New roof built on top of old thatch.

adm

Hi,
I'm considering renovating an old cottage. Having looked in the attic it
appears that the new slate roof was built on top of the old thatch one that must have been the original. I'm not a builder so would just be doing any bits of manual labour I could. The builder thats going to do the job says he doesn't want to touch it.

My questions:
Is this type of thing normal? Should I have it removed? It's really filthy up there and would be a lot of work to remove. Are there any dangers I should be aware of - by either leaving it there or removing it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Adrian

AckwelFoley

I can understand why the builder doesnt want to touch it.. because its a tough job to sort that one out. Essentially, i assume you would want it re roofed, and with that comes the problems, a house that old generally wouldnt have very straight walls, they would be probably very uneven at wallplate level and probably not very square at the corners, and id imagine hes thinking of the work involved in cutting the roof for that, it could take a long time and see'in as time is money...

adm

Well the roof thats on it now is fairly new (10 yrs maybe). Basically I'm just wondering should I remove the thatch. Would it cause any issues if I left it?
It seems strange that whoever did it previously just built the new roof on to of the thatched one.

AckwelFoley

adm wrote: »

Well the roof thats on it now is fairly new (10 yrs maybe). Basically I'm just wondering should I remove the thatch. Would it cause any issues if I left it?
It seems strange that whoever did it previously just built the new roof on to of the thatched one.

Without seeing it im guessing that he probably somehow put a frame on the tatch, and that the existing roof under the tatch is the structural element of the roof, so in essance it probably impossible to go removing the tatch

Poor Uncle Tom

From the sound of it, if I were you, I would get a structural engineer to have a look at it for you.

I wonder did the last roofer cut back the thatch enough to put on a wallplate? If he did, and then go to the trouble of putting new rafters on did he punch through the thatch to put joists or collars in?

If not, then as snyper suggests the thatch could be the structural element holding the new roof up. This would mean that the entire thing, new and old, should be removed. Covered thatch like that is a vermin trap and a fire hazard. Also, check your house insurance, a lot of policies will not cover a house with thatch.

adm

Thanks all,

I think I will look into removing it.