Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - [Homestead] Thatch Huts, Vernacular Architecture

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Thatch Huts, Vernacular Architecture
  • Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 18:28:09 -0700



http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/shelter/indian.htm (the old Beard Book on quick shelters dissected for online publication)

Lean-to's seem to have been a Dan Beard favority for quick shelter---for more permanent use and to withstand pretty serious storms, a well tied-down conical thatch hut configuration is best---any other is more subject to the roof being blown off.

http://www.junglephotos.com/africa/afpeople/afwork/hutconstructmore.shtml (any wood or thatch structure in a warm climate is going to succumb to termite attack, and be so weakened it will fall down---more likely blow down in a storm---one came down around my ears during a big blow when I lived in India, the wind-driven rain drenched me and everything I owned---had a hell of a time with the IRS to categorize it as a storm loss. But treating wood and thatch with euphorbia sap makes it pretty impervious to termite damage---other sap treatments would likely do the same, but one good one (if locally available) is enough. Some species of wood are naturally termite and borer-resistant, don't need further treatment.) And cook outside the damned house as is always done in a tropical climate, and should be done in a temperate zone as well.)

Some good links here, FAO is always a fantastically useful store of information on any agriculture, maritime occupation (including fiberglass fishing catamaran building), and in this instance, housebuilding) http://www.fao.org/docrep/v5360e/v5360e0f.htm

http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/shelter/thatch/ryanleech.html (good tutorial on how to make a bent-sapling structure and thatch it for emergency or fairly long-term shelter)

http://www.poncacitynews.com/pcnews/newsfeatures/millennium/Pages/page5.html (Year 999 in Europe, wattle and daub walls, annually-thatched roof---use herbs on floor to repel bugs there---any really pungent herb should do it--around northern waterways the ever-present and strong-smelling mint.)

In a wet tropical climate, palm-fronds make a quicker cover than tryig to accumulate and tie down grass thatch---don't deteriorate quite as fast either.)

http://www.thatch.org/guest.htm (read the sidebars for more detailed thatch information---reeds near waterways were readily available in common use throughout Britain.)

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/article003.htm (life of a thatch roof basically depends on pitch---if high enough and no slippage, will last fifty years. Vocabulary and tools of thatching. Sparks from chimneys may cause fires, but a more common cause is poor chimney construction which causes hot gases to leak out and set fire to surrounding thatch.)

http://www.nrdcindia.com/pages/thatchedroof.htm (clay is always available, and does a fair job of fireproofing thatch rooftops---however you have to protect the clay from being washed off by rain---for that purpose, if available, use bitumen thinned with kerosene---cow dung on top of the bitumen probably helps, you know how fibrous a fresh cow pie becomes as it dries.)

http://www.museums.org.za/vassa/style.html (the magic of the right word in search engines---vernaculat architecture in particular when you want to find out about primitive shelter all around the world---and early means of preventing fires in thatch roofs.)

Thatch is inflammable, and fire, whether by Act of God or deed of vengeful slave, was a frequent occurrence: for protection, there was the BRANDZOLDER, a fireproof loft-floor on to which burning thatch can fall without danger. It consists of beams supporting boards - or perhaps unshaped poles supporting a layer of rushes: on top of this lies a bed of puddled clay in which tiles or bricks are embedded. The ends of the beams themselves are sometimes lodged in slots in the wall and covered with sand. Not every old house had a brandzolder: the lack of one at Groot Constantia contributed to the completeness of the destruction of that house by fire in 1925.

http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2001-05-23/triangles.html (cob houses are easy to build, but unmercifully slow. Sawmill waste is free or cheap, since if they use it at all, sawmills usually burn it. Pretty difficult to cobble up a roof structure with short pieces, unless you fashion them into a gable or floor truss with lots of metal or glued gussets.)





  • [Homestead] Thatch Huts, Vernacular Architecture, Tvoivozhd, 09/13/2004

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page