Also known as Devon reed, Wheat Reed or Wheat Straw; Combed Wheat Straw used to be a by-product of cereal production, however, these days, cereal varieties are grown with short straw which would be hopeless for thatching roofs.
Process
Combed Wheat Reed is a material produced by cutting wheat with a binder and tying into sheaves.
The sheaves are stooked in the field and follow the same process as Long Straw. Next, the Threshing Machine has a Comber on the top which combes the straws, then it goes into a trusser and is tied into bundles of Combed Wheat Reed.
So the complete harvested straw with the grain is threshed and ‘combed’ to remove grain, leaves, weeds and short or broken straw producing ‘combed wheat reed’. This produces the material ready to be used for thatching.
Trimmed Finish
Most of the work we do is Combed Wheat Straw roofs, as it gives a neat, trimmed look and finish, with a smoother finish than other materials used.
If you’d like more information on our combed wheat reed thatch roofs and re-ridging services, don’t hesitate to get in contact here!