Survey Report: Thatch Roof Overlaid with Tiles

G_M

Steffi747 wrote: »

Link to picture...

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/5980/thatchroof.png

So where are the tiles???

I see nothing there strong enough to support the weight of tiles.

G_M

PasturesNew wrote: »

.....

I'd not touch it with a bargepole ..... nor any other bodges.

(Note: Unqualified opinion of a pessimist).

I agree. A bargepole would of course, be long enough to reach up there, but any messing about with one might bring tiles crashing down around your head. :rotfl:

Steffi747

G_M wrote: »

So where are the tiles???

I see nothing there strong enough to support the weight of tiles.

From the exterior it looks like a normal tiled roof.

teneighty

Very fuzzy photo but it looks like reed sarking to me. How thick is it?

Those pole rafters look very flimsy.

Steffi747

teneighty wrote: »

Very fuzzy photo but it looks like reed sarking to me. How thick is it?

The report doesn't say.

hazyjo

If there's a full thatch and tiles, I'd be concerned about the weight of it all. Have seen how heavy roofing materials can bow and cause damage to structures underneath.

Will be interesting to hear the outcome of this one!

Jx

G_M

hazyjo wrote: »

If there's a full thatch and tiles, I'd be concerned about the weight of it all. Have seen how heavy roofing materials can bow and cause damage to structures underneath.

Will be interesting to hear the outcome of this one!

Jx

Agree! Please come back and update us with whatever you find out in the end. And let us know what you decide to do.

propertyman

Steffi- while it's not impossible to do this and make it stable as a normal roof, it escapes me why anyone would. That would exceed the cost of stripping and restructuring.

It is therefore likely to be an amateur attempt, a lattice of 2x1 laid over the thatch with tiles laid over that. I wonder if it might be that the rafters cannot take take the point load of battens and therefore they were thinking of tying in the roof lattice and "floating" the tile/lattice on the thatch?

Even it were properly structured *, it does as said have long term problems with rot fire and pest inhabitation.

Few buyers will proceed with this * so put the onus on the vendor to explain or investigate by paying for the costs.

*I'll bet my sugary treat today that if you contact the local council there will be no consents for this, nor would they get one. Few would then buy and not without substantial adjustments to the price.

Beckyy

I would speak to the vendor and ask exactly what they've done. Very strange!

moneyistooshorttomention

Must say I would assume that the previous owner wanted to avoid the (much) higher insurance costs that thatched properties have and the thatch was a bit "worse the wear" anyway.

The cheapest bodge out of the situation was to pretend the property had had the thatch replaced - but actually it was still there (and the vendor had saved themselves the cost of ripping off the thatch before putting on the tiles).

Also wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.