OT: Anyone live in an A-frame house?

[veggieburger]

I have always been intrigued by A-frame homes. Friends of ours have an A-frame cabin up north, and while I love going there, I'm not sure what it would be like to live in one all the time. Great for snow, wind and harsh weather (I have heard), but tough to utilize all that angled space. I believe they used to be cold, but spray foam insulation has remedied much of that.

Any real world experience?

https://clickamericana.com/wp-content/uploads/Vintage-double-deck-A-Frame-vacation-home-two-stories-from-the-60s-750x565.jpg

[bicycletricycle]

my grandparents had a cabin i stayed in a lot. I love everything about it. I really liked sleeping in the loft.

[veggieburger]

my grandparents had a cabin i stayed in a lot. I love everything about it. I really liked sleeping in the loft.

After university I also lived in an A-frame home, but only for a couple of months. The bed was wedged in the corner, with the steep pitched roof slanting above me. LOVED it. So cozy.

[donevwil]

Spent many a Swiss vacation in one owned by some close family friends. Initially I thought the necessary interior layout was awkward, but it all proved extremely functional and definitely grew on me. Easy to clean and maintain relative to a traditional house I was told. Still remember waking up, taking a quick sauna followed by a run through the snow to jump in an ice cold lake.

[Slmo]

I grew up in an A-frame. The front of the house was mostly glass, so it felt very open to the outdoors. This created a nice feel, but it wasn't the most practical. There was a lot of space that was difficult to make good use of.

[d_douglas]

I grew up in an A-frame. The front of the house was mostly glass, so it felt very open to the outdoors. This created a nice feel, but it wasn't the most practical. There was a lot of space that was difficult to make good use of.

From an architectural perspective, an emotional attachment to a building typology is often as strong as any practical validation - the heart loves what it loves. The A Frame has a vernacular that has been used throughout the world because it is cost effective, simple and creates intimate space, but the reality is that the spaces are often not very functional and people struggle to standardize space with vertical walls so they can store things, create sleeping areas etc. Those things all eat into the cool A-frameness of an A-frame, thereby making me wonder if there's a point?

I too think they're cool in many ways, but from a practical perspective, I wouldn't design one with the form being the primary driver.

signed,

Bjark Ingels :banana:

[BobO]

A frames, particularly loft style ones, can be difficult to heat. Heat rises so the peak and loft can get quite warm while the living space below, with all that glass, can be somewhat colder. This is why the wood stove is in that space, to take advantage of the direct radiant heating.

Another issue in snow country is that the snow comes off so efficiency that piles up on the sides. If ventilation and waterproofing hasn't been properly handled they can be a problem.

Structurally they are very simple and for that reason can be inexpensive, or relatively so.

Many people love these homes. They can be quite cozy while at the same time have impressive volume. And, as noted above, they really bring the feel out the outdoors in.

[chiasticon]

need to talk to Paceliner adampaiva: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2564725&postcount=20

https://live.staticflickr.com/4840/44338178260_d76e4a3676_c.jpg

[DrewK]

Drool...

[JSL]

I've lived in one for 10 years and most of the advice here is very accurate. Mine happens to be very energy efficient, but that's just due to the original construction.

The biggest challenge is the interior layout. You're in trouble if you read a lot and need shelving. As others mentioned, room layout can be a bit limiting.

Were I to do it again, I'd choose a more traditional home as a primary residence, but this one has served us well.

[SlowPokePete]

Some interior shots would be nice...

SPP

[Hilltopperny]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191122/51ef16137d77a46e3ec0bbe8d689d680.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191122/f3b03b966dda556a4a9f76d854247acc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191122/fa71d6292c3eee78502f6c3c0a529c05.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191122/4cf664f413c95fa30565eeb0f74ff823.jpg

My log cabin in the Adirondack Park. It insulates better than my regular home and is heated with a gravity fed pellet stove, wood stove and a small baseboard heater in the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. The upstairs bedroom and loft are always toasty warm. It is also around 1700sq ft of space.

It is on a slab so if there is too much snow build up without removal it can be a problem if the ground is still frozen while the snow is melting as the water won’t have anywhere to go. Aside from that it is relatively low maintenance.


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[NHAero]

Slight thread drift here - please do tell us about the gravity fed (no electricity required?) pellet stove!

[Hilltopperny]

Slight thread drift here - please do tell us about the gravity fed (no electricity required?) pellet stove!



Essentially the hopper feeds the pellets and as they burn in the chamber it drops more down requiring no moving parts or electricity. Super efficient and power outage proof!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[adampaiva]

need to talk to Paceliner adampaiva: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2564725&postcount=20

https://live.staticflickr.com/4840/44338178260_d76e4a3676_c.jpg

Ha.
Saw the thread topic and came in here to post just that. This is my A-frame cabin in the Catskills in upstate NY. I LIVE in Brooklyn, so this is just a weekend place for me so that makes it much more forgiving for many of the peculiarities of an A-frame. Mine is small, about 600 sq ft in plan plus a half floor sleeping loft. Yes there is unusable space and yes it can be challenging to lay things out perfectly. Is it worth it? For me absolutely yes.
Mine was a hunting cabin built late 70s, I bought it after it sat vacant for five years and it was in habitable but pretty rough condition. I've been slowly modernizing it over the last 3.5 years. The exterior, aside from the new roof,will get new siding next year. I've replaced and added all the windows and a new glass door. Redid 75% of the interior but still lots to do and loose ends to tackle inside. Here's some interiors, before and afters, and progress photos.

https://live.staticflickr.com/543/18176240500_e6490d3d79_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7900/47461087261_1cc620e20f_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7737/18177812569_bfa404c3b3_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7869/47461086731_0d70b7f3c1_c.jpg

[adampaiva]

https://live.staticflickr.com/7648/16910234451_f745212287_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7579/16312572485_b8d7ae5a8c_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/5638/23531308419_c08e8787e2_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/5648/20666097143_328c21934c_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/5715/21099329018_1f0caec67d_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7554/29489384915_8bcf1a51c8_c.jpg

[adampaiva]

and a large part of why I love this place so much despite the intricacies of A-frame architecture is the emotional connection. Not just the cozy cabin feeling for me but my father built an A-frame in rural Paraguay where we're from back in the 80s when our family started. We moved to the US when I was 4 but I've had an affinity and attraction to A-frames ever since. Finally got mine and it has been a ton of fun (most of the time!) working on this with my dad.
Here's the original.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1110/1176000649_6bce607902_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/8568/16613193011_52c4bbd191_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/8674/16427141638_95350b8def_c.jpg


Anyways, feel free to ask any questions!

[zambenini]

That is cool!

Do you have to have honest carpentry skills to build one would ya say? Or is it something an enterprising avg. Joe can hack?

Also, I'm curious what build/sq.ft costs are like compared with other types of structures.

TIA,
JOhn Z.

[adampaiva]

I think they are probably more DIY buildable than other structures but you would definitely still need carpentry skills. Luckily my father is a carpenter, and I work in the architecture/design industry. But if you're reasonably handy and willing to learn, I think you can definitely do it.
I watched this video recently of a couple building theirs from scratch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9md3fIfMWiQ

[zambenini]

Great video - I had to laugh out loud when I saw it, though; I'm 50% sure that that's a friend of a friend. I am trying to remember who I know that went and visited them. Could be someone else. They aren't the only homesteaders, I'm sure, but the location, the number of acres, the number of people living in a trailer while they built it....well, sounds like the friend of my friend (that I can't remember which one).

[William]

Growing up my grandparents on both sides of the family owned A-frames. One in the Packwood area near Mt. Rainier, and the other on the coast looking out over the Pacific ocean. Many fond memories of staying at both of them, and we are seriously thinking of one in our near future. Just something about them that warms the heart.







W.

[veggieburger]

ADAM - this is amazing!!!! Do you live in it full time, or is this just a cabin for holidays?

[benb]

"Lots of Space that's difficult to make use of."

Those loft ceilings are screaming out to have a rock climbing wall made on them and maybe a trainer pain cave.

I'm not actually sure you can safely put rock climbing holds on an angled ceiling like that though.. Most of the angled walls like that get built with an opposing triangle behind the wall.

[adampaiva]

ADAM - this is amazing!!!! Do you live in it full time, or is this just a cabin for holidays?

@Veggieburger Thanks! I do not live in the a-frame full time. I live in NYC and this is 2 hours north in the Catskills so I'm there on weekends and holidays.

[fiamme red]

Paceliner adampaiva was mentioned in a New York Post article yesterday about the renovation of A-frame houses.

For Adam Paiva, who says he’s “always been obsessed with A-frames,” that accessibility was part of the appeal. He purchased a dilapidated A-frame home in the Catskills hamlet of Greenfield Park, NY, in 2015, and has spent the past five years fixing it up with help from his father...More here: https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/a-frame-houses-see-a-massive-surge-in-popularity/.

[XXtwindad]

and a large part of why I love this place so much despite the intricacies of A-frame architecture is the emotional connection. Not just the cozy cabin feeling for me but my father built an A-frame in rural Paraguay where we're from back in the 80s when our family started. We moved to the US when I was 4 but I've had an affinity and attraction to A-frames ever since. Finally got mine and it has been a ton of fun (most of the time!) working on this with my dad.
Here's the original.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1110/1176000649_6bce607902_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/8568/16613193011_52c4bbd191_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/8674/16427141638_95350b8def_c.jpg


Anyways, feel free to ask any questions!

The emotional connection is what makes this so cool. The whole story makes you feel like having a hot cup of coffee.

[dave thompson]

The first house I ever owned was this A-frame in Honolulu. As mentioned the floor plans are a little inflexible but boy A-frames have personality. I sold this house nearly 50 years ago but I remember its details like it was yesterday.

The house was in a valley overlooking the ocean with a pretty consistent ocean breeze. If the interior was getting warm the windows would be opened, if it was too cool the windows would be closed. There was no interior insulation.

[veggieburger]

That is gorgeous.

[William]

Recently came across this video, nice design and just about the right size imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shI1jQRhWDk






W.

[tiretrax]

This off the grid builder started with an A-frame - takes a while to get there.

Growing up in New England and learning to ski in Vermont, I thought everyone's ski house was an A frame.

[Dino Suegiù]

Unless the extreme snow-shedding capability of an A-frame is definitely required and/or the dramatic silhouette desired, Quonset cabins/homes offer a very cost-effective, efficient, and practical alternative per livable sf.

[tctyres]

Unless the extreme snow-shedding capability of an A-frame is definitely required and/or the dramatic silhouette desired, Quonset cabins/homes offer a very cost-effective, efficient, and practical alternative per livable sf.

I had to look these up: https://thenateshow.com/quonset-hut-homes/