Thatch roof maintenance is cheap compared with a re-thatch, and it is the main thing that decides how long a roof lasts. A roof that dries out quickly after rain, has a sound ridge and clean valleys, and gets looked at every year can last many years, often 20 or more. One that sits in shade under trees and is left alone wears out much sooner. Most of the work is a yearly visit, ideally before the rainy season. Send one request and we pass it to independent thatchers near you, who quote you directly.
A yearly routine
- Look first: the ridge, the valleys, around chimneys and the weather side, inside the roof space for damp or daylight. A proper inspection writes it down.
- Comb or brush the thatch to remove loose grass and debris, so it sheds water evenly.
- Top up thin spots with new bundles before they become holes.
- Fix the ridge: fill or re-do cracks in a cement ridge, refit loose caps.
- Clear valleys of leaves and cut back branches that shade the roof or drop leaves on it.
Trees, shade and drip lines
Thatch lasts longest when sun and wind dry it after rain. Branches over the roof keep it damp, drop leaves into the valleys and give rats and birds a way in, so cutting them back is often the most useful single job. Thatch usually has no gutters: water runs off the eaves, so keep the ground at the drip line clear, paved or gravelled so it does not splash mud onto walls. Moss on the south side or under trees is a sign the roof stays wet, and cleaning helps.
Treatments and fire retardant
Water repellent and preservative treatments slow weathering and fungal growth. They are sprayed on and need re-application at the interval the maker gives; a thatch sealer page explains the options. If your roof has a fire retardant, it also wears off and needs re-doing, and your insurer may want a current certificate. Many owners have both done on the same visit as the yearly check.
Maintenance plans for lodges and estates
A lodge, resort or estate with many thatched roofs often does better with a written plan: each roof looked at once a year, the worst ones topped up first, ridges and valleys on a rotation, and treatments recorded. Ask thatchers to quote per visit or per roof, list what each visit includes, and send a short report with photos. That record also helps with insurers and with a later sale. Booking the same thatcher each year also helps: they get to know which roofs wear fastest and can plan bigger work, such as a ridge or a top-up, for the quiet months instead of after a leak in the middle of the season.
What to put in your request
- How many thatched roofs and roughly their size
- When each roof was thatched and last maintained
- Trees over the roof, moss or damp spots
- Any treatment or fire retardant on the roof now
- Whether you want a yearly plan and a report
Thatch Roof Maintenance for homes, lodges, farms and venues
- Homeowners: a yearly check, combing and ridge touch-up on the house and the garden lapa
- Estate homes and HOAs: thatch homes kept to the estate's standard with yearly visits and treatment records
- Game lodges and bush camps: a rolling plan that covers every chalet and the main boma once a year
- Guesthouses and B&Bs: a yearly visit in the quiet season so guest rooms stay dry in the rains
- Farms and smallholdings: the farmhouse, lapa and rondavels checked together to save on travel
- Restaurants, pubs and beach bars: the thatch over the dining deck combed and topped up before the busy season
- Resorts and holiday parks: rows of thatched units maintained on a rotation with a report for each
- Wedding venues, schools and churches: the wedding lapa and chapel roofs checked and treated before the season
- Builders, architects and developers: a maintenance schedule handed over with a new thatch roof
Frequently asked questions
Do you maintain thatch roofs yourselves?
How long does thatching last?
What does thatch roof maintenance cost?
When is the best time for maintenance?
Thatch Roof Maintenance by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg