About the Project

Ridgeley Farmhouse, Ley Hill

Construction of family home, completed in 58 weeks. 

David Noonan is drawn by exceptional projects and technical challenges, and this scheme certainly ticked those boxes. It involved the construction from scratch of a home in two linked sections – one a traditional single-storey farmhouse, and the other a double-storey contemporary build. It incorporated beneficial solar gain, air-source heat pumps, minimal thermal bridging and rainwater harvesting. 

The most striking element of the design was external shadow-gap larch cladding that completely envelops the contemporary block. The boards run vertically up one elevation, then follow a straight line over the roof and down the other elevation in a seemingly seamless connection. This most eye-catching of features was also the most exacting element of the build. 

David used a secret-fix clip system to secure the perfectly uniform boards to painstakingly installed counterbattens. However, he then found that the boards would not stay in a straight line at the top as there was no fixing point beyond the counterbatten underneath the gutter. 

His elegant and practical solution was to install a slim piece of angled aluminium trim that is invisible from the ground but keeps the boards ruler-straight all around the building. Simple but effective, it was all part of a quality-focused approach that greatly impressed the client and the architect.