April, 1917 
39 
is little clanger of penetra¬ 
tion by water even in such 
an exposed place. It is al¬ 
ways wiser, however, to 
break the joints, on account 
of the danger of warping in 
the cracks between shingles. 
Valleys and Flashings 
In open valleys, a curved 
piece of boarding is fitted 
in before the shingles are 
nailed on. On riciges the 
shingles are cut very short 
and laid close together, 
while on the actual angle of the ridge itself, 
covering the rear ends of the shingles, is 
nailed a piece of rabbeted wood covered 
preferably with copper or sheet lead. This 
insures that the ridge will be water-tight. 
The flashings (small gutters or pans to 
be used in open valleys or at the angle of 
roof and wall) should be of copper. They 
are sometimes made of tin, but this is likely 
to rust and leak. 
Various expedients are resorted to in 
•order to give the desired impression of age 
and unevenness. The shingles, as has been 
said, are split in unecjual widths, thus de¬ 
tracting from any effect of stiffness. The 
hutt ends of the shingles are sawed un¬ 
evenly to form a wavy line. In some cases 
an occasional slight weak rafter is inserted 
in the roof, providing for a sag in the con¬ 
struction at intervals, and securing the roll¬ 
ing effect of an old roof. 
It may be mentioned that it is possible 
to use a thatch of this sort at greatly re¬ 
duced expense by laying the shingles at the 
ordinary width of to the weather, in¬ 
stead of 134 ". This makes a very attractive 
roofing, although of course the effect of 
thatching is greatly reduced. 
The life of a shingle roof of the first 
quality averages 20 years; the second qual¬ 
ity about 15. This is of course controlled 
in a measure by atmospheric conditions; 
sea air is very bad for thatch in our vari¬ 
able climate. When the roof wears out, 
it is necessary to re-shingle, a point to be 
home in mind when considering the expense 
of shingling compared to other materials. 
The life of any shingle is doubled by 
having it preserved by a stain. The stain 
•of course depends on the design and color 
■of the house; a preservative stain is advis¬ 
able, for obvious reasons. 
Rye Thatching 
Then there is the old-fashioned thatch¬ 
ing which appears on English cottages—of 
which, as before noted, the shingle thatch¬ 
ing is only an imitation. 
For this type of roof, the first requisite 
is rye straw. Wheat straw is also good, 
but this cannot be procured here in the 
East. The straw—and this is a very im¬ 
portant point—must be procured in bun- 
•dles, not bales, for the straw in the bales 
is broken. The best thing to do is to take 
a trip up into the country, find some farmer 
who has a hay-loft full of rye bundles, and 
persuade him to part with what you need of 
it for a reasonable sum. 
In this climate, before the thatch is ap¬ 
plied, the roof 
must be wood- 
sheathed— made 
into what is 
called a tight- 
boarded roof by 
The above sketches show a cross-section of the 
rye thatch roof, the method of tying on the 
bundles and of interlocking them at the ridge 
The effect on the ridge of a rye thatch roof 
is not unlike that of a stiff, straight comb 
After the bundles are tied in place the ends 
are clipped straight to give the above effect 
the use of tongue-and-groove North 
Carolina pine over-rafters. Over this is 
laid a layer of 30-lb. asphalt-saturated 
felt. Then, on the felt, 1" by 2" furring 
strips—18" centers—running the length 
of the roof. Another layer of furring 
strips, cross-ribs this time, goes above 
this; in dimensions the strips are the 
same, 1" by 2", but they are laid with 9" 
centers. You wdll see that the general 
effect is that of a checker board with un¬ 
even squares, or rectangles. 
Tying on the Rye 
The roof is now ready for the thatch. 
The bundles should be untied and combed; 
then the thatch is re-made into little 
bundles, about as thick as one’s fist, care 
being taken to keep the heads all at 
one end. With scissors 
or snips the rough ends 
of the bundles must then 
be evened off. Completed, 
the bundle is about 4' 
long, tied loosely about 
6" from the butt-end. 
Some bundles will be 
short, and these should be 
used for the eaves. The 
eaves are done first. The 
thatch is attached to the 
roof by means of a tarred, 
loose-spun twine, knowm 
as binding twine. This is 
tied to the end cross-rib on the eave, then 
wrapped around a bundle, and knotted 
with a running hitch—a sort of slip knot. 
In every case the butt-ends are placed up¬ 
ward, and the heads dowm. 
When the first bundle is secured, a sec¬ 
ond is placed beside it on the roof—work¬ 
ing across—and fastened in similar fashion. 
The running hitch leaves the free end of 
the twine loose for attaching each succes¬ 
sive bundle as you come to it. 
When the eave course is completed, a 
new piece of twine is fastened to the cross 
rib, just above the first course, and the sec¬ 
ond is begun. In this manner, building up 
row over row, the roof is covered. 
At the ridge a slightly different treat¬ 
ment is necessary. Take a bundle of the 
straw, tie it firmly at one end, wrapping 
the twine around it for 4" or 5". Part the 
other end of the bundle and split it, fitting 
it over the ridge, so that the tied end sits 
up on the ridge. Continue affixing bun¬ 
dles in this way, until the ridge is covered. 
The bundles should be secured underneath 
by catching them into the cross-ribs on both 
sides enough to hold them firmly. 
When the roof is finally covered, it 
should be neatly smoothed over and 
combed out with a rake. Where the 
thatch is tangled on the ridge, it must be 
trimmed with scissors until it is even. 
The Life of Thatch 
The life of a thatched roof is about as 
long as that of ordinary shingles. It would 
not keep out the rain for more than 15 
or 20 years, were it not for the water¬ 
proofing beneath. This will keep the roof 
water-tight for a hundred years. 
There is, of course, danger of fire. An¬ 
other destructive, if less dangerous, men¬ 
ace is mould; something in the quality of 
the rye is supposed to be accountable for 
this, but it is not possible to choose so as 
to avoid its occasional attacks. 
In this country, as in the case of shin¬ 
gles, the unevenness of atmospheric con¬ 
ditions encourages rot. In the course of 
time the rye weathers a beautiful dull 
shade of greyish-brown, the very tone a 
cottage in a dell should have. . 
But—and this is a “but” to consider—its 
cost is expensive—an expert charges 
about $0.60 per square foot for the job. 
So much for the details of application— 
somewhat boresome, perhaps, but withal es¬ 
sential to a full knowledge of what the 
thatch roof should be. I have said but little 
of the broader reason—atmosphere—which 
underlies the use 
of this type of 
covering; for, 
after all, this 
must be seen to [tl 
be understood. J 
