How Long Does A Thatched Roof Last

Thatched roof is always a landscape for an area, and always will attract people’s attention, as the thatched roof building will integrate perfectly into neighboring environment.

But how long does a thatched roof last? It is always a concern by the owner and who want to build a new thatched roof structure.

There are many factors to determine the lifespan of thatched roof. Normally it is determined by below factors:

1. The materials of thatch roof

A) Natural thatch:

In regular condition, 2-7 years are normal lifespan for natural thatch, especially in tropical area where there are always lots of rains. As the natural thatch roof will be decay and rot caused by water and sunshine, and will be eaten by worms, birds, fungi, etc. A well build natural thatch roof may last longer time, include the category of the natural thatch materials to be used, the thickness of the thatched roof, the roof pitch, and the windproof measures. But the maintenance and the replacement of the ridge tile are always needed to extend the lifespan of the thatched roof.

B) PE thatch

PE thatch is one of the synthetic thatch roof. PE thatch is made with synthetic resin, adding UV proof additives, etc. The lifespan of PE thatch is always determined with the material condition. In the market, there are many PE thatch use recycled materials to produce, the lifespan is only 10 years. If using new materials to produce PE thatch, it could last 15-20 years, or even longer.

C) Nylon thatch

Same as PE thatch, nylon thatch is also synthetic thatch roof. But nylon thatch has more stable chemical performance, long years after installation, nylon thatch still will keep very good chemical performance. Recycled materials will shorter the lifespan. New materials nylon thatch could last 20 years or longer.

2. The sunshine condition where the thatched roof is build

Normally the stronger of the sunshine, the UV will harm more seriously to the thatched roof. For Europe and Russia area, the lifespan of thatch will be longer than other areas, except the thatch products with cavity structure. The thatch products with cavity structure normally is made with foaming process, which will make the thatched roof looks more fluffy, but that is not good for lifespan in area where there is snow and ice.

3. The rain condition

Normally the rain only will affect the lifespan of natural thatched roof. For artificial thatch roof, there is no significant affect to the lifespan.

4. The roof pitch of the thatched roof building

The bigger roof pitch of the roof, the longer lifespan of the thatched roof will be, especially for the natural thatched roof. As the bigger roof pitch will shed as soon as possible when raining to avoid harm to natural thatched roof.

As per the above photo, we suggest the roof pitch would be between 6/12 to 12/12.

5. Windproof measures for thatched roof

Need to make sure the thatch roof tiles are installed on a strong base. In ocean area, marine plywood will be helpful to protect the thatched roof from wind. To cover thatched roof on other structures like corrugated steel panels, better to install galvanized steel wire mesh on the bottom at first, to make sure the thatch could be fixed firmly. For the structures with wooden batten or rafters, to cover with synthetic thatched roof, using plastic strips or wooden strips to strengthen the installation sometimes are necessary to prevent the wind.

6. Maintenance of the thatched roof

For synthetic thatched roof, normally does not need any maintenance any more. For the natural thatch, need to check the ridge annually, or any other positions to make sure the wind, rain does not cause the harm to the thatched roof. And pest control is sometimes a necessary step for protecting the thatched roof.