Historical Roofs, re-thatching of a traditional Welsh longhouse in Wales.

Traditional Welsh longhouse in Carmarthenshire.
Click on left/right of images to scroll through gallery.

The view after the fire, some perlins needed replacing also one scalfed crook beam

The false wall top can bee seen on the gable (the dark area). This was added when tin was put on and must be removed so as to return to the original geometry. When applying tin the thatch on the eaves and gables was often pulled out and a false wall built up to meet the under side of the tin - as can be seen here with a thin pile of stones balanced on the outer edge of the wall. When I find this arrangement I take the stones away again so the cottage will have the snug proportions it started life with.

A new scalfed crook beam from a local forest being shaped with a side axe to the shape of the original that I used as a pattern.

The bottom of the replaced scalfed crook member being fitted to the existing elbow timber with big oak pegs.

The original opposite crook member was in place throughout the repair operation and the new timber was carefully introduced so as to be able to use the original collar tie, which meant all the holes needed to align which was quite tricky as it was very heavy.

The supports for the wattle chimney where badly damaged so here the new timbers are in place and wattaling can now happen. Note the small upright with a v which catches the end of the ridge pole as it cannot extend in to the chimney flu as this is a fully functional chimney.

Wattling and ridge beam in place with the beginning of split oak rafters being offered up.

Dafydd fixing the top of the gable with lime mortar showing cleft or split oak rafters in place.

Splitting oak trunks to use as rafters, referred to as riven or cleft oak, most rafters in place here with special mouse proof plastic trunking to house electric cables so they will be hidden from view. Some bracken can be seen which was used in the basecoat.

Wall top repairs with lime mortar and some new perlins in place, Dafydd my apprentice at the wall and Wilm my son standing by the chimney we built together.

Wattle chimney hood having new daub plaster.

A lime finish on the chimney hood and view of the underside of the roof of the cottage, some straw rope can be seen stored for later use.

The rafters on the left where undamaged so reused, new oak on the right all with a gorse layer used as a basecoat.

A flexible fire preventative layer of thermaflease sheeps wool was introduced over the gorse, then a breathable membrane over this with oat straw applied over everything, creating a suitable base coat to fix the weathering coat to.

An old variety of organic straw grown in mid Wales was used.

The main body of the coat work almost done.

Creating a rolled gable with combed wheat straw

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Dafydd and Wilm making straw rope. We made around 6,000 feet which was made in to two ply and took around a month to create. We used the lane next to the cottage for our ropewalk as this was used originally.

Straw rope used to hold the ridge in place. We also used hazel sticks underneath this to add strength.

Straw rope was used originally on the cowshed end of the property as a support to the basecoat and we wanted to recreate what our ancestors would recognise. So no cheep imports for us, we made the rope and here are starting to fit it. Sometimes this arrangement was used instead of rafters, we now know a lot more about this historic technique which will be covered in depth with a forthcoming publication. If you know of information relevant and would like it to be included then please contact me.

Daub was applied to the wall tops in order to have something to fix the first layers to.

Looking from inside, the gorse traditionally applied to wall tops to inhibit rodents can be seen.

A clear view from inside the cowshed showing the stretched two ply hand made straw rope basecoat support with occasional straw bonds around the perlins which hold the gorse basecoat in place.

Stuff thatching was traditionally used and here I have reproduced this technique as an experiment. Small hand fulls of straw have a knot tied in them, then they are stuffed in to the gorse base coat with subsequent layers applied higher up the roof in order to create a waterproof layer. This method was used throughout Wales perhaps from the Neolithic period until between the wars - quite a long period. No longer used today as concerns about how long it will last prohibits use other than for experimental archaeology. 'the combed wheat straw method used on the main body of the roof survived in south Wales until recently as it lasted longer and made this type of roof more economical, nearly all roofs today in Wales have Chinese water reed on them and our amazing welsh vernacular has become a thing of the past.

Stuff thatching in the foreground and combed straw in the background, two traditional welsh techniques on the same building. Lovely!

Tyn Cum had to be restored from the wall tops up after a dreadful fire, caused when a bonfire was lit to close to the cottage and got out of control.

The restoration used sympathetic techniques and materials from the surrounding landscape, methods were employed that our ancestors would recognise and hopefully approve of.

We cut the timbers for the roof from a local wood, most of which where split or cleft and used for replacement vertical rafters and whole round sections were used for the horizontal perlins. I squared off one piece with my side axe and this was a replacement for a scalfed cruck that had been damaged during the fire. This had to be carefully inserted to match up with the collar tie and its opposite member, which remained upright and in place throuout the repair process. One small section of the roof was reinstated with the original surviving rafters and perlins. We then constructed an authentic wattled chimney that can still be used, however at the moment it has a piece of toughened glass in the top section to keep the rain out and let light in - so the inside weave detail can be clearly seen during daylight hours.

Gorse was used originally as a basecoat and on finding an abundance on the hill behind the cottage we cut and spread this out over the rafters. The gorse was then treated with a fire retardant.

Thermafleese sheep's wool insulation was then laid over the gorse as a flexible fire barrier - we believe its important to develop non-invasive ways of preserving the fabric of old buildings and as most fire barriers depend on strait timbers and on removing historic timbers and organic material in order to have a flat surface to be laid upon. We then used a breathable felt membrane on top of the thermafleece and then a layer of oat straw was fixed over everything as a basecoat to hold thatching spars. These spars resemble hair grips and hold the outer waterproof thatch layer in place buy gripping in to the basecoat. Traditional roof's generally have a basecoat underneath and a weathering coat outside. The basecoats remain untouched (hopefully) with only the weathering coat being periodically replaced - sometimes many layers build up giving a distinctive style which looks a little like a poured on custard, this also hugely increases the insulation properties. These old historic basecoats harbour plant remains, weeds and even insects from distant harvests and are a fascinating source of archaeological information which helps to give us an insight into farming practices of our forebears.

Wheat grown organically from near builth wells was then used to thatch the larger section of the cottage in a combed wheat style. It was dressed into place with a legget, a method more comman to south Wales and it is considered by Thatcher’s to last longer than the stuff thatching method I used on the cowshed. Stuff thatching was comen in rural Wales as all labourers and farmers fully understood this method as their hay and straw ricks required thatching each year. Patching or re-thatching cottages using stuff thatching on a regular basis would not have posed a problem with back in the day. Its something I wouldn’t recommend today as the maintenance issues and cost would put off prospective owners and as many people wish to see thatch returning to the welsh landscape, we used combed straw on the main cottage. Combed wheat itself is an historical hand prepared material, the earliest examples I've seen in Wales being some three hundred years old, predating any machinery by a long way!

On the cowshed we hand made two-ply twisted straw rope which had originally been stretched from ridge beam to eaves. It took us a month to make and fit 3000 feet of hand made rope - both to support the basecoat and also for the external liggers or strapping on the thatch. This is twisted together or plied, so it started out as 6000 feet in length quite an undertaking. The knowledge gained in reproducing this exquisite welsh feature is adequately archived and will be better explained in a forthcoming publication.

The cowshed then had a small layer of straw laid over the rope, followed by a thick layer of gorse which was tied down with straw rope and then the whole area was stuff thatched with the welsh straw. A simple ridge was used with yet more rope to hold it in place. I used quite a few horizontal liggers across the outside of the roof to prevent wind lift, it may be possible to remove some of these liggers or straps when we see how the roof performs. I believe it's the first single coat stuff thatch in Wales since the 1930's, a remarkable project as the two different types of Welsh thatching techniques are now on display on a single property.

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Traditional Welsh longhouse in Carmarthenshire. Click on left/right of images to scroll through gallery.

Traditional Welsh longhouse in Carmarthenshire.
Click on left/right of images to scroll through gallery.