outdoor living » the 10 bushcraft books » huts & thatch (pt. 1)

.introduction

Little skill is needed to make a comfortable, thatched, weatherproof hut using only material locally available.

Such huts can be expected to have a useful service life of 4 to 6 years without maintenance. With maintenance, such as renewing lashings, and repairs to ridge thatch, the life is anything up to 20 years.

Where rammed earth is used for walls, the life of the structure is indeterminate. Many earth wall buildings have stood undamaged for hundreds of years.

The building of a thatched hut from local materials is a creative exercise. Design must provide for the anticipated weather conditions. Finding suitable materials almost anywhere presents no problem, but considerable organisation may be required to collect the material. For the actual structure and thatching, good teamwork is required.

The final hut, with its promise of long periods of protection and shelter, is the result of combination of head work and hands. With this comes the inward reward of having created a weather-proof hut out of nothing except the natural materials garnered from the surrounding area.

Circular hut 20' [6 m] diameter at ground; no nails or man-made materials used in its construction. Time of erection, 12 to 18 man hours. Left half is thatched with palm leaves - right half thatched with eucalypt branches. Shortly after erection there was 4½" [11 cm] of rain in 75 minutes. The inside of the hut was completely dry after this terrific drenching.

.thatched huts

The making of huts and shelters for occasional or continuous rise from exclusively local materials and without the aid of any man-made equipment is not difficult. In place of nails, lashings, either of vine, bark strips or other fibrous material are used. Framework is of round poles. Weatherproof roofing is provided by thatching with long grass, ferns, reeds, palm leaves, sea weeds, bark sheets, split shingles or even sods of clayey turf. The material you will use depends on what there is in your vicinity. The shape, size and details of your hut are governed by the length of your occupation; the number of people that have to be sheltered; the local climactic conditions against which you want shelter ; and, of course, the time available for construction.

If there are one or two to be sheltered for a few nights only in a temperate climate, a simple lean-to thatched shelter will suffice and this can be built in one to three hours, but if there are eight or ten in your party and they require shelter for a few months against cold and bad weather, then a semi-permanent hut complete with doors, windows, and a fireplace for heating, and built-in bunks will be required, and to do this properly might take two or three days.

It is assumed that a good knife, hatchet or axe is available and that the workers are willing. The structures shown here are merely examples of what can be done. When it comes to planning your hut, you are your own architect and your own builder. If there are several people in the party, organise the labour so that no hands are idle - have one or two fellows cutting poles, another carrying them to the site, a fourth stripping bark for lashings, and set the others gathering material for thatching.

Collect all the material for your structure before you start to build, stack it in orderly piles where it will be most convenient. Your main structure poles in one pile; your battens for thatching in another pile; your bark strips or vines shredded down for immediate use; and your thatching material neatly stacked in several piles close to the work.

When you are ready to start building, have every man on the site. Organise the labour of erection of the main framework, and then break your team up into small gangs for lashing on battens and completing details of framework. By this means you will save hours of labour and you will succeed in building a better hut.

There is nothing to it really, except intelligence. Plan and organise to keep everybody's fingers busily engaged.

.design

There are three main designs of huts: a simple lean-to hut, suitable for fine warm weather; an enclosed pyramidal hut, suitable for cold, inclement conditions; and a long hut, which if open is suitable for mild climates, or if completely walled is suitable for cold conditions.

Refinements such as doors (yes, doors that swing on hinges) and windows may be added to suit your pleasure. And when your hut is completed, then there is the all important matter of furnishing it - but first let us look at what the backwoods man can build for his new season camp.

This would be suitable for a short summer shelter for two fellows. It can be put up in one to three hours.	This long hut, about 12' by 10' [3.6 by 3 m] wide, will house five to twelve men, depending on the bunking arrangements, and can be built in about 40 man hours.	This pyramidal hut, 14' [4.2 m] square inside the 5' [1.5 m] high walls is comfortable, and an excellent cold weather camp for from eight to sixteen men, according to the bunking arrangements. It cart be put up in about 20 man hours.

.sectional lean-to huts

Framework for sectional lean-to shelter.	Three thatched sections attach to crossbar and ridge.	Assembly on framework of sections.	Section of assembly

Small one and two man lean-to huts can be easily constructed in an hour or two by making and thatching two or three frames which are from 7' to 9' [2.1 to 2.7 m] in length and 3' 6" to 4' [1 to 1.2 m] deep.

These frames, built of battens, are lashed on to two fork sticks. The forks are in the form of hooks at the upper end. The framework for these one- or two-man shelters is simple to construct.

Note how top of top frame projects forward beyond fork and ridge. This protects front frame, and saves the work of ridge thatching. If raised bunks are being put in, it is advisable to have bottom of thatch about 1' 6" to 2' [45 to 60 cm] above ground. This raises ridge height 1' [30 cm] to 1' 6" [45 cm] and side poles become 10' to 11' [3 to 3.3 m] instead of 8' to 9' [2.4 to 2.7 m].

.permanent lean-to huts

Cutaway section of frame for hut sited between two saplings.

The permanent lean-to hut using a tree for bracing is simple and quick to erect.

The ridge pole is raised against the tree by means of the two end forked poles to the required height, between eight to ten feet, depending on the width. The end forked poles should be at an angle of not less than 45°. If the length of ridge is more than 10' to 12' [3 to 3.6 m], it is advisable to put in another one or two forked poles about halfway along.

On to the end forked poles lash a crossbar ("A") and lash it again to the upright tree. This crossbar has lashed to its front end a pole ("B") connecting and lashed to the ridge, and also the front eaves pole ("C") , and also the front thatching battens.

Thatching battens are lashed on to the two rear forks. The distance apart for the thatching battens varies: it may be anything from 6" to 12" [15 to 30 cm], depending on the length of thatching material being used. A general guide is that battens should be distant about one-fourth of the average length of the thatching material.

An upright in the form of a light folk may be placed under the front corners to the front eave pole. Wall thatch battens are lashed horizontally from the rear forked poles to this upright to wall in the ends of the hut. Wall pegs are driven in along the rear at whatever height is required and to these wall pegs thatching battens are also lashed.

Forked poles should he not less than 3" to 4" [7.5 to 10 cm] in diameter; thatching battens from 1" to 2" [2.5 to 5 cm]; ridge pole about 3" to 4" [7.5 to 10 cm].

Use dry timber or dead timber wherever possible. It is lighter to handle and its use avoids destruction of the bush. When making wall pegs bevel off the head - they will then drive into the ground without splitting.

.pyramidal huts

Pyramidal hut, showing window frame, thatch battens anti main structure. Key: W - Wall rail; I - Intermediate poles; F - Forked corner poles.

The pyramidal hut, having a square base, is particularly useful where it is desired to make the fullest possible use of wall and floor space.

The construction is very much the same for a circular hut except for the intermediate poles. Erection time is considerably less for the pyramidal hut. In this type of hut it is more efficient, when lashing on thatching battens, to make one lashing at each corner to secure the two thatching battens, and when the span between fork holes becomes 6' [1.8 m] or less to lash only to the corner poles, omitting the lashing to the intermediate poles. If the span between corner poles is greater than 6' [1.8 m] it is necessary to lash battens to the intermediate poles.

Key: F - Fork poles; I - Intermediate poles; W - Wall poles

.long hut

Hut, 60' [18 m] long, 20' [6 m] wide, by 16' [4.8 m] high, built by five men in four days.	Plan of Long Hut. Intermediate poles required if fork poles are more than 6' [1.8 m] apart.	When the span is more than 12' [3.6 m]. lash collar ties on to forks and intermediate poles.

The end portion of this structure is basically the same as one-half section of the pyramid hut.

The length can be extended to any required distance by prolonging the ridge pole and using additional supporting fork poles. If the ridge is extended and in two or more lengths, these should be lashed together, and it is advisable to notch the ridge so it will sit snugly in the interlocking forks.

Wall pegs are driven in at a convenient wall height and thatching battens are lashed down. Refinements such as "lift up" sections for light and ventilation can be added if required.

.step by step construction of a circular hut

First construction: 30 minutes after start-off with four men on the job. Note three fork poles to which have been lashed two rafters each. Also entrance ridge and entrance poles with wall poles in position.	1 hour after start: The basic structure is completed, a start is made with the thatch battens and wall battens, the door fork is swung.	Lashing on the thatching battens to the rafters. Note how the lower battens must be strong enough to bear a man's weight.	One-and-a-half hours after start: Thatching battens are nearly all lashed on, door is complete, ready for thatching.
Two-and-a-half hours after start: The door is completely thatched and the thatching is well under way on the roof.	Two-and-a-half hours after start: Three rows of roof thatch laid. The hut, which was 15' [4.5 m] diameter from wall to wall, was completed one hour later, or three-and-a-half hours after the start. No nails or purchased materials were used. This hut would he serviceable and weather-proof for six to ten years.

.poles and structures

All slopes to be completely waterproof should be not less than 45° (although a 40° slope will shed water). A slope that is 45° is useful and will give good headroom. To work out the most efficient size of poles for the main structure it is advisable to discover first the length of pole required and then the approximate diameter, excluding bark. It will be found that the proportion of spread to pole length at 45° slope is as 4 to 3 between base of poles.

Example: If spread at base of poles is 20' [6 m], then pole length to ridge or crown of hut will be 15' [4.5 m]. This proportion is constant and wall space or height is not allowed for in the calculations. In general, a wall height of 3' to 4' [0.9 to 1.2 m] is sufficient.

Diameter of timber inside bark can be roughly calculated by allowing a minimum of 1" [2.5 cm] diameter at butt for each 4' to 5' [1.2 to 1.5 m] of length. Thus, if a pole is 10' [3 m] in length, the diameter of wood clear of bark at butt should be not less than 2½" [6.5 cm] or, if the pole is 20' [6 m] long, the diameter at butt should be not less than 5" [12.5 cm].

If the span is relatively wide, or the timber used relatively light, it is advisable to strengthen the structure and prevent sagging or inward bending of the main poles by putting cross ties or collar ties so that the thrust or weight is thrown from one pole on to the pole opposite.

.bracing

Similarly with bracings, if long huts or lean-to type of huts are being built and there is no strong support, such as a growing tree, it is advisable to lash in diagonal braces that extend if possible from ground at one end to ridge at the other end. These bracings will make even a light hut quite storm-proof.