In ireland anyway this was collected in December to late January and dried until March/April, it has to be cut cleanly with a scythe or a sickle or it will rot quickly. It gets bundled and cut to useful lengths, it is held to the structure using scollops (normally hazel) and pushed into place with a legget or biddle. The pitch of the roof must allow for the rain to drain quickly and for snow to not stick, both could destroy the integrity of the roof. There is a channel in Ireland that has built a celtic round house and they go into detail about the process albeit from a modern perspective. just look up celtic round house and you should find it if interested.

Thatching like that works great for providing shade, but you need a steep incline to keep the rain out.

See how it goes. Certainly looks great for a first try! Typically, you'd expect a thatched roof to do better wtih a steeper pitch. It's really reliant on the water running freely away. On such a flat, pent roof, some clean bark, or shingles might do better. But all of those will be challenged by such a low pitch.

I have a lot of thatched roofs near me in the UK and the cool thing is the patterns they inlay and they often have hares and other animals made out of hay on the top.

Thatching usually has a pretty steep pitch, often 45° or more.

Ryan looking like an absolute boss with that pipe. Doesn't matter the job, big man gets it done in style.

Cooking history, building history and living it. Livin the dream....

Ahhh Ivy! She has really grown up... great to see her.

Important note about "whether they did that here": Thatching was the standard roofing material for Native American longhouses, which were commonly used throughout the western portion of the great eastern forest of North America.

Some years ago, looking for craft materials that would fit under our nonexistent budget, my wife and I found stands of cattails on private land where the owner allowed us to cut some for use. Sweetie learned how to plait cattail reeds and leaves into just about every shape. Using them for roof thatching honestly never crossed my mind, but it makes sense. I'm pretty sure that a thatched roof wants as steep a roof pitch as you can put it on.

whoever films/edits the videos does such a great job 🙌

for thatch to work effectively i think you need more of an incline on the roof. i live in the south of england. in the country around you will find many thatched houses. the minimum pitch of the roof on those houses is 45 degrees.

That looks great, side note, you can eat bulrush roots, roasted on an open fire then peeled, it's thought they were a staple and important food source in England.

Between this and Primitive Technology, I have knowledge at my fingertips to go and make my own wood and fired clay house out in the woods somewhere.

One way to control all those ends dangling into the shelter would be to somewhat loosely weave large mats out of cattails and place those on the purlins first. Then put the thatch atop that, and tie down through the matting to the purlins. It provides a nicer looking ceiling, & reduces the risk of random bits of thatching from falling onto your workspace. The drawback is that it does take more time & materials.

Next time it rains, try to capture some footage from underneath the thatching. Let it know how it works!

All thatched roofs have some material as an underlayment, whether it be ferns, hay or reeds. It gives the thatch something to lay on and the thatcher a material to attached the thatch to other than the roofing beams. This is a great experiment and I hope it goes well!

Really I'd like to see a video like this finished out with a water test. Either when it is raining or, if available, with a hose to see how well it works. My suspicion is that with it being so flat the water will filter through more than run off but I'd love to see it tested.

I have seen a few pictures of thatched log cabins in Nebraska. The Stur Museum in Grand Island have an excellent picture of one from the 1860s.

6-12 inches thick thatching? I think the thickest thatching I've seen on a building, here in Denmark, was about 18-24 inches thick. Thatched rooves are still a thing in some areas here. Mostly because of the age of the buildings, while still being lived in, they are required to be repaired to the standards of when they were built. There's a small town on the southern part of the island of Amager, called Dragør, that has a permanent ban on fireworks, due to the fire hazard.

Waiting for the first rain test, or atleast a garden hose test.

The great things about experimental archaeology are that you are 1) doing something in which you are interested and 2) learning something. Given that, each experiment is a success as you did something in which you were interested and you will always learn something!

Your videos are not only educational and entertaining they are just down right food for my soul. Thank you so so much for all that y’all bring us.

Gosh I love these videos and the soft music that doesn't drown out the sounds of the birds

Man, cattails are such a fantastic resource. Did you know they're edible, too? The roots are starchy and quite nice roasted in the coals of a fire. And of course the seed pod fluff makes great tinder to catch a spark!

My grandpa used to build buildings like this but he used bark as shingles. He grew up in rural northern Canada in a shack his dad built out of his own hands.

Native Americans were also known to use this method in some cases. And in some cases people did what is called double threshing where you lay down the first layer and then added another layer on that. You can also after you had it biult over time as it gets holes repair those holes very easily by patching it. LoL. Some people also used the threshing and fined weaved it then took clay and other things and sealed it... basically making a clay roof. There used to be a building (a very old barn) on my family's farm that had a roof like this, and to seal it they'd repair any holes, then use clay and something else...I don't know what it was probably pine tar or something LoL. It unfortunately was destroyed during a storm when a pecan limb crushed it, but it was basically falling apart by then.

Lots of thatch in some part of England to this day. I lived in a 500 year old stone cottage with a thatched roof in Wiltshire.

Thatching is high art among traditional professional thatchers. Always wondered how it would be if one attempted this as a novice. Think it is the shrinkage after drying that may cause most of your woes...

In Australia the early British settlers cut lengths of bark from gum trees about 6ft in length and the full diameter of the tree, these were flattened and used for roofing of the wattle and daub huts. It is in my families lore that a well made bark could last ten years. I have seen these in use in my youth and they were surprisingly water proof. They were held in place by placing saplings laid across the top side to weight them down. They may also have had wooden pegs used but I have no first hand knowledge of that.

When I was in the Boy Scouts in the 60's we did something similar for many Trips to the same Lake and left our tents at home.. We also ate the Hearts and Roots of the Cattail... Nice to see it being taught again...

That roof will leak like a screen door in a submarine! Not nearly enough pitch. But, I'm willing to wait and see....

Definitely need a much steeper pitch on that roof for the thatching to work.

In Florida I seen them make long mats with them being lashed, They roll it like bed rolls but much larger. These rolls are hoisted onto the roof and rolled out. The next over lapped until the top that is capped. They use palm leaves or frowns. They use these on mainly outside tiki bars or shelters for picnics. I seen a large group of men working on one before. It is very slick how easy they roll it out. The material is dry so the lashing stay tight. Love what you do 👍😊💕

Minimum 45 degrees with rushes and combed wheat reed otherwise it just a sunshade. Love seeing the group effort excelling in action giving us a taste of that which will very soon be all our futures. Superb and thankyou.

Another thing to be concerned about when building a threshing structure is wind-driven rain that blows in sideways. One way to curtail most of that rain yet still allow most of the wind to pass through is to make wattle-woven side walls. It'd be a little darker inside, but the weave could be adjusted for that.

Down here in Florida they were using saw palmetto palms. They learned it from the natives. What we call tiki huts are actually called chickee and they originate in Florida.

Great example of a field expedient. Many of the commenters have suggested much better ways of doing the job, but if a man only has a few days or a week to build a shelter or die from exposure he does what he can to get by, and builds something better in the next spring and summer.

I can’t say it enough. Fascinating! I’ve always been a firm believer that I was born 250 years to late.

I love love love that you brought youngsters out for this project! What wonderful memories you made. :)

Down in Oklahoma cat tails are a bit different. What I see is what we call cane poles. Huck Fin went fishing with them. I have to. I grow cat tails and cane poles. I would love to see how it works. I thought about this very idea and pondered it for over a week to keep heat out and heat in, depending on 100+ to 15 degrees, in my Oklahoma weather. Take care from Oklahoma Mikel

It will be interesting to see how long the cattails last. I've tried using cattails in various projects and had some issues. Even if it's a year, being free you could replace it every summer if need be.

We just harvested our test plot of Winter Rye ( successful too here in NE VT ). ,much of the straw is 5’ in length. We love that you use what you have…. Such a good example from which we all can learn. It looks great!

Instead of cutting the cattails just above the waterline you should try to pull them out of the water with the root still attached. The root is eateble. It's the same as potatoes. Very rich on starch. Cooking time is about the same as small potatoes. But you wil see it when you stick a fork inside. Maybe this is something to try on one of the cooking episodes. Love the show. Greetings from the Netherlands.

You guys are awesome! I don’t ever finish a video before liking it!

Huh. Here in the tropics we'd use somewhat broader leaves/grasses that can be partly folded and then sewn at right-angles to a stick. Then that stick and the leaves sewn to it can be put on the roof much like a roof tile. More prep work up front, maybe, but much less work when it comes to actually lifting the stuff onto the roof and arranging it there.

After a day like today, I sure needed this calming music.

We called it a barn then. We call it a warehouse now, very useful. There was an episode of Baltic Coasts somewhere in the Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia region. There was an island where people have thatched their roofs continuously since always. The episode showcased how to do it. If you're interested in learning how to thatch, watching this episode might give some good insights.

Half way through The Bark Covered House as Dearborn is where my wife's family is from and still very near to us today. So great to read about the history of that area. Been a great read so far. Tbanks Townsends for the great info and history. Love all the work you have been doing on the homestead. Curious how long it took to process the cattail bundles and do the roofing.

Looking good! Not sure if you're aware, though you probably are, but cat tails are edible - the young shoots can be peeled and prepared like asparagus, and the rhizomes are an excellent source of starch.

Didn't know roof thatching was that much hard work, mad respect to the people born before my grandfather was

I think you'd save a bit of cordage by tying the bundles with a continuous strand. That way you don't have 2-3 foot lengths cut for each bundle with the unused length dangling.

Will you show us that cattail patch next year? I’m curious to see how quickly they regenerate after being clear-cut like that. The projects have been really interesting lately!

"to cross the thrash hold" literally a plank in the doorway to stop the grain from rolling out. "separating the chaff from the wheat" what you use a flail for. thrashing barns are easy to recognize for thay have 2 doors oppositie one other (so the wind can blow thru)

Fun botanical fact: the common Dutch name of Typha species ( cat tails) is reed sigars. Cat tails is used too in the Netherlands, but that is the common dutch name used for Lythrum/loosestrife.

Tank you, Mr Townsend. I have been down the last few weeks, and I needed this remembrance of a simpler life.

We dried the cat tails and soaked them in kerosine and made torches out of them. You can use the fluff for insulation in blankets and clothes.

I notice after every experiment, and the thatch looks lovely btw, there are hundreds of knowledgeable people contributing suggestions, warnings, and advice from all over the world. I wonder if Townsends could send out questionnaires before they begin an experiment to get the community perspective? Or post a video of what you're planning and get the community involved in the comment section. Love seeing the experiments, love the history, have been a loyal customer for twenty years. My son found your channel after growing up on your products. Unfortunately, I've also noticed that Townsends is one of those channels where the creators are not involved in the comments, so this is falling on deaf ears.

Our Chickee hut, thatched using Sabal palm fronds by the local Seminole Tribe, held up beautifully during Hurricane Irma. The restrooms made using modern construction blew to the ground, as did many other buildings in the area. I taught many children from the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes, in the 1970s, who lived in open chickees using smoke from campfires to ward off mosquitoes. Chickee huts are not just for poolside cocktails but can be found throughout the south Florida area being used as shelter.

You are indeed an awesome group of very talented people. Thank you!

That is one beautiful Barred Rock lady you've got there! She needs a name.

My grandmother house was made of dabble and mud with a thatch roof in Hungary. Always needed to be kept up

Thank you Townsends for bringing such a calming and consistent content every time. This just feels so refreshing and soothing after dealing with all the hectic things in life.

I know from my own research that thatching was practiced in the Northeast through at least the mid 19c. on certain buildings. Hay barracks were a Dutch invention used on farms in the New York and New Jersey, and I'm told they could still be seen on farms in Northwest NJ into the 1960s. These structures had movable rooves that were lifted or lowered with the volume of hay. A roof of straw or reeds is shown in paintings of these structures, probably preferred because a roof of oak or cedar shingles would have been too heavy to adjust. "Haying Time" by William Ranney (1856) is one example. William Sydney Mount's famous painting of Cider Making shows a thatched hay barrack and thatched cider press in 1840s Long Island, so it seems to have been used throughout the farm.

for a thatched roof you need a steep roof incline, it would not work on that shallow roof

And your touch with actual history study is the cherry on top

Love this channel. It's so wholesome. Great episode.

THESE PERIOD HOMESTEADING VIDEOS ARE THE GREATEST! Tks guys!

Fun fact: you can eat cattails! In the spring and summer, cattail shoots and stalks can be braised or grilled like asparagus, and in the fall and winter you can eat the roots. Cattail roots grow out of a central rhizome, so each cattail will yield one rhizome that can make a good lean-time source of fiber and starch.

This made me think of the character Heath ledger played in A Knights Tale. - his dad was a thatcher. This was such an interesting video to watch and understand more clearly what kind of job his dad did in that show

In England the premier thatching material is Norfolk reed, and of course there are still professional thatchers since there are a great many historic structures still in use for which thatching is the only appropriate roof. This sort of thatch is far more durable than you might think. Properly cared for, it can last for decades, and far longer than a modern composite shingle roof.

Cattail is insanely useful and has different uses throughout the year. It can be used for roofing and bedding. When the brown bulbs form on top, the fluff inside makes excellent tinder for fires. That white stalk part at the bottom can be eaten (I think in the winter, but don't quote me on that) at certain times of year. You'd want to eat it when it is tender, otherwise it can be really woody and not particularly tasty. When it is in the edible stage, it tastes great compared to some of the water-based wild edibles.

More slope! Thatch works mostly by moving water down-slope just a little faster than the water can penetrate. Also most thatch can be compared to a compost heap above you, you have to add new layers as the lowest ones rot down.

Every video uploaded to this channel is a treat. 5habk you for the great content!

This is just the subject I've been dwelling on for my woodsie shed plan...out here there's a real shortage of cattails I think I'd have to go with goldenrod and ragweed and tie with vines or queen Ann's lace since here in the southern tier of NY state that stuffs everywhere...

It's so REWARDING to see this homestead develop over time. I've only been watching a year or so, it must be even heartier for long time viewers. Nice to see the children helping out and learning that faster and easier is not always better. Wish I had that kind of experience growing up!

Nice video. That's a lot of work (again). I am always amazed by how much Ivy has grown. Time goes by so fast.

Folks in Indiana probably used plants such as cattails from the Grand Kankakee Marsh which once covered much of northern Indiana for this sort of roof--it would have been VERY abundant!

I always enjoy seeing the homestead videos. Thanks for all you do!

I absolutely adore this channel. Thank you for all of the great work you guys do

This kind of video is really fascinating. The cooking vids are cool too but these just seem more involved since they require more people and physical labor. I love it!

Looks great! Looking forward to seeing it thru the seasons over the next year.

Fascinating as always, sir. Thanks and please continue.

I absolutely love these videos! Keep doing this wonderful work

This channel delivers so much.

I don't know much about snatching, but I know that, even now in England, it is still being installed as a roofing material. I remember seeing a construction show in which the builder had an issue with the town council in the 1990s because he used reeds from a thatch reed farm instead of straw from a wheat farm.

I moved from Ohio to Danmark in 2006 and to this day I'm still fascinated with the beautiful thatch roof work here, beautiful, absolutely waterproof (with no underlayment), some very talented people here for sure.

The sheer volume of thatching material is impressive. The amount of time and labor to cover this structure, while still doing the daily chores, could have been a limiting factor. Thank you and your whole team for this video. Be well and at peace.

Beautifully shot and edited as always! I did a lot of pausing and rewinding to check out some of the scenes. Now I have to play it again straight through, especially after having read the comments from the professional thatcher and others. I see it as enjoyable and encouraging community education. Also, it was heartening to see the youngsters involved! I'm guessing the boys are Ryan's.

Just wanted to drop in and say I love your channel and your style. These are some of my favorite videos on youtube and I've really enjoyed following the progress at the homestead!

I love catching up with these videos I belong to several prepping and survival groups and I’m oven forwarding these videos to my close knit friends on there and other videos like it.

Looking good. Now to test it against rain.

I am enjoying this series. You make it interesting with just enough video explanation. Thank you.

Great video! Loved the references to thatch roofs used in the past 🌞

Hi John and crew. Wonderful video. Actually I enjoy a lot of your videos and appreciate all of your efforts in researching and making history come alive. Our pioneer ancestors used whatever was to hand for their needs. Remember, many of them would have seen some Indian "huts" in their journeys and thatch was definitely something that most eastern tribes used. Look up the chikee and long houses. Back 30 years ago, I knew a Creek man who was born and raised in a chikee. He lived in a traditional Creek family compound until he went into the hospital for overnight, only to come home to find the local government had torn everything down. Don't worry, he built back and won the lawsuit. Anyway, one concern I have is the placement of your logs on top of the thatch. These are going to act as dams and cause leaks. If/ you use small diameter king limbs or poles (several canes bundled is great for this) from the high to low, then you can put those saplings back on top in the high low runners to hold down your thatch. Also, when you add to this next year, don't cut your cattails before lashing on. Then cut the overhang of the low end. It adds to the thickness, and any leaks will run down the long leaves and leave you a larger area that's dry-ish. Looking forward to your updates and future adventures. PS my ancestors had a deerskin on a frame above a fire under the thatched roof. It got smoked and the roof didn't catch on fire. A win win, right? 👋

"We even learned how to use real thatch." "well, that'ch terrific!"

Sometimes houses were more roof than wall, simply because it was so much easier to make roofing than walls!

What a great experience and experiment with the cattails 🌟Great job on all the bldgs,oven, so far 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Fulfilling project, indeed! Looks great, too...

One of your best videos, great stuff.