Why my thatched cottage is the cream of the 刈る
Standing outside Gladstone Cottage in the Wiltshire village of Bottlesford, it's 平易な to see what gives this house its English charm ? an 課すing thatched roof.
At the 前線, the thatch is a 伝統的な squared-off 形態／調整, and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 支援する it transforms into 劇の turret 形態／調整s. But, ironically, it was the wonderful roof on this five-bedroom house that 最初 put off the 現在の owners, Haig and Juliette Tyler, when they were looking for a 所有物／資産／財産 in 2004.
'We'd never had a thatch before and we 初めは said we didn't want one,' says Juliette, 43. 'But we soon realised there were so many thatched houses in this area, the Vale of Pewsey, that if we 支配するd one out we would be 本気で 狭くするing our 選択s.'
Thatch made in heaven: Juliet Tyler's £725,000 Wiltshire cottage
Indeed, the area is famed for its thatched 所有物／資産／財産s. Actress Zoe Wanamaker lives in one nearby and many 見込みのある 買い手s in the Vale are looking for them.
最初, Juliette was 関心d about the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 危険 and the 維持／整備 and 保険 costs associated with owning a thatched house. But after seven years living in Gladstone Cottage, these 関心s have been dispelled.
'The 保険 法案s don't seem to be any higher,' she says, 'but you have to go to a specialist 仲買人.
'We had an 査察 done by the Pewsey 解雇する／砲火／射撃 department and the 保険会社s 主張する you have your chimney cleaned 定期的に and that you keep a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 一面に覆う／毛布 in the kitchen.
'But we 設立する one 予期しない 特別手当. When salesmen （犯罪の）一味 up trying to sell house 保険, we just say "We're thatched" and they hang up すぐに.'
Haig, 43, an IT director, and Juliette, who is 熟考する／考慮するing for an 環境の science degree, have two children, Sebastian, ten, and Lucy, eight. They are now looking for a 'new 事業／計画（する）' ? and have become so fond of their thatched roof that their next 所有物／資産／財産 has to have one.
'When we first moved in, I wouldn't even light a candle because I was so 関心d about 解雇する／砲火／射撃,' says Juliette.
'But you realise that a thatched house is no more likely to catch 解雇する／砲火／射撃 than any other house ? it's just that if they do, there is a lot of combustible 構成要素 in the roof.
'We've 設立する that having a thatch is like having very good loft insulation. In the summer it is incredibly 冷静な／正味の and in the winter our heating 法案s are far lower.'
Clutching at straws: It took five months and £30,000 to thatch Juliet Tyler's roof
The couple have put in a new kitchen and bathroom and 延長するd at the 支援する to create a light and airy glass-丸天井d 歓迎会 room.
Their last 職業 ? rethatching the roof 事前の to putting the house on the market ? means they are ideally placed to comment on the cost and 関わりあい／含蓄s of 持続するing thatches.
And the disruption, not to について言及する the £30,000 法案, has not 鈍らせるd their enthusiasm.
'The thatch was last done in 1988 and it needs doing every 25 years so we thought it might put off 可能性のある 買い手s if we didn’t do it,’ says Juliette.
'When the thatcher said it would take between 12 and 15, we thought he was talking days, but he meant weeks. He was here from November to March.'
The work 追加するd 12 to 14in of thickness to the thatch. Of the £30,000 cost, the straw ? sourced from Devon ? was £10,000.
It is possible to buy cheaper straw from Eastern Europe, but thatchers will work only with 構成要素 they are familiar with.
'They are particular about the 質 of the thatch. 明らかに straw from Eastern Europe can be too brittle,' says Juliette.
The Tylers could have chosen Norfolk reed, which lasts 40 years, but the cost is much higher.
'When it was finished it looked wonderful,' says Juliette. 'It was a lovely golden yellow colour but now it has browned off 予定 to the 天候. We 設立する out what a 伝統的な （手先の）技術 it is while our thatcher, ツバメ Dimmock, was working. They put their own 署名s on the roof and ツバメ does a very characteristic stitch in the 山の尾根.'
Gladstone Cottage will not need to be rethatched until 2036, though the 山の尾根 of the roof needs to be restitched every ten years.
'Thatched houses 保持する their value if the thatch is 持続するd,' says Rory O'Neill, of selling スパイ／執行官s Carter Jonas. 'If it has 悪化するd it is seen as an expensive problem.
'But if the thatch is in good 形態／調整, then the houses are more 望ましい than tiled 相当するものs in this area.
'A uniquely 形態／調整d, freshly thatched 所有物／資産／財産 is always popular both from an aesthetic and practical point of 見解（をとる）.'
