Outdoor bar roofing

Hi everyone I am a long time lurker and first time poster .........I was wondering what kind of outdoor bar roofing do you prefer artificial thatch , real thatch ....metal ? ondura . I am in the process of framing a bar by my pool and have somewhat stalled at the roof ........What are the pros and cons of each ?

Depends on a couple of things... Why style do you want? What's the weather like where you live?

In Southern California, I got about 3 years outta my thatch. High winds and hot sun was rough on it.
If there's snow, I'd say go metal. You can even buy metal that's already rusty and old looking (although when it gets wet it does have color run off on anything below)

You can even combine the two, (which is my current plan)
You could also go wood shingles...

If you go thatch, I'd suggest putting tar paper and shingles underneath .. A real roof, no leaks inside.

Have fun

Great question! I'm trying to figure out the same thing right now. Pretty sure I am going with Ondura with some thatch accents. I like steel better than Ondura, but it seems like the Ondura would be a lot easier to install (ease of cutting, drilling, etc.). So, I'm leaning toward the grey color Ondura and then maybe making it look rusty with primer spray paint to emulate a slightly rusty steel roof. Sounds like a real rusty steel roof could stain everything around it too which is another plus for Ondura.

Regarding thatch roofs, a real roof under the thatch would be safer for leaks. But I wonder if installing over shingles would shorten the thatch life as it wouldn't dry out as well (rot) and would get hotter than it should?

@TikiRetardo please start a thread with some build pics of your project. I love checking out others builds here on TC.

I think I am leaning toward Ondura with a little thatch thrown in .........and as soon as I make significant progress I will post pics for sure

Being from Minnesota, and my bar is a permanent outside structure, I went with the cedar shake shingles for roofing. Not the look of thatch, but I wanted it sealed and it doesn't look too out of place...

Here at the Womb I built the outdoor lanai roofing with plywood, tarpaper and asphalt sheeting.
It is totally water proof and the full thatch covering is just for show.
I got just under 5 years with the first thatch here in Los Angeles and just recently replaced it. It held up longer than I thought it would.
No problems with rot or anything under the thatch.
I also have a corrugated steel roof that comes off the main roof to cover the cooking area and it makes a nice complement to the thatched roof.

I'm from NJ and we went with an artificial thatch because we didn't want to be replacing real thatch frequently.
It's pretty realistic unless you're up close:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=42865&forum=20&hilite=gator hut
There's a picture of the thatch towards the bottom of the page.

The pros are that it's pretty indestructable and wind-proof for the most part. It's gets quite windy in our yard.

The cons are the cost and that if you are fussy you might say it's not real enough looking. It works for us.

Can't wait to see pics!

I don't recommend the Ondura. I used it on a garden shed in Seattle about 10 years ago. After 3 years the color(red)finish started to peel off showing the black underneath. Looked ugly. It's also somewhat fragile. Easy to drive a nail too far and leave a hole. Of course that was MY fault.

Well I am going to try the Ondura and if it looks like crap I will cover the whole thing in thatch :)