The Screw Fixing Roof
General Information
The screw fixing technique has been invented in Denmark and in the early 1980ies it has been introduced in Germany and the Netherlands. Screw fixing is a modern and time-saving version of the tied thatched roof.
Advantages of the screw fixing roof
- Applying the screw fixing technique a single person can thatch a roof.
- Screw fixing saves time as the thatcher works with prefabricated screws and the laborious work of threading the wire around the battens is no longer necessary.
- Developed attics can just be re-thatched without the need to remove the wall paneling or the insulation.
- The steel rods help the roof covering to gain strength.
- The binding technique allows for faster thatching and is physically less demanding for the thatcher than binding or sewing.
A drawback of the screw fixing technique could be that the bond is not as strong as when the reed is sewn or tied. The reason for this is that due to the rotation of the wibbler the binding wire tends to snap earlier than through the tensile load of binding or sewing. A further disadvantage could be that a visual inspection of the screws is not possible. 
Illustration 4: A thatched roof with screw fixing.
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Illustration 5: A thatcher building a thatched roof with screw fixing.
Application
Instead of inserting the binding wire under the roof battens (as is done when sewing or binding) and then pulling it tight a prefabricated screw, with binding wire wrapped round its centre, is driven into the battens through the reed using a cordless screwdriver with an extension.
In a second step the two ends of the binding wire are twisted above the sways using the wibbler. Thus the steel rods are pressed onto the reed layer.
The distance between the screws should not exceed 20 cm. In all other respects the screw fixing roof is similar to the tied roof.
Go to Sewn Roofing…
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