Anyone owned a house with a thatched roof?

[Chris71]

We're house hunting at the moment and coming across quite a few with thatched roofs. A bit like TVR ownership, the internet seems to be full of people who's brother's wife's mate had a thatched roof and it was terrible. Are they really that bad?

We're looking at smallish three-bed cottages, not Tudor manor houses. From what I gather online we'd have to budget about £15,000 every 15 years or so (spread across thatching and ridging)? I'm also aware that insurance can be expensive, but I've heard conflicting reports from a couple of hundred a year more to several thousand more than the equivalent slate-roofed property. And then I guess there's fire risk, rodents etc.

Any advice much appreciated.

[Chris71]

DKL said:

Lots of good stuff.

Thanks. At the risk of a stupid question, do you know if it's only listed buildings and specific conservation areas that restrict the choice of material for re-thatching?

The house we had in mind was this one, although this morning it seems to have disappeared from the market: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

[Chris71]

Ean218 said:

Chris71 said:

Thanks. At the risk of a stupid question, do you know if it's only listed buildings and specific conservation areas that restrict the choice of material for re-thatching?

If its listed or in a conservation area the local authority normally say you cannot change the roofing material, as the style and material tends to be a tradition for the locality. Most old thatched houses are.

We're looking in rural Somerset, so thatched houses are relatively common - I'm not sure about conservation status, but very few that we've seen have been listed.

[Chris71]

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.

[Chris71]

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.

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.