Thatched cottage questions

[Bluebird]

I have never seen one in real life, so need to rely on magazines from the UK, internet pics and Midsomer Murders, so I wanted to ask a few things, please.

Doors - I want to do planked doors but not all (from the above sources) have the angled bits of wood which I thought would have braced them, just 3 horizontal boards. Is that common and therefore acceptable in my cottage?
Is it also common to have doors cut off on a corner to accomodate a sloping roof and need to duck to enter? With MM I never know how much is done to make it look even more picturesque.

Ceilings/floors - I plan on having a beamed ceiling with floorboards above it and sadly few shots are directed at the ceiling, so are they usually plastered between the ceiling beams and why? (insulation?) and why don't they crack from movement?

Gutters - this is more curiosity. I have noticed that thatched cottages don't seem to have gutters. What happens when it rains? Does the water all just run straight down and does this affect the foundations or is there some sort of drainage system on the ground under the roof line?

Thank you in advance.

[Dolly donut]

hi

yes most planked doors will have 3 horizontals on them, sometimes just straight and sometimes the middle one will be horizaontal and the top and bottom one will be diagonal (normally both going in the same direction)

it is not unheard of to chop off a corner of a door to fit a space, particularly on something like a cupboard, it is rare to see it on a front door though.

most doors, pre-tudor, were designed so that you bent over to go through. the thinking was that the smaller the doors/windows, then the less heat was lost when they were opened. at least this was one theory i read that made sense.

as for the guttering, it was not needed, the thatch is so effecient at repelling water and as it falls from the roof and it is just sucked up by the ground around it. most of the thatched houses do not have cellars and such and the foundations on older houses were not that deep so they were not really affected.

as for ceiling beams, these are almost always plastered/rendered inbetween the beams. for insulation, noise etc. the older style of ''daub'' remains slightly flexible. and doesn't often crack enough for it to be a problem. a common practise was to mix dung with horse hair and mud, use that as a ''daub'' to fill inbetween then paint over that with a limewash and, later, white paint.

this is all based on various research but i am far from being an expert and of course the sources i have read may differ from other opinions but i hope that helps

[Bluebird]

Thanks heaps! That is an awesome amount of information.

I was thinking about your thatching when reading a tutorial recently. Did (or are you going to) coat the thatch with a PVA water mix?

[Dolly donut]

Originally Posted by Bluebird

Thanks heaps! That is an awesome amount of information.

I was thinking about your thatching when reading a tutorial recently. Did (or are you going to) coat the thatch with a PVA water mix?

your very welcome

i did read somewhere that you should do a 50/50 mix of pva and water and spray it over the thatch to ensure it is all fixed together as a single piece. however, the method i used seems to have been adequate. of course i may change my mind when it comes to dusting/hoovering it

if anyone wants a step by step of how i did the thatching i did take photos and make notes along the way for myself so it would be easy enough to show you how i did mine. only thing i would change about mine if i did it again (and i am sure i will) is i would make it more than an inch thick. i personally feel that 2 inches thick would have given a mor realistic appearance.

[Horsetoffees]

Well done Sal, great answers

Bluebird, I love midsomer murders too xx

[Bluebird]

if anyone wants a step by step of how i did the thatching i did take photos and make notes along the way for myself so it would be easy enough to show you how i did mine. only thing i would change about mine if i did it again (and i am sure i will) is i would make it more than an inch thick. i personally feel that 2 inches thick would have given a mor realistic appearance.

That would be great, thank you. I am not up to that stage yet (actually I am still trying to work out my plans - with all the changes I have been making it was easier to begin again!) but having read a few threads on thatching on here, I know I am not the only one who would appreciate it. The thatching on your house is one of the nicest I have seen.

hehehe, we are a macabre bunch, horsetoffees.