Building a Tropical Grass Roof
- 1). Purchase thatching material from a local hardware store. Local straw, reeds and similar grasses can be substituted for tropical material, such as palm fronds without sacrificing much of the "tropical" look. The thatching grass available depends both on the season and your location. Expect to pay more for more exotic grasses, especially during off-seasons, such as fall and winter.
- 2). Sort the purchased thatch into two piles. Place the coarser, thicker reeds or grass stalks in one pile and separate the softer, thinner grass into another pile. The latter pile will be used to edge the building, while the coarser grass stalks will be used for the main portion of the grass roof.
- 3). Tie the grass from the coarse pile into 2-inch diameter bundles using the coarse rope. Each bundle should be approximately 12 inches long. Check that the bundles are tied tightly and that the rope knots allow little movement for the grass.
- 4). Measure the length of your building's roof and cut the bamboo or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes into lengths long enough to frame the edges of the roof. Nail the pipes along the roof edges. Measure additional lengths of pipes to cut across the pipe frame at 12-inch horizontal intervals. Secure these pipes to the roof with nails.
- 5). Attach the grass bundles from Step 3 to the pipe frame using the rope, starting at the lowest edge of the roof and working up to the peak so that each layer of grass is layered under the top layer. Tie each 12-inch grass bundle to each 12-inch horizontal pipe.
- 6). Tie the grass from the softer pile in Step 2 into small, tight bundles using the rope. Use these bundles to edge the roof so that there is a slight grass overhang. This grass feature is for mostly aesthetic purposes, though the grass overhang helps to train water runoff away from the inner edge of the roof.
- 7). Check that all the grass bundles are securely attached to the pipe frame that you nailed to the roof. If you wish, you may spray the entire tropical grass roof with waterproofing and fireproofing material for safety and utility purposes.
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