There are a number of good reasons to use thatch roofing when building a new home
, but this is as long as you also understand the down side building with thatch.
The Pros of Thatch Roofing
One of the biggest reasons for the popularity of thatch around the world is the fact that the raw material used to build the roof is so readily available. In fact, thatch is the most common roofing material in vast parts of the world, including in parts of Europe where the combination of both thatch and roof tiles is incredibly popular. An example of this type of combination roof can be seen in the area of Alkmaar in Holland.
Another major plus that has helped to make thatch so popular that thatch is lighter and therefore needs less timber in any roof that supports it. This is a major cost saving factor when building a home.
Thatch is also a very, very versatile material and is perfectly suited to covering irregular or non conventional roof structures.
Thatch is known as an extremely eco friendly roofing alternative. Both second-hand and recycled natural thatching material can be used when building a new or improving an old building which means that thatch is very sustainable.
The Cons of Thatch Roofing
Any house that uses thatch roofing can be harder and more expensive to insure because of fire risks.
Thatch roofs are also extremely labour intensive to both maintain and build. This means that the savings made due to the fact that the raw materials are so inexpensive are overshadowed by high labour costs.
Birds and other wildlife that can access a thatch roof can damage the thatch while they foraging for grubs or other food types. Some rodents are also enticed to enter and damage thatch roofs if the raw material contains any residual grain, straw or food types.
It is also said that thatch roofs are not particularly good or safe to use in cold snow covered areas. This however is not true if the thatch roof is built with a snow covering in mind. This means that a thatch roof in a snowy area needs to have a stronger than normal frame and in extremely cold areas, known to experience large snow falls, the thatched roof should be pitched slightly higher than the normal 45-55 degrees pitch used in conventional thatch roofing.
To build with Thatch or not to build with it?
Although there might seem to be many more cons to building with thatch it all boils down to personal choice. Thatch is an extremely beautiful roofing option and those who choose to use it very seldom if ever choose to go back to the more conventional slate roofing.