Thatch

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Anyone ever owned a thatched property?

I'm poised to buy a lovely little chocolate box thatched cottage just across the border into Dorset.

Getting it at a very cheap price & the agent was telling me they are not in vogue at the moment because people just don't want the high insurance premiums and maintenance (will be paying £800 per annum).

This one was redone 5 years ago so has 15 years left on the guarantee. It also has a really good EPC rating because of the roof as well as having excellent sound insulation.

Think I'll soon be a convert; anyone else live/lived in one? Did you still have barbecues? :

[barrydidit]

Since you're into fairy tales, any wolves in Dorset?

[WTFH]

Brother in law lives in one. As well as the insurance and maintenance, don't forget the cost to replace it.

[DimPrawn]

This man told me everything I ever needed to know about Thatch.

[greenlake]

Anyone ever owned a thatched property?

I'm poised to buy a lovely little chocolate box thatched cottage just across the border into Dorset.

Here's one that comes with a shared satellite dish....

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Brother in law lives in one. As well as the insurance and maintenance, don't forget the cost to replace it.

About £20k for this one. Has 15 years of the guarantee left.

[WTFH]

The guarantee isn't the important thing. You can have a 20 year guarantee, that does not mean you don't have to replaced the thatch in 25 years time.


So, to put it another way, if you know that the current price to replace your thatch is £20k, and that you will probably need to replace it every 20-25 years, then you need to set aside another £1000 per year (plus inflation) as well as the increase in insurance, etc.

[Paddy]

The guarantee isn't the important thing. You can have a 20 year guarantee, that does not mean you don't have to replaced the thatch in 25 years time.


So, to put it another way, if you know that the current price to replace your thatch is £20k, and that you will probably need to replace it every 20-25 years, then you need to set aside another £1000 per year (plus inflation) as well as the increase in insurance, etc.

That’s very costly; it could be the last straw.

[original PM]

That’s very costly; it could be the last straw.

here you go

[Chuck]

The guarantee isn't the important thing. You can have a 20 year guarantee, that does not mean you don't have to replaced the thatch in 25 years time.


So, to put it another way, if you know that the current price to replace your thatch is £20k, and that you will probably need to replace it every 20-25 years, then you need to set aside another £1000 per year (plus inflation) as well as the increase in insurance, etc.

This ^

Also, you will need to replace the ridge every 10 years or so, depending on how well you maintain the roof over its lifetime. This is probably starts at around 3k depending on the size of the roof. Thatchers are a hardy bunch, and they tend to do things that would make an H&S officer scream, however even they are now forced to use scaffolding to get on to a roof.

Then there is the routine maintenance on the roof itself. Birds and rodents like to try and get in to the roof. This will need repairing every couple of years or so, depending on the amount of damage caused.

Insurance is becoming a right pain. The number of companies willing to offer quotes is shrinking, and the premiums are going up. There will be stipulations about the condition of your internal wiring, particularly wrt modern consumer units, safety inspection frequency, and protecting cables in the roof space from rodent damage (if they let you have them up there at all).

Wood-burning stoves offer their own special challenges as modern building regs specify the linings and distance (height) between the pot/cowl and the thatch. We had to rebuild and line all our chimneys to meet the regs, or we weren't insured for a chimney fire, or a fire in the thatch caused by the stoves.

Thatch is fine, if you get in to it with your eyes wide open. Having said that, this is our third thatched property and it will be our last.