Item #: 2078446
With all of today's emphasis on being
environmentally sensitive when building a house, I would like to explore the lovely thought of the English Cottage, particularly an element of it, the Thatched Roof. Did you know that a Reed thatched roof can last up to 70 years?
http://www.thatching.com/faq.html Thatched roofs are also good insulators, and don't blow off in a storm. And think about how smart it would be to use a roofing material that you can grow every year, and after you are done with it and need to replace it (if you live long enough to outlast the roof) you can just compost it!
My budding reader was learning the spelling of the word "catch" and I put some more on the list. "hatch, patch, latch, thatch." Of course we had to go find out what thatch meant, and find some pictures of thatched roofs. That is what led me to this site:
http://www.thatching.com/thatching.htmlI also thought the artistry on each roof was interesting.
http://www.thatching.com/england.shtml
3 comments:
I've heard that rodents LOVe to live in them. Other than that, they are quite beautiful and cottage-y looking.
Though I cannot claim to have any experience with such a roof, having only seen them in photographs, I refer our esteemed reader to the links in the article, which actually address that issue. Perhaps in these modern times someone has figured out how to keep the rodents out of such houses. Having experienced a rodent invasion on two occasions, I have to say the best exterminators I have had were Smokey the Cat and Molly the Dog.
There are different ways of thatching for different areas of the country. So designs and materials are different in the East to the South, for example. I *think* that English Heritage stipulate that the thatch and thatcher needs to be local when someone is renovating a listed cottage.
There is a small revival of people re-learning traditional building skills, which is wonderful because the knowledge was about to be lost.
You have a very pretty little baby, btw!
Post a Comment
READ ME FIRST!
Pleasant Letters are Most Welcome!
Comments will be moderated for spam control and people having a bad day or making poor life choices.
Due to time constraints it may take a few days to publish and respond to your comments.