A Solution to Parapet Wall Drainage on Thatch Roofs

There are a group of houses in a small coastal village that I often work at, all of the houses are built to the exact same design, all of the houses have parapet walls and all of the houses suffer from leaking at the parapet walls. I have been called in almost every year to deal with these problems from one house or another in that same village and I have perfected the solution for this problem.

The problem lies in the connection of the thatch to the parapet wall - many thatch roof designs for parapets do not allow for rain water drainage. This leads to the rain having no clear drainage channel and leads the parapet to hold the water, decreasing the lifespan of the thatch in that area and creating to rotting and leaking problems.

My solution addresses this problem head on - creating a clean, clear drainage channel (or gutter) for the rain water to exit the roof. This system rids the roof of water and allows the required aeration of the thatch in that area, decreasing the amount of time the thatch takes to dry properly.

Original parapet wall/thatch connection

Drainage being fitted to parapet join

Thatch added around drainage
channel

Parapet wall connection completed

Complex parapet wall design
before channel was fitted

Parapet wall join before channel was fitted

Close-up of connection of thatch
to wall in original roof design

Parapet wall with new drainage channel fitted

Close-up of drainage channel around complex parapet wall design

The perfect water drainage channel for a thatch roof:

The perfect parapet wall drainage channel - clean, clear and unblocked to
allow water to drain adequately from thatch roof

For more information regarding water drainage and valley systems for thatch roofs refer to the Thatched Roof Maintenance page on my website.