In the 1990's large thatched roof houses became popular in Phalaborwa particularly along the NE border overlooking the veld adjoining the Kruger Park. This house was the first R1M house in the town when the Rand/US$ exchange rate was still about 2. Today the exchange rate is about 15 which shows just how much the economy has deteriorated. Because the economy is so depressed such a house will probably sell for as "little" as R2M today - a bargain if you can afford it. These houses have subsequently gone out of favour because of high roof maintenance costs & the danger of fire (I can think of 2 caused by internal electrical faults, not lightning because they all have tall lightning arrestor poles.) https://www.flickr.com/photos/wisselstroom/51211846946/ K5 & DA 18-55 WR. Alan C

> On May 29, 2021, at 10:09 PM, Alan C <cole@lantic.net> wrote: > > In the 1990's large thatched roof houses became popular in Phalaborwa particularly along the NE border overlooking the veld adjoining the Kruger Park. This house was the first R1M house in the town when the Rand/US$ exchange rate was still about 2. Today the exchange rate is about 15 which shows just how much the economy has deteriorated. Because the economy is so depressed such a house will probably sell for as "little" as R2M today - a bargain if you can afford it. These houses have subsequently gone out of favour because of high roof maintenance costs & the danger of fire (I can think of 2 caused by internal electrical faults, not lightning because they all have tall lightning arrestor poles.) > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/wisselstroom/51211846946/ Very interesting. I suspect that the thatch roofs are, however, very good insulation. -- Larry Colen lrc@red4est.com

Yes. With no ceilings & the large air space they keep the houses cooler in summer & warmer in "winter". Virtually all the buildings in the Kruger Park have thatched roofs. There have been some fires over the years, notably the extensive shopping complex at Letaba Camp last year. They are currently operating from a large marquee. Alan C On 30-May-21 07:45 AM, Larry Colen wrote: > >> On May 29, 2021, at 10:09 PM, Alan C <cole@lantic.net> wrote: >> >> In the 1990's large thatched roof houses became popular in Phalaborwa particularly along the NE border overlooking the veld adjoining the Kruger Park. This house was the first R1M house in the town when the Rand/US$ exchange rate was still about 2. Today the exchange rate is about 15 which shows just how much the economy has deteriorated. Because the economy is so depressed such a house will probably sell for as "little" as R2M today - a bargain if you can afford it. These houses have subsequently gone out of favour because of high roof maintenance costs & the danger of fire (I can think of 2 caused by internal electrical faults, not lightning because they all have tall lightning arrestor poles.) >> >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/wisselstroom/51211846946/ > Very interesting. I suspect that the thatch roofs are, however, very good insulation. > > > -- > Larry Colen > lrc@red4est.com > > > -- > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-leave@pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.

Nice house, I like also the yellow bricks. Thatched roofs are still around here too on some more expensive houses. Reed is now imported also from China. These roofs have to be maintained and replaced after 20-30 year by skilled people. Impregnation by sodium silicate or other coating is done to minimise fire risk. Henk Op 2021-05-30 om 07:59 schreef Alan C: > Yes. With no ceilings & the large air space they keep the houses > cooler in summer & warmer in "winter". Virtually all the buildings in > the Kruger Park have thatched roofs. There have been some fires over > the years, notably the extensive shopping complex at Letaba Camp last > year. They are currently operating from a large marquee. > > Alan C > > On 30-May-21 07:45 AM, Larry Colen wrote: >> >>> On May 29, 2021, at 10:09 PM, Alan C <cole@lantic.net> wrote: >>> >>> In the 1990's large thatched roof houses became popular in >>> Phalaborwa particularly along the NE border overlooking the veld >>> adjoining the Kruger Park. This house was the first R1M house in the >>> town when the Rand/US$ exchange rate was still about 2. Today the >>> exchange rate is about 15 which shows just how much the economy has >>> deteriorated. Because the economy is so depressed such a house will >>> probably sell for as "little" as R2M today - a bargain if you can >>> afford it. These houses have subsequently gone out of favour because >>> of high roof maintenance costs & the danger of fire (I can think of >>> 2 caused by internal electrical faults, not lightning because they >>> all have tall lightning arrestor poles.) >>> >>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/wisselstroom/51211846946/ >> Very interesting.   I suspect that the thatch roofs are, however, >> very good insulation. >> >> >> -- >> Larry Colen >> lrc@red4est.com >> >> >> -- >> %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-leave@pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above >> and follow the directions. > -- > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-leave@pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions.