What makes it architecturally curious is the way it combines two different roofing solutions in a single structure: the left side is hipped, meaning the roof slopes inward on all sides with no vertical end wall, while the right side is gable-ended, finishing instead in a plain triangular wall. This kind of hybrid roofline is not unheard of in Irish vernacular building, but it is unusual enough to suggest the house was extended or adapted at some point, with the two sections built or finished at different times or by hands working from different traditions.

The front presents four bays, a term referring simply to the vertical divisions of a facade, usually marked by windows or doors. The door sits off-centre to the left rather than at the middle of the building, which was common in rural Irish houses where interior layout, hearth placement, and the division between living and agricultural space often mattered more than outward symmetry. The chimney, similarly, sits off-centre to the right, rising from the gable end and marking the location of the hearth within. Taken together, the asymmetries of door and chimney tell something about how the interior is organised, even without stepping inside. The roof is thatched, a material that once covered the vast majority of rural Irish houses but has become increasingly rare as slate and tile replaced it through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Surviving thatched vernacular houses, particularly those that retain their original irregular planning logic, are now relatively uncommon in the Cork landscape.