summit roofing
Welcome to makuti Land!
About makuti
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, reeds, grass or leaves and layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost, local vegetation.
By contrast in some developed countries it is now the choice of affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home,would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode.There are about 60,000 thatched roofs in the UK today and many more are being built every year.Thatching methods have traditionally been passed down from generation to generation, and numerous descriptions of the materials and methods used in the world over the past three centuries survive in archives and early publications.
What is Makuti?
Makuti is the thatching pieces made from the naturally drying palm leaves of the Coconut palm Cocos nucifera. It is a very eco friendly or “green” building material as it is made from leaves that are naturally wilting on the palm tree and therefore harvesting does not affect the parent plant in any way. The individual pieces (or tiles) have to be weaved first.weaving is mainly done by women in the villages where they grow palm trees.
Process of making makuti
STEP 1: The coconut plant leaves are harvested when they turn brown
STEP 2: The leaves are soaked in water to facilitate easy folding.
STEP 3: Sticks are cut according to the appropriate size for building.
e.g 30cm sticks are used for folding over the makuti.
STEP 4:The leaves are stitched over the sticks using back stitching method
STEP 5: The makuti are carefully packed in bundles and stored safely.
STEP 6: When roofing, the makuti are first tied to the roofing structure from the bottom going upwards, to the topline of the roof using a sisal fiber. The makuti are laid down in a way that they overlap at a distance of 4 inches to avoid water dripping inside the house.
Makuti benefits:
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It’s Eco-friendly.makuti is a 100% natural, untreated building material it is very ”green” and so not harmful to the environment in any way.
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It’s Community Supportive. Due to the way it is prepared it directly supports the people in the local communities, in both providing jobs for the weavers and in cash for the palm tree owners.
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It’s Cheap. Makuti thatching in smaller roofs is very economical indeed. Few roofs can match it from a cost perspective. Note the word “smaller”, big makuti roofs need serious support poles, sometimes even logs. This can bring the cost up dramatically. - It’s Light. Due to Makuti being lightweight it can be used on structures that would not take a heavy roof.
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It’s Cool effect. Probably the most common main reason for its use, sitting under a makuti roof, even under the mid-day heat is not hot at all.
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It’s Flexible. There are design challenges that have so many twists and turns that few roofing materials are as flexible as makuti when it comes to having to roof the curvy building.