My mother-in-law is considering buying a thatched cottage. Anyone know about insurance - is it much more expensive / harder to get? Anything specific to look out for? What are the costs like of getting it re-thatched and how often?
Thanks
John
Tell her to run away. It's probably listed and that's a bad thing as well.
Look for rotting thatch with obvious patches of moss or bald spots where the birds have picked it out. Demand to see the bill for the last time it was re-thatched. Avoid anything that needs rethatching in the imemdiate future.
How long is a piece of string? It could be of the order of 20 thousands.
About 25 years (ish)
Just presume you need a new roof now and try to get a Thatcher. If you find one (I did say if) ask the price - including hotel costs etc. They also have a short life compared to say slate or tile so depending on how long you stay you will reroof more than once. Insur - drink a lot of spirits and then ask you current insur comp for a quote - and ask your bank manager if he can do a second mortgage for the insur.
The costs aren't as bad as some think. I'm not sure about insurance, but most small (3 bed) cottages cost in the order of
12-18k to rethatch, every 20-30 years.If it's listed, run away.
JK> My mother-in-law is considering buying a thatched cottage. JK> Anyone know about insurance - is it much more expensive / JK> harder to get? Anything specific to look out for? What are JK> the costs like of getting it re-thatched and how often?
Some friends bought a thatched place last year. They reckon the insurance isn't much more but you need to find companies who specialise in thatched properties.
They did mention twenty grand in the next five years for a re-thatch, and there's a two year waiting list for a reputable contractor. I dont know how long the current thatch has been on there, though.
AndyC
--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Andy Cunningham aka AndyC the WB | andy -at- cunningham.me.uk | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
Many thanks for all the useful replies - sounds like the ongoing maintenance costs are more of a problem than the insurance.
You could always install a thatch sprinkler system. I'm sure I would if I had an unlisted thatched cottage. Then I'm the sort to install a proper fire alarm in my brick and slate Victorian terrace.
Christian.
Trouble is you need to get the water up underneath the that as pouring water from above has the same effect as rain - it just runs off (granted may cool the upper parts of the thatch) but the tinder dry lower layers burn away merrily. I guess you could put pipes between the layers - during installation - sort of leaky pipe variety - connect upto mains and soak from the middle outwards - but I'd thought the design of a completely effective solution would be nigh impossible.
Lastly - my mates insurance paid up (the whole house was rebuilt from scratch and re-roofed in thatch). But he didn't stay in it much longer.
Oh yes and why didn't I persue a career in thatching -well at the time recent building legislation was introduced which prevented all 'new' houses from being thatched. This forced many thatchers to think of alternative employment as work started to wane - however I did read of a new (old imitation ) house being thatched so the legislation is either now defunct or interpreted differently. At the time a whole estate of new thatched houses were built somewhere in the Weald - with comments of that they would be last to be built.
Today good thatchers seem to be in yellow pages just under rocking horse manure suppliers section - so my choice of an IT career was not a wise one I fear !!!
Sydney
>
Ha! my house is 80 years old and still has the original roof
............................................................................ ...... Tiled of course
Steve R
Fibreglass roofs on caravans don't count.
Inurance is hard to get. Go straight to te NFU mutual insurance and get a quote. Its not actually THAT much more expensive, but you might want to get a surveyor to check things like loft fireproofing and chimney height. Chimney fires - which are an amusing nusiance with tiles/slates, are lethal with thatch - get the chimenyts thourougjly checked for leaks especially inteh loft area and consider lining them f you want to use an iopen fire, and if using wood - espceailly green wood, sweep AT LEAST once a year, maybe twice.
Thatch that is barley straw lasts about 15 years, if its reed it will do
60 years - basically both slowly rot and become threadbare. Nornmnally ridges are made of teh more flexible straw and so these need replacing about every 10-15 years. Some area that get heavy wetaherng will need replacing more often. If teh wireing over it goes, birds and rast will wreck it., Be very careful of rats.Re thatching is about twce teh price of tiling/slating, and thatchers are in short supply, so you may need up to two years lead time to get it done.
Having said that, its so nice to have though...worth it in the end.
My current nurere woldn't touchj timber frame let alone thatch. NFU are teh boys for tyatch.
Yes, thats exactly it. You should aim to put a thousand a year way in a piggy bank,...
Mind you, no gutters to clear, replace or paint. That's a real bonus
Thes days they require you to put fireproof permeable board between teh loft space and teh tach.
Odd. My new house is thatched..
This forced many thatchers to think of alternative
Tatching is dead essy. Mine was dne by a doddering heptagenerian and his defective son. I reckon I could do it myself easy...
I can. I can see acres of it right now, and it hangs down over the bedroom windows beautifully. I like to watch the rain run off it.
Is your middle name 'Nimby'?
>"The Natural Philosopher" wrote | My current nurere
ViaVoice doesn't work as well with dentures out, does it :-)
Owain
Fine, it's your money you're watchign get washed down the drain.
No.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.