A previous post included some shots of the village of Longparish in Hampshire and many of those houses were thatched. As we walked through the village, we came upon a house that was in the process of having its roof replaced. The thatcher that was working on the roof was gathering more material together while his apprentice was up on the roof itself.
He chatted to us for a while as he worked. He talked about how long it takes to replace a roof and how everyone wants to do his job when it is a sunny day but not so much when the weather is less appealing. The roof can have a life of about 20 years, so it seems to last as long as roofs do here in the Pacific Northwest! The ridge section has a tougher life, and it needs replacement about every ten years. Apparently, some customers will spread the cost by having one side of the roof done at one point and the other half in ten years time.
The new thatch is quite light colored and, as it weathers, it turns a lot darker to give the finish that is more familiar. There are little stakes that are upset to hold the material in place. He was preparing a few of these as we talked, and he explained just how many thousands of them were needed for a whole roof. It is a substantial job to replace. Given how many houses in the area are thatched, I wonder how many craftsmen can be supported. He had come quite a distance so maybe there aren’t that many thatchers left or else he does such a good job that he is demand far and wide!
The conference center in Pittsburgh was my destination for a rail conference in June. I was there for several days but it was only on the last day that I managed to get some time to head up to the roof area of the center. It had some interesting gardens with views across the roof structure and some art installations. It also had a great view across the river. The top wasn’t the only interesting spot. There was a route under the center too which I found on my first day there when I was struggling with how to actually get into the place. It was not very intuitive which, given the nature of the place, seems rather odd. I saw a few people riding bikes through this lower level, but I never went down there.
