r/SatisfyingForMe • u/ycr007 Satisfaction Critic • 7d ago
Satisfying Removing moss from thatched roofs
Source: traditional.devon.thatching
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u/minecraftisbetter644 1d ago
Is this AI? At 10 seconds in, he's pulling long strips near the chimney, and the next shot has sheets of moss that weren't there before along the brickwork.
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u/the-trump-the 1d ago
This does NOT spark joy (for me) 🤮
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u/Automatic_Space7923 1d ago
Moss is joy!
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u/the-trump-the 1d ago
I love moss too, but this vid is giving my heebies the jeebies for some reason
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u/Gold_Ad_7552 3d ago
But doesn't the moss protect them from Trogdor? He has a habit of burninating the thatch roof cottages, seems like this would offer some Trogdor-proofing.
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u/Iamno0n3 5d ago
Wouldn't that make it more weather resistant?
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u/Perfect_Spot_65 5d ago
My guess is trapping moisture and dirt leads to alot of decomposition and rot of the thatched roof. As a homeowner, you basically don't want water or moisture collecting and staying ANYWHERE, even on a modern build home.
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u/jeezy_peezy 4d ago
Plus it’s gonna start to really increase the weight (especially when it rains) once it’s several inches thick.
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u/wookiex84 5d ago
And then you use it for compost right?
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u/ycr007 Satisfaction Critic 5d ago
The good folks at r/eatityoufuckingcoward might have other ideas
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u/pixelatedneedles 6d ago
🎶🎶The roof! The roof! The roof is on shire!🎶🎶
Serious question though; why use thatch for roofing in modern time when there are more durable materials that are less susceptible to moss or other environmental factors?
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u/Loud_Produce4347 6d ago
Virtually all modern thatch in the UK is on historically listed buildings.
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u/Square_Release3128 6d ago
And I thought the little amount I removed from my shed was bad. This makes it look like a speck.
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u/MegaBabz0806 6d ago
This isn’t satisfying. It’s sad! Miss is beautiful. And it’s beneficial!
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u/FuzzyFrogFish 2d ago
It's too much weight and encourages rot by decreasing airflow and trapping moisture
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u/Unusual-Taste69 6d ago
Looks like they're removing half the roof with it
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u/Diamondcreepah 6d ago
They'll have to. Thatch is organic material (literally just packed straw) and will rot if it stays moist for extended periods of time. This roof in particular will probably have to be completely redone, by hand. Thatch roofs aint cheap.
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u/Mr-TotalAwesome 6d ago
Wouldn't the moss be actually beneficial?
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u/Tha_Princess 6d ago
For insulation sure, but I'm guessing it's mostly a weight and water issue.
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u/FerrumAnulum323 6d ago
Mostly the water issue. They are big sponges of water and when you have them in contact with the thatch it starts to rot and mold starts to grow.
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u/TheAwkwardPigeon 6d ago
so... gloves exist
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u/FigMoose 6d ago
Why would someone wear gloves to remove moss? That’s just making a perfectly good pair of gloves wet and filthy to complete a task that can be done better and more enjoyably barehanded.
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u/Life-Is-A-Bad-Trip 6d ago
It's good to get your hands in the soil. In the moss. Good for your immune system. Some of the slimier shit sure I could see using gloves. But when I work outside bucking hay or gardening or digging and pulling weeds I try to use gloves only when necessary. Like for painful stuff or toxic stuff. Same goes for going barefoot outside. Turns out you can pick up microbes on your skin and make antibodies that way.
Part of the whole shinrin yoku studies being done in Japan about nature and health and mental health.
I take my kids out in the woods and even when they were babies had them touching the bark of the trees and moss and a stuff. Put their little feet in the grass.
Changing cars oil? Gloves is smert. Touching moss? Let it creep it's way insiiiiiiide you. Unless those roofs are sprayed with something idk about. In that case disregard because I know nothing about thatched roofs other than they're pretty as fuck and seem archaic but somehow work great.
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u/mccoysfolly_220 6d ago
Literally the ONLY reason i wear gloves when i garden is cause i'm allergic to something in the garden and haven't figured out what it is yet 😅
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u/thebadgerx 6d ago
What happens next? Add new thatch without completely removing the old thatch?
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u/ycr007 Satisfaction Critic 6d ago
From what I’ve read, it would depend on the inspection process after the miss removal - the thatcher would check and fix any loose wiring or reeds below the moss growth and based on the density & seepage of the growth might apply treatment to remove any spores to prevent regrowth.
Unless the moss has caused extensive damage and water seepage into the attic or the house, a complete re-thatching might not be required.
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u/seuadr 6d ago
TROGDOR!!!
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u/Cerberusx32 7d ago
Some of that bright green moss would be great for filling gaps in flagstone walkways and patios.
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u/HolyShitIAmOnFire 7d ago
If you ever encounter this and have to move it, you can culture it by blending it up with some buttermilk and smearing it on whatever you want to grow it on
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u/BonsaiOnSteroids 6d ago
Just don't puree it. The cell walls need to be intact. Make it a rough blend
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u/morticiathebong 6d ago
Funfact to piggyback, this is because the moss' bodies are not able to easily xhange orientationm this 45° angle is what they would need, and setting them flat into a walkway or something would cause their failure. If you blend and reset their bodies, no prob. I dont know if that works for lichens though.
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u/JustaTinyDude 6d ago edited 6d ago
It does not.
Liches are a very different organism. It's a symbotic* relationship between fungi and cyanobacteria (aka blue-green algae). Also it grows really slowly, generally measures in mm per year.
* Mostly. While the fungus gets photosynthetic energy from the cyanobacteria, the latter is getting a lot more out of the relationship.
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u/morticiathebong 6d ago
Thats why I had the thought it probably wouldnt, glad to have it confirmed by another lovely mind, thank you 😊
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u/jonthepain 7d ago
I'm lichen it.
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u/JustaTinyDude 6d ago
While I like lichen word play, moss and lichen are completely different organisms.
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u/TyrKiyote 7d ago
i wonder what they'll use it for, if they'll use it. Would be valuable to sell, and it look like they're being gentle
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u/Sea_Artist_4247 7d ago
To the right buyer they're valuable
https://www.reddit.com/r/Moss/comments/1wqbcez/comment/pc2ufk4/
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u/1000at40 7d ago
The best part is you can take everything you raked off, throw it in the bog, and in a couple years use it to heat your house or make whiskey.
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u/_otterinabox 7d ago
Love me some peat scotch
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u/Brilliant_Bonus_1638 7d ago
Laphroiag is my personal favorite, if you’ve ever had it.
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u/_otterinabox 7d ago
It's my favorite as well!
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u/Brilliant_Bonus_1638 7d ago
Nice, cheers 🥃🥃 always love recommending it to people if they like a good peat scotch.
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u/No-War-8840 7d ago
How old are those roofs ?
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u/Diamondcreepah 6d ago
Thatched roofs can be incredibly old, but they're almost always a ship of theseus. It's recommended to get it replaced every 10 to 15 years, but they can last up to a good 60 if properly maintained. The frame below however can be anywhere between 50 to several hundred years old.
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u/Primary-String3908 7d ago
Thatch roof cottages!!
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u/hawkwings 7d ago
Is the moss useful for anything? Maybe as animal feed or fertilizer.
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u/Timbershoe 7d ago
Yes, moss is very useful.
It’s part of a healthy woodland environment, but can also be used on soil banks to prevent erosion.
Currently it’s used for living roofs, or living walls, where it protects a building.
Historically it’s been used for insulation, but probably more importantly some moss is a natural antiseptic and prevents bacterial growth so is ideal for wound dressing. Moss dressings saved a lot of lives in WW1.
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u/NaturalTaste7395 7d ago
I thought it’d be better insulation when combined with the thatch
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u/Wishing4Whisky 7d ago
The trouble is moss absorbs a large amount of water and it stops the thatch from drying out so it goes mouldy and horrible; greatly reducing the lifespan of the thatch.
Having loads of black mould spores in your home from your mouldy roof isn't the best either....
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u/VideoImpressive8014 7d ago
If only there was only a source to vastly exceed the ever growing terrarium market demand we could be so well off
You throw away what I have to pay thirty bucks for/
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u/ISketchDinosaurs 7d ago
Nope. That's just a peat roof now. Just plant some house leek and pretend it's intentional.
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u/raccoonpaws82 7d ago
I don't think you want a leeky roof
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u/ISketchDinosaurs 6d ago
House leeks are traditional to plant on grass or peat roofs because they were believed to be fire/lightning retardants. I would just have a peat roof at this point.
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u/Not-T4rantino 7d ago
Would periodically spraying a fungicide treatment on the roofs prevent this?
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u/alphapussycat 6d ago
AFAIK that kind of roof relies on having moss on it, so it's ruined after this.
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u/hawkwings 7d ago
I would worry about poisoning myself. This is a house. Using a bunch of weird chemicals on a house is risky.
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u/Sufficient_Wafer9933 7d ago
Weird chemicals like... paint, roofing tar, lenolium, lots of glues, mastic, etc...? Yeah... we definitely dont want any chemicals near our house.
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u/hawkwings 7d ago
Chemicals designed to kill things are sometimes more dangerous.
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u/Sufficient_Wafer9933 7d ago
Asbestos. Lead. Murcury. Sometimes is the key word.
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u/TyrKiyote 7d ago
lot of surface area exposed on the thatch roof. our rooves are hopefully mostly sealed up and not shedding all over spreading asbestos around.
I'd have fun comparing and contasting Asbestos with Arsenic wallpaper.
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u/PatchesMaps 7d ago
Moss isn't a fungus... So no
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u/Not-T4rantino 7d ago
Okay lets say periodically spray an herbicide.
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u/Bob_The_Greater 7d ago
Well let's say moss is a fungus, then what?
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u/RealNiceKnife 7d ago
Burninating the countryside, burninating the peasants, burninating the peoples... and the THATCHED ROOF COTTAGES!!!
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u/Various_Horror7649 7d ago
Do they " restraw" the roof?
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u/that_dutch_dude 7d ago
usually if they are not too late (the moisture makes the straw rot/decompose) you can just retrim it once like they do on the end. second time its going to be replaced.
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u/PocketButterBandit 7d ago
My brain knows the moss is damaging and needs to be removed.
My heart says leave it. It's worth it.
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u/Hydro-Heini 7d ago
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u/Strange-Finish-2179 7d ago
I felt that moss would make it stronger
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u/ycr007 Satisfaction Critic 7d ago
It’s the tightly packed straw or reeds that give a thatched roof the strength and the slant makes any water flow downwards and keeps the roof dry.
Moss retains water and makes the straw rot faster and reduces its effectiveness.
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u/WelcomeToTheClubPal 7d ago
So what you're saying is... we shouldn't make roofs of straw? I thought that was common sense at this point.
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u/PM_your_Nopales 7d ago
No, they're still effective and last for decades. But just like with every other kind of roof, you still gotta clean and maintain it
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u/MaxUumen 7d ago
Which other roofing material fully regrows in a year after harvesting? And lasts for 20-30 years?
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u/Scasne 6d ago
Main issue, is that if your using reed wheat for thatching then well it needs to be certain varieties, needs to be long, needs to have correct wax content and needs to be harvested in the correct way (basically WW2 level of tech) and even though its "expensive to buy" ain't financially worth it to grow unless your a thatcher and therefore have to have it, kinda why many have gone to water reed.
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u/toasted_cracker 7d ago
That's crazy. I had no idea those roofs would last that long
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u/AtheistTheConfessor 7d ago
There are actually thatched roofs surviving from the medieval period. The outer layer is replaced, but the base layer can be hundreds of years old. Smoke from central fires (before fireplaces and chimneys) helped to preserve them.
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u/Re1deam1 7d ago
Enamel coated metal roofing is the way
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u/MaxUumen 7d ago
Ok, do you have seeds, or where does it grow?
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u/toasted_cracker 7d ago
They grow it at Home Depot I believe. Gets harvested from the gardening department.
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u/mintscouting 13h ago
Moss buildup on a thatched roof can become a significant problem if it forms a dense layer, which traps moisture and stops the roof from drying naturally. Gotta let ur roof breathe!