farmerman wrote:I like the details given in thead. It seems that they wish to convey some useful information other than some "this one wont last" crap I like the way they ran out of time and did not measure the fourth bedroom.
Is that a thatch roof? How does one maintain a thatch roof. Must one water it frequently or mow it? If one replaces a thatch roof with anew one I suppose one would have to remove the old one first. Is there an underlayment or some roof struts underneath? Always interested in thatch rooves. The Swedes had them here in the US for the first hundred years or so. The beavers kept building dams in the spartina meadows so the Swedes started using slate, of which there is a great abundance.
I just love the way you write Farmerman......you're so........olde worlde, you would fit right in over here, methinks.
Yes, it's a thatched roof...most of the material for thatching comes from the Norfolk Broads, a vast network of rivers in East Anglia (Norfolk mainly) which is basically land reclaimed from the sea by means of a superb drainage system. Nimhs ancestors came over here from Holland and arranged the whole thing for us back in the time of the black death or thereabouts. Acre upon acre of reedbeds...more than enough to supply the thatching industry.
The roof normally needs a "top dressing" about every ten years or so, and house owners usually take out an investment policy for that duration, so that when it matures, it pays for the roof to be done (about £5K or so). The thatch in total is about two feet thick, and they remove six inches of old, replacing it with new. If it is left too long, the whole lot needs replacing, and costs an absolute fortune.
Nowadays, one can have "treated" fireproof thatch as a top coat....you can take a flamethrower to the bugger and it will take a year or so to catch light.
The thatch sits on a "wattle and daub" frame (old fashioned plaster board, the "daub" is made of straw mixed with a wonderful concoction of clay, cowdung and just about anything else that may set hard. The "wattle" is a criss cross frame of thin strips of wood, or a woven frame of thin branches). No mowing or watering required, although in times of drought, houseowners occasionally sprinkle it with the hose, just in case a neighbour decides to have a bonfire.
This type of building is normally just called a "Tudor house" here, although it may be earlier or later than the 16th Century. The whole frame is made of solid oak, and a proper one will not have a single nail in it....all wooden "slot and peg".
We had a quick look inside this one.....big beams everywhere, with even the original three wavy lines carved above the inside of the front door. This symbolises water, and is supposed to deter Witches. The Mother in Law comes in through the back door then, I suppose.
No doubt it will be sold before we can put in a serious offer.....but it was only a quick browse anyway....and there are plenty more out there.
