“I’m in the midst of converting a sorely dilapidated listed mid 1500s barn to a house. One of the biggest challenges anticipated was replacing the thatched roof, there’s a two to three year waiting list for such projects (and one local thatcher told me he was so booked up it would be four years). Then our ‘main contractor’ passed me the details of ‘Reed Roofing’ and told me they’d quoted months rather than years. One ‘phone call and a few days later Lucian was visiting, measuring up, and getting to understand the job.

We were lucky, our roof was thatched in reed which not only lasts four or five times longer than ‘long straw’ but is easier to get, if you have the connections. I already knew reed lasted longer but I had no idea it could be sourced quickly. Lucian explained that top quality reed could be imported from the Danube delta, in south east Romania, not taking things for granted I checked and indeed I found it’s imported into Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc., as is Chinese and Turkish water reed, and the commentary universally favoured Danube reed. Thus reassured I asked Lucian got a timeline and I ‘got lucky’, a client who wanted to switch from straw to reed was being blocked by conservation from doing so, the job was on hold, so, with a bit of luck, it could be really fast if I was ready. Feeling a little nervous I took the plunge and booked the work in. I’m really glad I did.

Lucian organised everything. Soon pallets if hazel spars, fixings, wire etc. were arriving, and the start date booked to coincide with the reed delivery.

I had to get our builders to strip off the tarpaulin roof covering they’d just fitted over the insulated, fire blanketed and battened roof in anticipation of a three year wait. We weren’t going to need it.

Unseasonally hot weather meant that some European motorways were closed to trucks (because the tar macadam softens) so the truck was two days late, the thatchers were twitching, at a loose end. But early on the third morning a massive articulated lorry arrived and it was ‘all hands on deck’. It was all unloaded in an hour, the thatchers and a couple of builders, plus a teleporter saw to that.

Straight away the thatchers were up the scaffold and starting off. The first days were the slowest, laying in the first layers around the more complex part of the roof, but they were far from slow. Then it really took off and was great to see. The guys worked from dawn ‘til dusk, got sunburnt and drenched by summer storms (another benefit of reed is that it is far more weather tolerant during the thatching work) snd they worked through the weekend to make up the lost two days. The job was done really well, the builders and our architect were amazed at how quickly the guys achieved a great result. It’s a large roof, not a cottage, the thatch is thick, well cut and combed to a ‘suede’ finish, and our traditionally sculpted ridge is the icing on the cake.

It’s a great job, done really well, and I can only praise Christi and Alex the thatchers, true craftsmen with a real work ethic. Lucian put the whole thing together, managed all the logistics, and had the right, cheerful ‘can do’ attitude from start to magnificent finish.

Our barn conversion is on time and on budget, thanks to a marvellous local family firm of builders, and thanks to ‘Reed Roofing’ the roof is on two years (or three?) ahead of anticipations.

You can feel confident to use ‘Reed Roofing’, you can rely on Lucian. I have no doubt future prospective clients will feel nervous at such an undertaking and will be brought round to see the job Lucian’s guys did for us, I’ve told him I’ll gladly show people round and discuss the project.

I don’t have the best ‘chocolate box’ photos yet as work is ongoing (the last job, thatching, having completed first) but I’ll upload a few.

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PETER ROGERS, Suffolk, Beccles, UK