Anyone owned a house with a thatched roof?
Discussion
I have a theory on thatch cottage roof fires.
As has been said, 99% of fires are caused by either a faulty chimney/flu, or by dodgy electrics.
The fires therefore are caused by internal sources, not external.
My theory is that since many places now have central heating, the real fireplaces get used less and less. However, every now and then we get a spate of fires, and I think it's people going back to their log burner or open fire place when their central heating has failed.
If you use your fireplace regularly, then it's likely to all be in good working order.
The other cause is self inflicted fires. Insurance jobs. They happen. Always when a roof is in a delapidated state. Never just after £30 grand has been spent on the roof.
As has been said, 99% of fires are caused by either a faulty chimney/flu, or by dodgy electrics.
The fires therefore are caused by internal sources, not external.
My theory is that since many places now have central heating, the real fireplaces get used less and less. However, every now and then we get a spate of fires, and I think it's people going back to their log burner or open fire place when their central heating has failed.
If you use your fireplace regularly, then it's likely to all be in good working order.
The other cause is self inflicted fires. Insurance jobs. They happen. Always when a roof is in a delapidated state. Never just after £30 grand has been spent on the roof.
We have a thatch. Our last house (Grade II listed) was thatched. This one, we built ourselves and decided to thatch - the old part, anyway. It was £13,950 to do, by an award winning thatcher, using water reed imported from Turkey (the Norfolk stuff is too scarce = expensive). It should last for 70 years, by which time I'll be dead so I'm not too concerned.
Insurance is with NFU, we've never had a conventional house so not sure what insurance usually costs - but it does seem quite pricey although we also have fully comprehensive contents/travel, etc added onto that - it all adds up.
As others have said, most fires are caused by electrical faults from the inside and we did have to adhere to strict building regs regards chimney heights, etc. We don't have any electrical cables anywhere near the roof. Our biggest issue has actually been caused by modern building regs - we have condensation issues because of the fireboarding we had to put in. We never had an issue in the old house (which had a long straw thatch). In our last house (in a village) we also had an available hose come bonfire night, etc but never used it.
Thatch wouldn't put me off buying a house at all. Collyweston tiles, however, I'd run a frickin' mile
Insurance is with NFU, we've never had a conventional house so not sure what insurance usually costs - but it does seem quite pricey although we also have fully comprehensive contents/travel, etc added onto that - it all adds up.
As others have said, most fires are caused by electrical faults from the inside and we did have to adhere to strict building regs regards chimney heights, etc. We don't have any electrical cables anywhere near the roof. Our biggest issue has actually been caused by modern building regs - we have condensation issues because of the fireboarding we had to put in. We never had an issue in the old house (which had a long straw thatch). In our last house (in a village) we also had an available hose come bonfire night, etc but never used it.
Thatch wouldn't put me off buying a house at all. Collyweston tiles, however, I'd run a frickin' mile
Cheers gents. Much appreciated.
So, in a nutshell:
1) Get it inspected and get a quote for potential re-thatch before you buy
2) Make sure the electrics are all in good order and routed in sensible places
3) Make sure the chimney is swept and tested
4) Be prepared to pay more - potentially quite a lot more - for insurance
5) Set aside a 'roof fund' in a savings account somewhere (anything upwards of £15k potentially)
It's a really tricky one as a buyer. Thatched cottages are 10 a penny in the area we're looking at, so you actually pay quite a lot less than the equivalent tiled-roof period house. So not only do you have the wow factor of a thatched cottage, you're also looking at something that would be out of budget if it didn't come with the potential downsides. It's difficult to stay sensible and grounded under those circumstances.
So, in a nutshell:
1) Get it inspected and get a quote for potential re-thatch before you buy
2) Make sure the electrics are all in good order and routed in sensible places
3) Make sure the chimney is swept and tested
4) Be prepared to pay more - potentially quite a lot more - for insurance
5) Set aside a 'roof fund' in a savings account somewhere (anything upwards of £15k potentially)
It's a really tricky one as a buyer. Thatched cottages are 10 a penny in the area we're looking at, so you actually pay quite a lot less than the equivalent tiled-roof period house. So not only do you have the wow factor of a thatched cottage, you're also looking at something that would be out of budget if it didn't come with the potential downsides. It's difficult to stay sensible and grounded under those circumstances.
I lived in one for 2 years. I have never been so paranoid about neighbours having fires, bad electrics, leaving the place for more than 1 night, making sure the loggy was out/damped before bed, etc etc etc. It looked lovely but the worry was too much for me and I was glad to move out.
I would think VERY hard before buying somewhere thatched, which is a bone of contention with the far-more-quaint Mrs.
I would think VERY hard before buying somewhere thatched, which is a bone of contention with the far-more-quaint Mrs.
OpulentBob said:
I lived in one for 2 years. I have never been so paranoid about neighbours having fires, bad electrics, leaving the place for more than 1 night, making sure the loggy was out/damped before bed, etc etc etc. It looked lovely but the worry was too much for me and I was glad to move out.
I would think VERY hard before buying somewhere thatched, which is a bone of contention with the far-more-quaint Mrs.
Indeed. I guess that apprehension is a significant factor even if the actual risk is pretty low. I would think VERY hard before buying somewhere thatched, which is a bone of contention with the far-more-quaint Mrs.
A thatched house is definitely an outside option for us rather than a priority. That said, this whole exercise is largely about replacing our faceless suburban semi with something that has a bit more emotional pull. Of the character cottages in the area on Rightmove, I'd say around a third are thatched, so I'm reluctant to rule it out.
Just having our ridge done, thatch was done 15 years ago, ridge last done 7 years ago.
Cost for ridge is about 3K, cost for full roof about 35K.
Changed to Norfolk Water Reed prior to listing 15 years ago, so lifespan expected to be 30 years (weather depending - a wet Summer can take years off the life). Lifespan of a Devon Wheat Straw roof is about 15 years.
Rodents - Yes. Many.
Spiders - Yes. Many
But warm in winter, cool in Summer
Also spend $2k a year to insure - a small fire in a thatch is always a big fire! Condition of insurance is no fires outside within 100m of property, All used fireplaces or woodburners must be lined and HETAS signed off, smoke alarms everywhere, Chimney pots the correct distance from thatch, used fires must be swept twice a year.
The first bomb fire night/ fortnight after buying a thatch will be restless nights.... but actually it's nigh on impossible for a thatch to catch light from the outside in November.
All thatch fires are from the inside. Usually when the chimney is used. Sometimes from faulty electrics.
All thatch fires are from the inside. Usually when the chimney is used. Sometimes from faulty electrics.
TTmonkey said:
The first bomb fire night/ fortnight after buying a thatch will be restless nights.... but actually it's nigh on impossible for a thatch to catch light from the outside in November.
All thatch fires are from the inside. Usually when the chimney is used. Sometimes from faulty electrics.
Depends how far out in the sticks you are.All thatch fires are from the inside. Usually when the chimney is used. Sometimes from faulty electrics.
Fires from the inside is quite true, usually a leaky flue, which is why they specify a good liner must be used.
Update on the ridge.....with pheasant finials!
Ok, excuse my ignorance here as I know there will be a reason you can't, but just wondering what it is. My question is, can you not have a normal tiled roof and thatch over the top? Keep the council people happy as it'll still look thatched, no rodent/spider problem and not have to re thatch.
Marc p said:
Ok, excuse my ignorance here as I know there will be a reason you can't, but just wondering what it is. My question is, can you not have a normal tiled roof and thatch over the top? Keep the council people happy as it'll still look thatched, no rodent/spider problem and not have to re thatch.
Why do you think you wouldn't need to re-thatch, or have insects etc getting in? The thatch on top of tiles wouldn't suddenly stop deteriorating over the years, and I imagine a 50yr old pile of compost on top of tiles would be detrimental to the tiles' weatherproofing. Tiles are also not hermetically sealed; animals and insects will still have a route to find the gaps between them.It's not quite as daft as it sounds. New thatched houses have a "fireproof" layer betweem the timbers and the thatch. It isn't fireproof but will delay the fire getting to the house long enough for the fire brigade to come and scrape it off.
Yes you can do it on old houses but, as has been said, you rarely remove all the thatch. It would make the loft space alot less dusty too.
I'm fairly sure our mice come up through the walls. They are solid but not literally so there are plenty of spaces to climb.
Yes you can do it on old houses but, as has been said, you rarely remove all the thatch. It would make the loft space alot less dusty too.
I'm fairly sure our mice come up through the walls. They are solid but not literally so there are plenty of spaces to climb.
Lovely to look at. Require quite a bit of maintenance. We had one... 6 months ago whilst on holiday it caught fire and we lost everything. The roof completely collapses on the floors so damage is huge. Ours was in good nick, electrics and gas certified, all appliances disconnected and house was as safe as it could be when we went on holiday. No explanation to the fire, no one knows how it started. The thatch didn't start the fire we think but when it caught fire the fireman couldn't do much but watching it burn.
Love the style but I won't buy another house with one. The thought that my children could have died is not worth it.
Off course people will tell you how safe it is and never happens, etc. Happened to us and we never even used any open fire nor we had any woodburners and we were fully compliant with all guidelines to have a safe thatch house.
Love the style but I won't buy another house with one. The thought that my children could have died is not worth it.
Off course people will tell you how safe it is and never happens, etc. Happened to us and we never even used any open fire nor we had any woodburners and we were fully compliant with all guidelines to have a safe thatch house.
One factor about thatch fires that people rarely understand or anticipate....
Most thatch cottages are out in the countryside, and there is often poor water pressure. So when the fire brigade come, with a couple of thousand litres of water on their trucks, they often run out of water quick, and can't connect up to the mains, or if they do, they get poor pressure.
It take so a lot of water to put out a thatch fire. Usually because the seat of the fire is inside the thatch, which might be 3 foot thick. The brigade often strip the roof of as much unburnt that as they can, and if it's out in the may well not have sufficient water to properly dampen the thatch and extinguish the blaze. As it's out in the sticks, they may take a lot longer to get there than to a blaze in a town house.
Statisically however, thatch properties are less likely to suffer a house fire than a normal house. Just that when they do, the media loves to report that some fool lived in a house of straw and it burnt down.
Most thatch cottages are out in the countryside, and there is often poor water pressure. So when the fire brigade come, with a couple of thousand litres of water on their trucks, they often run out of water quick, and can't connect up to the mains, or if they do, they get poor pressure.
It take so a lot of water to put out a thatch fire. Usually because the seat of the fire is inside the thatch, which might be 3 foot thick. The brigade often strip the roof of as much unburnt that as they can, and if it's out in the may well not have sufficient water to properly dampen the thatch and extinguish the blaze. As it's out in the sticks, they may take a lot longer to get there than to a blaze in a town house.
Statisically however, thatch properties are less likely to suffer a house fire than a normal house. Just that when they do, the media loves to report that some fool lived in a house of straw and it burnt down.
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