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Thermo-Ayous Vertical Shadow Gap Cladding (DTC15): Affordable Homes for Hudswell Community Charity

3 min read

Two-toned wooden building with vertical tan siding, a small window, and a covered entry. Potted plants line a stone-paved patio beside a wooden fence and green lawn.

Duffield Timber supplied uncoated Thermo-Ayous cladding in our vertical shadow gap profile (DTC15), 18 x 144mm with a 128mm cover, for Plews Cottages: three affordable timber-frame homes built for Hudswell Community Charity in North Yorkshire.

Hudswell Community Charity was established in the 17th century to support the village of Hudswell, near Richmond in North Yorkshire, just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It owns homes and lets them to people with local connections who would otherwise struggle to afford to live in the village.

Modern wooden building with vertical tan panels and dark trim under a clear blue sky.
Plews Cottages, Hudswell: vertical Thermo-Ayous cladding with dark trim

Its latest project, Plews Cottages, added three new homes, bringing the charity’s total to nine. They were built by local builder Rob Petch with help from local tradespeople and village volunteers. The homes use prefabricated timber frames, high levels of insulation, infrared heating, solar power and battery storage, and are designed to be accessible for people with disabilities.

Duffield Timber supplied the Thermo-Ayous cladding for all three homes, selected with Annie Sumner of the charity for its contemporary look.

Row of modern brown wooden houses with vertical cladding, black-framed window, open doorway, stone patio, green lawn, and blue sky.
Row of three affordable timber-frame homes clad in Thermo-Ayous, Hudswell

The boards were machined to our vertical shadow gap secret nail profile (DTC15) at 18 x 144mm with a 128mm cover. Fitted vertically, each board leaves a 10mm square gap beside the next. The gaps cast shadow lines whose depth and angle shift with the sun through the day.

Brown wooden-clad building with vertical panels, two small windows, sun glare, and a wooden gate on a stone patio overlooking rolling countryside.
Thermo-Ayous clad home overlooking the countryside near the Yorkshire Dales
Tan vertical wooden siding on a modern building, with a gray-framed window on the left and an open doorway on the right, a stone path and small garden beyond.
Close-up of vertical Thermo-Ayous shadow gap cladding beside a window and doorway

Thermo-Ayous is ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon), a West and Central African hardwood, thermally modified with heat in a controlled atmosphere and no chemicals. The modification raises it to Durability Class 1 and improves its dimensional stability.

Across a row of three homes, consistency matters. Thermo-Ayous is a clear-grade board with minimal knots, so the façades read evenly from one home to the next, and stable boards help keep the 10mm gaps uniform.

Row of light-brown wooden houses with black trim and glass doors along a paved walkway under a blue sky with clouds.
Thermo-Ayous clad homes with glazed doors along a paved path, Hudswell
Modern wooden building with vertical tan cladding, flat roofs, glass doors, a mailbox, and a cabinet-like outdoor unit; blue sky above.
Flat-roofed home clad in vertical Thermo-Ayous DTC15 cladding with glazed doors

The cladding was supplied uncoated. It starts a light-to-medium brown and, with sun exposure, will weather to an even silver to light grey. That silvering is a natural change at the surface of the timber, not a sign of decay. Read more about how timber cladding weathers.

Sunny rural landscape with a harvested field in the foreground, hedgerows and a large tree in the mid-distance, rolling countryside under a blue sky with clouds.
Countryside view from Plews Cottages, Hudswell, North Yorkshire

The local MP, Rishi Sunak, visited the homes in February 2025 and described the quality and sustainability of the three units as “very impressive” (read the article).

For the same Thermo-Ayous DTC15 profile used on soffits and a porch ceiling, see our contemporary home by Level Up Developments. For another North Yorkshire project in vertical shadow gap cladding, see our barn conversion.

Planning a housing project of your own? Explore our cladding range, or get in touch with our team.

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