Thatched roof. Work of the devil or not?

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

Am house hunting in the environs of Pulborough/Fittleworth West Sussex. Lovely cottage, big enough, right price BUT thatched roof and I am scared. Can you get these buggers insured? Are they a nightmare to maintain? Will they go up in smoke if someone drops a match in the vicinity? Please tell me your tales of woe.

You'll probably need a specialist insurer. My house isn't thatched, but is Grade II listed and about 400 years old. Most insurance companies won't touch it because of this, and the fact that it has settled ove the years, meaning that there are old cracks and no straight floors anywhere. It is more expensive, but worth it, IMO!

I know NFU Mutual do this kind of specialist insurance. Probably worth finding out how much it is before taking the plunge...

We have just moved in to a grade 2 listed thatched place. Insurance-wise I didn't find many companies willing to quote and ended up with NFU. For 4 bed it's about £1900/annum (building and contents, with a £600k+ rebuild figure, which is a lot more than we paid!) this can be reduced if you fit various fire safety measures, eg chimney heat sensors, fire retardant thatch spray etc.

Maintenance - it depends what sort of thatch it is and when it was last replaced. Ours is combed wheat and should last 30-40 years, with just the ridge needing doing every 15 years. It was new 8 years ago so hopefully not an immediate issue.

It is more expensive to have a thatch, the figures show they don't actually burn down very often, it really all depends if it's a wonderful enough house to ignore the extra cost - we decided ours was!

Oh, and you do get a lot of spiders!

I don't have personal experience but i understand that if they are in good condition they are as good, or better, than other roof types.

I would check out the spab website as they probably have a leaflet and/or call their free technical helping number to get the lowdown.

Lived in one for 16 years and loved it, still miss it a bit and would definitely have no problem buying that again. Thatch is great insulator so cool in summer, warm in winter. Insurance no problem and if you go to about one of six specialists hardly any dearer on otherwise like for like property. There is something called the thatch owners association or something similar, they do a magazine with loads of ads for the insurance specialists.

www.thatched-group.com/

Listed Property Owners club are great for advice and "reduced" insurance quotes. We live in a Grade II listed farmhouse and they have been fab on advising planning, maintenance and general hints and advice. Also the insurance was a big plus as they could advise on which companies would insure our house.