Reposted with permission from the author, found in:
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Re: Nipa Roofs
Posted by: "shadownseiko"
Date: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:46 pm ((PDT))
I may be able to add to the confusion regarding nipa. There are in
this area three different types of nipa, only one of which is true
nipa, being from the nipa palm. It is the most often used in this
area.
Coco nipa of course is from a coco tree. The leaves are thin and
short compared to the other two types. Coco nipa is cheaper, and
lasts about 2 years without treatment.
Nipa Nipa comes from the nipa palm. It's leaves are broader and
longer than that of the coco tree. It can last 3-5 years without
treatment, and up to 10 years with treatment.
Sacsac is higher quality than either coco nipa or Nipa nipa. Sacsac
is from a bigger, taller palm, and it's leaves are broader and
longer than the other two. It lasts 4-7 years without treatment and
10+ years with.
As for how it is used, this may vary somewhat by region. In this
area you can buy all three types in "panels". The panels vary by
maker, but usually are about 3-4 feet long, and layered onto the
roof just as with shingles. The standard seems to be to lay them
about 3-4 inches apart, so they overlap each other. The better the
quality of nipa, the more you can space them apart. In this area the
coco nipa costs about P200-P300 per 100 "panels". Nipa nipa runs
about P300 to P500 per 100, and sacsac around P500 to P800.
A friend of mine had to reroof his house this season. He had used
the regular nipa, had treated it with a 50/50 mixture of used motor
oil and diesel. It lasted 11 years before it developed it's first
leak. Basically, he filled a split drum with the mixture and dipped
each peice of nipa in, then hung it for a week or so prior to using it.
As for the woven nipa, I have only seen it used in walls in this
area, never for a roof. A more popular product here for walls is
amacan, which is woven from the outer fibres of bamboo.
Larry in Dumaguete
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