To alang or not to alang?

[tintin]

Mimpimanis,

You are looking at the practical aspects of a walled compound, which in your case are pretty funny. But THE primary reason for the wall of a compound is to keep the evil spirits out. Remember the aling aling behind the doorway? It's to keep them from entering the compound, because these evil spirits cannot negotiate turns easily? And they surely cannot climb over the walls (only the maling2 can).

 

[don]

Don you might try what they do in England with reed roofing - simply cover the alang alang in chicken wire, it's invisible from farther than 2 meters and keeps the birds off it, or at least from taking it.

Mimi are the locals that curious? Or were your movies just soooo goood?

Hi,
Thanks for your suggestion, but I am a bit confused. In the US chicken wire is an octagonal shaped material enclosing a hole of about 5 to 7.5 cm. Alang alang is rather thin in diameter and flexible which would appear to still make it available beneath a covering of chicken wire for birds to detach. If I am missing something (not all that unusual), please straighten me out.
Thanks again,
Don

 

[Markit]

Hi Don,

Even in England the chicken wire covering (your description is right) doesn't keep it safe forever but if done tightly will hold off most attacks for a good 15 years - they figure on average to renew a reed roof every 15 to 20 years - without the wire, every 5 - and it looks like sh*t after 3... as a matter of fact you won't find one without anymore.

 

[grastaman]

aesthetically, i love alang-alang, and it is cooler~ a apt Balinese solution for the tropics

three things that i dont like about it are...
- nesting animals (birds. geckos, did someone mention musongs?) means the occasional dead animal. i once had a couple of live maggots fall right next to my lunch from my alang alang roof.
- its not very sound proof. airplanes, and thunderstorms sound really really close.
- the bamboo struts are esp prone to weevils and termites. consider getting pre-treated bamboo struts.

that said, as an alternative, the only thing that ive seen that comes close aesthetically and culturally (i suppose this is more tropical than Balinese, but im no expert), is a cedar shingle roof. they are fitted little arrows of cedar. look great.

when my roof goes, though, ill probably replace with alang alang again.

 

[Roy]

I’ve never seen chicken wire incorporated onto an alang alang roof, but depending on the location, additional top thatching may be required to protect the roof from the effects of strong winds. The first photo below is a recent job my father in law did (while still in progress) at the Pacung Restaurant in Bedugul. Located on the edge of a huge gorge, the roof there is vulnerable to high winds coming up the gorge. This is the typical solution used by traditional Bali builders for this problem.

Grastaman, the roofs you are referring to are actually made from shingles (shakes) carved from bamboo and not cedar. The second and third photos below are of the holy room in our compound taken during the construction phase. This particular style of roof is more often seen up Bert’s way in Singaraja, and I agree with you that such roofs are incredibly beautiful. Such roofs have a distinctive Chinese influenced style, especially noted in the up turned corners.

During the process of roofing the holy room, we had three men down from Singaraja to do the installation. It was fascinating watching them work. Each shingle is hand cut on the spot and top of the roof to perfectly fit along the next. At the joint end of the shingle, which is kept flat ended (not arrow pointed) a tongue is cut which serves to lock the shingle in place.

Because of the intense labor and time required to make such a roof, their cost is higher than either alang alang or tile. Such roofs hold up longer than alang alang...20 plus years, or more, and require little or no maintenance aside from that occasional shingle that may get loose from time to time.

 

[Kadek]

aesthetically, i love alang-alang, and it is cooler~ a apt Balinese solution for the tropics

that said, as an alternative, the only thing that ive seen that comes close aesthetically and culturally (i suppose this is more tropical than Balinese, but im no expert), is a cedar shingle roof. they are fitted little arrows of cedar. look great.

I think what Grastaman means is the roof material called SIRAT . Sirat are made of arrow-shaped hardwood pieces. I don't know what type of wood they are made from, but they are long lasting, longer than the one made of bamboo (although at a glance they look similar).

Here is the roof of my family's Sanggah Kemulan. This is already around 20 years old, so some pieces are starting to come off
I guess it needs replacing soon.


Regards

Kadek

 

[dug]

Kadek,
I thought that roofing material you stated is SIRAP. Of course I could be wrong! The reason is ,our house in Baturitti has this material,I believe the wood is Kayu Besi.Ten years ago we built a house and using Alang-Alang,(because I liked the look)not knowing that at that elevation, due to moist conditions,Alang-Alang is not a good choice! Ya, were learning! So about 8 years ago we changed to SIRAP or SIRAT(must get to the bottom of this),and its been great! Nice to look at too......
Doug

 

[DCC]

Roy - What's the skinny on Bamboo - cost/lifespan/maintainability? Looks wise it is the BOMB - luv it luv it.

FYI folks......sirap shingles are commonly made from ironwood which is threatened and takes a gazillion years to grow large and strong. Which may be why the quality is plunging - I've saw some serious on the roof problems at a resort in Ubud. Another factor is it makes for a darker underside and thus interior.

Grass - wood - bamboo .... they are each beautiful and so is and old tile roof that's been aged to perfection!

 

[grastaman]

bamboo is promising for many things. i have already commented that it tends to harbor weevils and termites for traditional uses (eg rafters, frames etc).

This is a slightly different context, but in Singapore my wife, who is an interior designer, is starting to spec Bamboo flooring as a viable and more environmentally-conscious alternative to hard-woods. It is indeed beautiful, but they have run into a occasional problems with insect infestations (from the source, eg China). go with pre-treated if possible. it's not good to install a beautiful floor and then have insects crawling out from the floor a couple of months later (this actually happened).

Cost for BB flooring (relative to Singapore) is still about 10% higher than a common hardwood alternative (eg smaller width teak).... but i'd expect that to come down with time. i think Bamboo flooring is packed and installed in factory "planks", making it quick and easy to install (usually on top of an underlayer of plywood).

apparently the lifetime is same as hardwood (20 yrs+) and it is harder than teak.

 

[Roy]

DCC, glad to hear you like the bamboo roof. I agree it is very eye appealing as is the hardwood roof at Kadek’s family compound.

I can’t tell you much about it...especially the cost, as my father in law, (Pak alang alang as I sometimes call him) handled the whole project with some specialists he knows up near Singaraja. That was seven or eight years ago, and I have heard locals around our village complaining the cost of bamboo (like everything else) has gone up in recently.

As with what Kadek has noted, a shingle or two will get loose from time to time, but our gardener finds it easy to place them back. Other than that, we have done nothing at all to this roof except enjoy it!

Speaking of cost increases, it looks as though premium will be going from 4,500 to 6,000 a liter VERY shortly. A 33% increase and a real "ouch" for most Balinese. :cry:

 

[abemoon]

it is true jimbo there are now restrictions in place re: setbacks to building on beachfront land which i hear is 25metres. my small plot is actually not quite beachfront but about 20 metres away tucked behind another plot, hard to explain and at the end of the beach. the reason i wanted to change the height of the fence was for privacy but to leave the front at 1.8m and increase height at sides and back. i am surrounded by vacant land with palm trees/bananas/pigs and dogs so definitely need a wall. there are only a few scattered houses of the locals and one or two expats so it is indeed a very quiet area.
as this is my first build in a foreign land i will take all this advice onboard and have taken the height down to 2.5m. i'll see what they say about it when i land in paradise mid may to finalise my quotes once and for all.

 

[DCC]

Thanks Roy -

I may want to confer, if not hire, Pak Alang-Alang, as I am in the planning stages of some through-back housing - multi Indo island influence.

BTW - was that you on an old (bmw?) this morn on Jl. R. Ubud telling me the road was one way? If so, I know how to read the signs,ha , I was cutting over to the Gang.

 

[Roy]

Anytime you want to meet my father in law, just fire me a PM and I'll send along our phone numbers. Since you were just in Ubud, you might have noticed the project they are currently doing at Cafe Lotus in front of the Pura Saraswati on Jalan Raya.

Nope, that wasn't me you saw this AM in Ubud. I've not left the house since getting back from Bangkok last Friday afternoon but it sounds like someone I know well, and he does look a lot like me. Cheers!

 

[wanderingant]

The longevity of alang alang depends on three factors. The first factor is the quality of the alang alang itself, the second is the expertise of the installer, and the third is where the building with the alang alang is to be located.

Presently, and due to a near complete exhaustion of highest quality alang alang, (grass) in Bali, the best alang alang installers in Bali are now using imported grass from Lombok.

The expertise and reputation of the installer is also crucial for longevity. I have seen many recent projects where the tightness of the thatching method is way, way, too wide, (using less pieces) and they (the roofs), will not last. Ideally, the tie bar of each piece of alang alang should be tied as close as possible to the adjoining bar. I have seen gaps in those bars as much as three inches, resulting in a roof which is much too thin, and will not last more than maybe five, or a few more years.

The third factor is the simple fact that the closer to the ocean this roofing style is employed, the fewer years it will last. Salt erodes alang alang.

A well installed, high quality alang alang roof located at least a few kilometers from a beach environment should last a minimum 15 years, and 20 years is not unheard of.

My father in law is very well known as one of the top alang alang artists in all of Bali, and he is often called on for projects elsewhere in the world. If you want to consult with my father in law, you can send me a PM.

Roy I would like to contact your father-in-law. For some reason I cannot send you a PM here. Can you send me a PM maybe?

 

[matsaleh]

Roy I would like to contact your father-in-law. For some reason I cannot send you a PM here. Can you send me a PM maybe?

Roy has not been a member of this forum for many years. Maybe someone else can give you pointers, if you have a specific question.

 

[wanderingant]

Roy has not been a member of this forum for many years. Maybe someone else can give you pointers, if you have a specific question.

Oh I see. Thank you, I didn't know. I am basically looking for recommendations for a reliable alang-alang technician for my house. Many thanks

 

[balipod-admin]

Oh I see. Thank you, I didn't know. I am basically looking for recommendations for a reliable alang-alang technician for my house. Many thanks

Would you mind creating a new post? It is a good idea to check the dates of a thread. If it is more than a year old or so, I would suggest starting a new topic. Some of these old threads are good to read though.