Fig.61 - Fresh grass instead of palms over one side wall.
Fig.62 - Strips of wood to bind down the grass on wall.
Thatching
Now we come to the real grass part of the house, for we have had to use small sticks for the framework instead of bamboo, and where the Filipino uses palm-leaves we will use grass.
Gather some long, coarse, fresh blades of grass for thatching both the roof and walls, and begin with the walls. Bunch the grass evenly, the stem ends all together, bend the bunch at the centre, then spread it out at its centre, and hang it thickly over one side-wall beam, which is the upper stick ([Fig. 61]). Have the stem ends inside the house hang down as long as the tip ends on the outside, and let the outside ends hang down below the edge of the floor; then take a flat strip of wood and place it near the top of the grass-covered wall, bend the ends a little and slide them back of the uprights ([Fig. 62]). Smooth the grass down evenly and put in another flat stick, this time at the bottom ([Fig. 62]). If you want the inside of the house as perfect as the outside, slide in two other strips on the inside of each wall to hold the grass down. [Fig. 62] shows the grass partially trimmed off to make it even at the bottom.
Fig.63 - Pole rafter being thatched for roof.