A-Frame House Plans

For a list of trusted home plan firms specializing in A-Frame designs, please visit the A-Frame Home Plans Directory.

"A-Frame" refers to the shape of the roof of these smaller sized homes. The triangle shaped roof of these homes generally extends from the peak of the roof to the bottom of the exterior walls, which gives it an unusual look and feel. This style of design is commonly used in building a cottage or vacation home, but are still a new unique style that is constantly getting more attention with home building firms.

We are working on adding new a-frame home plan firms to our list. If you know any good sites, please email us, and we will add them to this page.

You also can find various house plan books in our library

Also please check out our featured firms below.

A-Frame design tips

My wife and I purchased a 3000+ sq ft A frame home. We both love it very much, with one exception. Temp control. The house is 3 levels. Walkout basement, 1st floor,2nd floor. The master bedroom and den cover the 2nd floor. The floor plan is simple, everything is wide open. With the exception of the basement we have no rooms. My main problem is keeping the master bedroom cool in the summer and keeping the basement warm in the winter. With the open floor plan I only have duct work at 1 end of the house for the master bedroom. I have just put 1 ceiling fan up and plan for a 2nd because it has helped. However I am not sure that is going to be enough. With outside temps over 100 degrees I need ideas on keeping it cool.

- Jamie

We purchased an a-frame house 3 years ago and had the problem of keeping the house all warm or cool at the same time. With a finished basement, and open 1st floor with a wall of glass facing the lake, and a loft bedroom, we had problems with extreme heat in the summer on the 1st and loft level and coolness in the basement in the winter. We solved the problem by doing several things. First, we had the windows tinted by Glare Control of Lexington, Ky which reduced the heat on the 1st floor and loft by over 70%. This also reduced the glare on the TV in the great room. Second, we put ceiling fans in the main room and loft to direct the heat either down or up in the summer or winter. Third, when the house was extremely cold or hot on one floor and the opposite in the basement, we turned off the heat or air and turned on the fan to move the air around on the house. Fourth, we put a door at the top of the basement stairs to keep the heat in the basement. Hope these ideas help you.

- Sara I Shy

We are currently looking for any design tips or experiences with selection/construction of a-frame floorplans. Have you built an a-frame home using a floorplan? What did you learn? What would you do again? What would you do differently? Was it big enough, under budget, etc. Helps us make this a great resource for others. All contributors receive a limited edition HomePlanInfo T-shirt.

Please email your suggestions or comments to editor@homeplaninfo.com