thatched with straw

COAST ROAD

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A well maintained brick cottage thatched with Oats (straw). Two chimneys. Rough cast plaster and part clay exterior. Uncoloured. Modern panelled door. Rectangular wooden framed casement windows.

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (Cladium mariscus), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed—trapping air—thatching also functions as insulation. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost local vegetation. By contrast, in some developed countries it is the choice of some affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home, would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode.

Years ago, thatching straw was the by-product of the cereal production e.g. wheat, rye and even oat straw has been used to thatch roofs. Wheat as the toughest (and probably longest lasting as often Winter sown) became the norm but now it is no longer a by-product.

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