outdoor living » the 10 bushcraft books » huts & thatch (pt. 2)

.doors and windows

Window frames hook on to thatch batten above window opening.	The hinging of the door frame is obtained by a combination of hook and fork.	There are several means whereby the door hinge can be assembled.

Refinements such as doors and windows are completely practical in thatch huts, and very little extra work is involved. Windows are simply two (or three) fork sticks cut off short below the fork and with one long end projecting.

Thatch battens are lashed to these fork sticks and the framework is lifted up and hung on to one of the thatch battens of the hut. In the general thatching of the hut this window space beneath the windows is left unthatched and the window frame is thatched as a complete unit. It is advisable to leave the window frame rather wider than the opening. It can be propped open at the bottom and still preserve a fair slope. If the window is very wide it is advisable to use three fork sticks. There should be at least six inches overlap of the window and roof thatch at the sides. The loose ends of the thatching above the window frames should be allowed to come directly on to the window thatch, and should completely cover sewing of the top thatching of the window frame.

Doors, if required, are similar to the gate frame shown, but with two uprights lashed across the fork. To these two uprights the horizontal thatching battens are secured.

.tree swinging shelter

In swampy country, or in areas which are badly snake infested, a very simple swinging bunk can be made by one man in a day.

The forked frame stick must be very strong, both at the fork on the tree and at the main juncture. Either a cane or vine loop or a hook may be used at the top section. It is also advisable to have a vine or cane rope from the extreme end of the main frame to as high up in the tree as it is practical to reach for additional suspension.

The frame poles for thatch battens are lashed separately with a square lashing to the bottom of the forked frame stick, and, in order to give rigidity, a short cross stick is lashed horizontally to each of the opposite sides of the frame poles.

When thatching, thatch one row on one side, and then the row on the opposite side. This will help to strengthen the framework and keep it correctly balanced.

The bunk is made separately.

The main frame of the bunk is simply four poles lashed together to form a rectangle about 3' by 7' [0.9 by 2.1 m]. The space between the poles to form the bunk proper can be either woven or made with crossed sticks as for the camp bed.

.thatching materials

Materials suitable for thatching range from long grass, reeds, rushes; most of the long stalked ferns, such as bracken, etc.; palm leaves of all types, and, as a last resource, many pliant leafy branches.

Long grass and reeds are most satisfactory when used dry or partly dry. It is advisable if you are going to use these materials to cut and stook them first so that they may get a chance to season before being used on the roof.

There are two good reasons for this: first is that in drying out most of these materials, if green and exposed to hot sun, tend to shrink on one side and turn and curl in shrinking, so reducing the coverage value for thatching. The other is the general tendency of all green materials to shrink, and therefore the thatching stitches become loose, and the thatch may slip from the stitches and be blown away in the first breeze.

When the materials are well seasoned the stitches will not slacken because there is very little shrinkage, and the thatch will stay down securely.

With most of the bracken ferns it is advisable to thatch with the material green, and sew it down very tightly. This also applies if you are forced by circumstances to use green branches. These do not make a very efficient thatch and their use is not recommended except in emergency.

In a general way, the use of bracken and reeds for thatching is doing a very good service to the land generally. Bracken is injurious to cattle, and reeds choke watercourses, so that removing these two pests and putting them to practical use is quite a good thing to do.

If blanches of trees or shrubs are to be used, seek out a dead branch with some of the leaves still on it. Shake the branch. If the leaves immediately fall from it, the material is almost useless and will only serve you for a day or so. If the leaves withstand this shaking, the plant will probably serve your purpose fairly effectively. Some trees and shrubs drop their leaves within a few hours of being cut. Such are useless.

The palm leaves are best used for thatching when they are dead. You will find great quantities lying under the palms and these are excellent material. They may be brittle and inclined to break if you start collecting them in the middle of a hot summer day.

The best time to collect dead palm for your thatching is either early in the morning when the leaves are softened by the overnight dew, or after rain. It is always advisable to wet the leaves down before you start sewing them on the thatching battens. This damping down softens the brittle leaves, makes them lie flat, and ensures that you get a better coverage.

.thatching methods

There are almost as many different methods of thatching as there are different materials. Each different method has its own peculiar advantage and applications for certain types of material.

The methods you are most likely to find of use are either to sew the thatch on to the thatch battens, which is called "Sewn Thatching" or to tuft the material on in bundles, which, appropriately, is called "Tuft Thatching".

Instead of sewing on to the battens you may find it more convenient to tie a pliant stick on to the thatching batten at convenient intervals, using the pressure of this stick tightly tied to the thatch batten to hold the thatch material secure. This is called "Stick Thatching".

There are also several methods by which the thatching materials may be secured to the thatching battens on the ground, and these thatching battens are then laid on to the framework, overlapping like long tiles.

Or with some of the palms the palm stalk itself may be used either as the thatch batten, or to hold the palm leaf itself in the desired position. All these methods are self explanatory, and briefly dealt with in the following text.

.principles of watershed in thatching

Thatching may be either for shade or to give protection against rain. Thatching for shade presents no problems. If the thatch is thick enough to break up the sun's rays, that is all that is required.

Thatching for protection against rain or, under certain conditions, wind, will be effective only if certain principles are observed. It is interesting to watch the behaviour of drops of water on thatch. The drops run down the topmost strands, until they come to the very end of the blade of grass or other material. There the drop gathers size and, when it is big enough, and heavy enough, it falls off and on to the blade immediately beneath.

If the stitching interrupts the smooth continued course of the water droplets, then the water will follow the stitching because it is at a steeper angle. It will creep along the stitch and when it reaches the lowest point, on the underside of the thatching batten, the drop will gradually build up until it becomes too heavy to remain on the sewing material. Then you will complain that the "thatching leaks". Thatch will never leak if the stitching is properly covered.

It is this quality of "coverage" rather than thickness which makes a thatch waterproof. Windproofing lies largely in the "tightness" and thickness of the thatching.

.sewn thatching

Stitch at bottom of first thatch on lowest thatching batten. The second layer must overlay the stitching of the first row and include the top section of the underneath layer in the actual stitch. It is better to have each layer held by three rows of stitching. The stitching of every row MUST be completely covered by the free ends of the next layer above it.

To sew thatching make a thatching needle by cutting a dead, straight grained stick 1" [2.5 cm] thick and about 18" [45 cm] long. Sharpen one end and rub it fairly smooth on a stone. Narrow the other end till it is about ¼" [6 mm] thick, but the full width of the stick. This end should be flattened for about 3" [7.5 cm].

About two inches from the end cut an eye carefully through the flat side. This eye should be about ¼" [6 mm] wide and at least ½" [12 mm] long.

Lay the thatching material with the butts towards the roof and the lower end on the lowest batten. Secure one end of the sewing material with a timber hitch to the thatching batten, thread the other end through the eye of the thatching needle and sew in the ordinary manner to the thatching batten. To avoid holes where the sewing may tend to bunch the thatching together, pass the needle through the thatch at the angle indicated in the sketch and push thatch over the crossing of the stitches.

.stick thatch

With this stick thatch, ties about 2' [60 cm] apart are fastened on to the thatching batten. The thatching stick is tied at one end, the thatching material placed under it, and when the tie, fixed on the thatching batten is reached, the stick is tied down, thus binding the thatching to the batten. This method of securing thatching is useful when long lengths of material for sewing are not readily available. The overlapping and general principles of sewn thatching are followed.

.tuft thatching

This method is excellent if the material is fairly long, say, 2' or 3' [60 to 90 cm], and pliable. It is very suitable for reeds and sedges. The thatching material is gathered into small sheaves about 1" [2.5 cm] or so thick. The butt end is bent over the thatching batten, and a few strands are then twisted round the sheaf a few times and pushed till through the bunched up material to hold the end secure. The tuft is then slipped along the thatching batten to lie alongside the preceding tuft. This thatch makes a very neat job from inside. It is secure in all weather, and requires no tying material. If sedges or sword grasses are being used it is advisable to put a pair of socks or gloves on your hands to avoid cuts.

It is important that the long free ends overlap the two or three preceding rows. Do not push the tufts up too tight. There can be about ½" [12 mm] or more between the bent-over ends on the thatching battens. This open space will be covered by the free ends on the next row.

.stalk thatch

This method is very quick to apply and quite efficient. It is suitable for either the plicate type of palm leaf (as shown above) or the pinnate type (shown below). The stalks are simply woven between the thatch battens. The natural bend forced on the stalks will exert sufficient pressure to hold the leaves securely in position. This is the quickest and easiest of all thatching methods, and quite efficient if the palm leaves are well bunched and l have a good overlap to give watershed.

.split stalk thatch

This thatch is particularly suitable for very long pinnate leaves. The centre rib of the palm frond is split. These split ribs are tied together and secured to the thatching battens with a good overlap. This method eliminates the need for thatching battens and is very efficient if suitable material is easily available.

.woven thatch

If time permits and the materials are readily available, an alternative method to the split stalk thatch is the woven thatch. The pinnate fronds are laid flat on the ground and the leaves from one side are laid over and woven between the leaves on the other side. The entire stalk is then tied on to the framework, observing the same principle of overlap which applies to the other methods.

.sewn batten thatch

With other long, broad-leaved materials the leaves may be bent over sticks on the ground and a thin sliver of split cane or other suitable material used to sew the two sections of the leaves together. The sticks are then tied to the frame-work as for split stalk thatching This method is very neat and efficient for certain materials. If green material is to be used make certain that it will not curl as it dries out. Many grass materials will curl into thin strips, and the thatch will be almost ineffective. Dead material is generally best.

.ridge thatching

In thatching the ridge it is essential to cover the stitching of the topmost row of thatching. If this stitching is covered there will be complete protection. If it is inadequately covered there will be a leak along the ridge.

The ridge thatch therefore must curl completely over the ridge pole or, better still, over a false ridge pole or, alternatively, it may stand up from the ridge and, if bound tightly, will make an efficient watershed. For pyramidal and circular huts this last is the most efficient method.