Thatching business improving in Denmark
A great many things are taking place in Denmark in the area of thatching and modern use of our ancient roofs. The Danish government has set up an ambitious goal, cutting down the CO2 with 70 % by year 2030 and this means that there is a growing focus on the use of biological building materials, including water reed and miscanthus.
We have now very good documentation, worked out in cooperation with independent advicers and universities, that the thatched roof is far the most climate friendly.
The thatching business has got tremendous coverage in the press, from national newspapers and TV stations to articles in building and construction magazines for architects and others in the building trade, due to thatching of several new, modern buildings like the Wadden Sea Center.
In 2016 a great event took place, probably the biggest for the last decades: The building authorities in Denmark recognized that the modern thatched roof is much more fireproof than expected. After many fire tests, years of work and argumentation, many, many letters and documents, we finally succeeded in a breakthrough for the use of thatch in modern buildings. The rules relating to distances between thatched buildings were changed in favor of the thatch.
In 2017 the two thatchers’ guilds, who have been organized as separate units for 35 years, decided to unite. This was a great day: now the organized Danish thatchers are all members of the same organization called “Taekkelauget” – the thatchers’ guild. (www.taekkelaug.dk)
Number of thatched buildings: 54.695. Out of these 9.114 are holiday homes / summer houses. Out of the rest, 45.581, 99 percent are older houses and farm buildings.
Number of thatchers: 400 Danish and approximately 75 from other countries, mainly former Eastern Europe.
Total amount of thatch in 2020: We don’t have the exact figures, but a qualified guess is between 350.000 and 400.000 square meters.