Thatch your own tiki hut or bar in just a few short hours.
Tiki huts are simple structures that consist of bamboo or wood frames and palm-thatched roofs. Typically built beach-side throughout the tropics, tiki huts and bars constructed near pools or in backyards create an island paradise. While natural thatch materials are the most environmentally friendly roofing option for tiki huts and bars, synthetic materials are also available to thatch a roof. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Collect dried palm fronds from the ground or fresh fronds by cutting them away from where they meet the tree at the trunk. Commonwealth Roofing Corp. suggests long, single-branched fronds, like those of king, queen or kentia palm trees. If you don't live in an area where palm fronds are readily available, check with your local nurseries or order roof thatching supplies online.
2. Strip individual palm stalks of one side of their leaves, as they will lay on top of each other to create a tight-knit roof. If you're using fanned palm fronds, divide them along their natural folds (fronds open like an accordion, giving them natural "bends" or folds) into three pieces; split coconut palm fronds straight down the spine. The website, Secrets-of-Shed-Building.com states that traditional tiki huts require as many as 10,000 palm fronds to create effective, water-tight roofs, but small bars will require a fraction of this.
3. Tie two palm fronds together at their ends with rope, twine or wire to create a solid panel. The leaves should point in the same direction, and one should overlap the other. Tie the ends of your palm fronds to the frame with rope or wire, or add another frond to the group, overlapping the second frond in the same manner it overlaps the first. Be sure to layer the palm fronds tightly enough to survive mild tests of the elements.
4. Continue to build panels together and attach them in the same, overlapping manner until they cover the width of your tiki bar. Work your way from the bottom of the roof to the top, overlapping each subsequent layer on the last.
Tags: palm fronds, huts bars, tiki huts, tiki huts bars, with rope