up to a stop cock must be a sensible decision. It never ceases to surprise me how many cottages are burnt to the ground because the fire brigade arrived when the fire was firmly established and there was insufficient household protection to even have a fighting chance of putting the fire out.
Basic maintenance such as electric safety checks, chimney temperature checks and so forth would be part and parcel of ownership in as much that we check the tyres and oil in the car.
There is a company in Nayland/Colchester called The Specialist Flue Group 08707 707870 who are, as the name says.
HTH
Carsie said:
I think if I was the owner of a thatched cottage then high on my priority list would be to install a sprinkler system into the roof/attic along with two or three smoke alarms.
Even a rudimentary system permanently hooked up to a stop cock must be a sensible decision. It never ceases to surprise me how many cottages are burnt to the ground because the fire brigade arrived when the fire was firmly established and there was insufficient household protection to even have a fighting chance of putting the fire out.
Basic maintenance such as electric safety checks, chimney temperature checks and so forth would be part and parcel of ownership in as much that we check the tyres and oil in the car.
There is a company in Nayland/Colchester called The Specialist Flue Group 08707 707870 who are, as the name says.
HTH
Installing a sprinkler system into the roof/attic sounds a good idea, but it wouldn't douse a thatch fire. All the burning thatch has to be raked off the roof, water simply runs off the reed / straw as its supposed to. Not sure why the fire brigade don't use foam and cut off the oxygen from the thatch fire? must be a reason. Even a rudimentary system permanently hooked up to a stop cock must be a sensible decision. It never ceases to surprise me how many cottages are burnt to the ground because the fire brigade arrived when the fire was firmly established and there was insufficient household protection to even have a fighting chance of putting the fire out.
Basic maintenance such as electric safety checks, chimney temperature checks and so forth would be part and parcel of ownership in as much that we check the tyres and oil in the car.
There is a company in Nayland/Colchester called The Specialist Flue Group 08707 707870 who are, as the name says.
HTH
The biggest problem is use of high temp' multifuel stoves, as we have all suggested, any weak spots in the lime plaster/ mortar joints in the chimney will allow hot gases to escape through them. Over a period of time, weeks or even months, the temp' climbs within the thatch eventually it combusts. The fire can smoulder for weeks on end and you simply would not be aware of it. When suddenly it will be flames.
My own cottage, we have two fire extinguishers a fire blanket and two smoke detectors.
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