Biomass Roofing covers hundreds of different plants which have been used to roof houses, but these can be classified into two main types: thatch and wood tiles.

As we mentioned, it has be recognised that we need to use renewable resources more. This has led to traditional, natural building methods and biomass roofing becoming once again, more popular.

Thatch and wood tiles biodegradable, durable and look amazing when the right craftsman does the job. But they only remain a sustainable solution if the materials are obtained from a local, renewable source.

Thatch is still a popular roofing option, especially in the British countryside. Many types of plants have been used for thatching in Britain over the years, but today we only really use three: water reed, long straw and wheat reed.

There are two types of wood tiles – shingles and shakes. These have been known to have been used for roofs in Britain since medieval times and were most traditionally made by hand-splitting logs into small wedge shaped pieces. Shingles are sawn, creating a thinner and smoother effect, whilst shakes are split and so tend to be thicker and have a more rustic feel.

With greater concerns about climate change, many will be shocked to learn that 50% of all energy use is caused directly by buildings. This is why trying to make buildings more energy efficient is such an important task. 90% of that is the energy consumed by the building whilst in use, whereas 10% is the “embodied energy” – the energy used to manufacture or mine for the materials and the energy used during the building process.

From comparing Embodied Energy, Weight, life, material resources, recyclability plus other things, we can determine that the most sustainable options for roof cladding are timber shingles. This is closely followed by natural slate – this is on the basis that these materials are obtained from a local source (or at least within the country). Slates, concrete and clay tiles will be available second hand somewhere quite local, so this is also something to consider when picking sustainable roofing.