Traditional English Thatched Roofs

[sityparamount]

Does any one think this could be a viable part time business in pattaya,some of you guys must love the chocolate box country thatched cottage you get back in the uk,fantastic insulation propertys.I know this idea has worked well in the usa where they tend to love everything british.Materials wouldnt be a problem to find in thailand,just ship a load of maris widgen long straw seeds over and grow the straw every thing else needed is her basically here. Just a thought.

[Northern Scum]

Thatched roofs are nice, but I doubt you'll find a someone in Pattaya capable of putting a quality one together.

I could be wrong.

Bit of a fire hazard, too.

[Thetyim]

^
It wouldn't need to be quality.
Have a normal roof and then cover it in thatch.
Fire and vermin could be a problem but I don't know anyone who has tried it

[sityparamount]

I have done a 5 year thatching apprenticeship and 2 of my brothers are East Anglian Master Thatchers with 55 years experience between them.so we could offer an exclusive service to those that have the funds available to construct there dream home.

[Thetyim]

Excellent. Nice to hear that old English craftsmen are still available.
I left England 15 years ago and a "friend" of mine reckoned he was the last thatcher in Sussex

[Northern Scum]

You wouldn't be allowed to do the work yourselves though, would you? You'd have to employ a Thai.

Again, I could be wrong.

[sityparamount]

(Fire and vermin could be a problem but I don't know anyone who has tried it)

Thatched roofs are 12 inches thick and very compact,they don't burn like you would imagine,they burn slowly due to the lack of oxygen and vermin shouldn't be to much of an issue as the whole roof is sealed with wire mesh,a straw roof out here should last at least 30 years and a reed roof about 50-60 years with the ridge re done every 15 years.

[sityparamount]

(You wouldn't be allowed to do the work yourselves though, would you? You'd have to employ a Thai.

Again, I could be wrong.)

You couldnt employ a thai because they cant do it,so you are not doing a job that a thai can do, but im not sure on that one.

[Thetyim]

When you say straw, could you use rice straw ?

[sityparamount]

(When you say straw, could you use rice straw ?)

In the uk we use a long straw variety which we grow ourselves,the straw has to be at least 4 foot long and the grain threshed out in a traditional way as not to break the stems,i don't know about Thai straw.

[Thetyim]

the straw has to be at least 4 foot long

That would not be rice straw then.
There is another thread on TD about building straw houses and rice straw is good for that apparently.

[Thetyim]

In answer to your first question it has always amazed me that farang houses here are so conventional. Labour here is cheap but I have not seen any interesting houses or replica cottages apart from one place in CM.

[NickA]

A thatched roof wouldn't look right on an ordinary Thai house, so you would have to have some craftsman to do the rest of the house in the same style.

Sounds like a good idea though, the only problem being the one mentioned about needing to use Thai workers. I guess you could just take on a few apprentices and train them up.... let them make the tea whilst you do the work..... although DD would probably know more about that (making the tea, that is)

[Ciaphas]

Nice idea, how good is thatch at reflecting heat? In my experience the biggest problem with houses in Thailand is the roofs get very hot which heat up the whole house. I would assume thatch is good for keeping heat in rather than out.

[NickA]

^would also keep the cool in of it was air conditioned.

[Smeg]

I seem to remember that there is a large thatched restaurant somewhere along pattanakarn road in bangkok, near srinakarin and the huge three-towered service apartment development out that way, the name of which escapes me.

Lots of thatched huts in resorts all over the place.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ I think it's quite different material. They lash long grasses together to make a big tile and then do the roof like any other roofing technique. Waterproof and rustic-looking. Repairs seem easy as they just replace the damaged section.

[Hootad Binky]

Seems there is some strife in the thatching world Btw would they have the 'right' type of straw in Thailand?

Thatched roof crisis as 'right' straw runs out

A disastrous harvest has led to shortages, but planners refuse to allow substitute varieties

March 16, 2008
The Observer

Once a cosy idyll, the traditional thatched cottage may soon be feeling the draught. A dismal harvest has left Britain's thatchers short of materials and led to official accusations that they are using 'the wrong type of straw'.British growers of cereal straw reported a 'diabolical' harvest last year, with some losing their entire crop and none losing less than 60 per cent. Prices for home-grown specialist straw have doubled in the past year and the 2007 stocks are already used up. Foreign growers are unable to make up the shortfall because they have also suffered a disastrous year.

Thatched roof crisis as 'right' straw runs out | Art & Architecture | guardian.co.uk Arts

[sabang]

I don't think it's a Goer.

There are a couple of techniques of straw roofing here, that vary from the standard wooden slat with rice thatch around, to considerably better. Obviously the price varies accordingly- but it is much, much cheaper than the UK.

Your skills as a Thatcher, I think, would be better employed by coming over here, getting to know local materials and methodologies, and bringing your considerable skills as a Thatcher to bear to perhaps make a better product, or construct it better and more efficiently.

[Hootad Binky]

I've heard stories of Thais calling the police when they see a falang even painting their own house "That's a job Thais could do!" so one would have to play up the fact that it's special English thatching I suppose...

[Jet Gorgon]

* Huh. My neighbours never reported me. I washed my own windows, too.

[NickA]

^me neither, but I make sure the wife does her share

[Luckydog]

I had a Tudor Thatched House in the UK.
The Thatch was long straw. Reed is far better.
I would never buy a thatched house again. They are a nightmare.
Birds nick the straw. Rats get into it. The mesh covering rusts in no time .
And if it leaks you can never find out where it's coming in!
It also burns well, and then you can only pull the Straw off. But you can't 'cos the bluddy mesh is holding it on!
Looks lovely. But no thank you......Tiles for me old bean.

[gjbkk]

There is a lovely thatched roof restaurant in the English style with exposed timber frame blending into white plaster on Pattanakarn Road just after Jusco. It’s on the right side of the road as you drive from the Srinakarin intersection in Bangkok.

So they do exist here..

[Smithson]

I really like thatch roofs, they look great and don't let through too much heat. I planned to use them for a place we're fixing up cheaply, but have decided to go for the synthetic roofing instead for several reason:
- The thatch only lasts a couple of years
- Thatch roofs are no good for water catchment, as the water is brackish
- Having the roof at a high pitch will help preserve the thatch, our roof is low pitch.
- Labor costs for installation are higher than synthetic roofing.

I'm still really like thatch and could be talked into using it, but from the info I've got it doesn't seem that viable.