How to Build an A-Frame House

Whether you’re looking to build a rustic retreat or the off-grid home you’ve long dreamed about, the A-frame cabin offers a simple, incredibly sturdy and comparatively low-cost option.

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by Adobestock/Krisda

Learn how to build an a frame house (complete with a cozy sleeping loft) in this illustrated, step-by-step guide.

One of the sturdiest of all structures is the A-frame, whose skeleton consists simply of a row of triangles. The bases of the triangles are the joists that support the floor, and the sides are the rafters that hold the combined walls and roof. The simplicity of construction and comparatively low cost make it a popular choice for vacation cabins or an off-grid home. Any style of foundation can serve as its base.

Planning Your A-Frame House

The most common shape is equilateral — joists and rafters are equal in length and set at angles of 60 degrees to each other. You can use different angles to modify the shape, however (see “Common Floor-to-Rafter Angles,” below). An A-frame can be built to almost any size simply by varying the number of triangles and their dimensions, but a cabin with a sleeping loft must have rafters at least 20 feet long to allow adequate headroom on both floors. For a small structure like the one described here, three people can lift the assembled triangles into place without the assistance of special equipment. A structure with rafters greater than 24 feet may prove too unwieldy for a crew of amateurs. Frame doors and windows in the end walls. For a large A-frame, plan a lot of windows to keep the interior from being too dark.

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