Replies

1. 
   DougU | Oct 20, 2007 02:25am | #1

   You have any pictures of your place? Try posting some and you might get some good responses based on your needs.

   Also, welcome to BT.

   Doug

1. 
   shelbyforeman | Oct 22, 2007 07:18pm | #5

   Thanks for your response. I am going to attempt to attach some pictures. It is a 3 story A-frame with a one car (one-story) garage and carport attached on the north roof side. We want to move interior stairs from 1st to 2nd floor away from the middle of first floor so we can increase the size of our kitchen. Our idea is to change the garage into an entrance area and put stairs there with cathedral ceiling or however possible. Anybody interested?

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 22, 2007 11:39pm | #6

   It looks like you have something to work with there anyways. Some A-frames are pretty awful DIY creations.
   Yours would look much better with a pitched roof tying into it for an addition room over the garage and carport.Whatever you do - work around your beams. Severing one of them without some expensive engineering could be a beeeeg mistake!Another possibility instead of moving stairs to make kitchen bigger would be to move the kitchen to this new location over the garage. Without a floor plan I have no way of knowing if this is a good or bad thing, but I know many A-frmaes are located in vacation resort kinds of locations wheere there are nice views, but one drawback to A-frames is that they limits views. That space over garage is large enough for kitchen AND some ding with windows or even a partial outdoor setting 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   Piffin | Oct 20, 2007 04:05am | #2

   There are A-frames and then there are A-frames.
   Say more about what yopu have now and what goals you are trying to satisfy.

   One floor, two floors, three???

   What size beams?

   Etc

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Sphere | Oct 21, 2007 12:17am | #3

   First date and you ask about beam size, I am ashamed of you.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 21, 2007 08:15pm | #4

   You floor me 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   CapnMac | Oct 23, 2007 12:29am | #7

   Piffin is leading for true and for sure.

   Every A-frame I've either started on, has had the limitation that anything "bumping" out of the plan, tends to be limited by the existing width--or else cope with a very-inconvenient roof/pitch change.  (And there are few 'warty' looking things like a "conventional" add-on abutting an A-frame--even worse with "stock cape/colonial details, too . . . )

   First task I'd set you to, would be a detailed set of measurements.  The more detail, the better, too.  Personally, I like having all four walls, as that really helps a person work out where the out-of-square is (and A's are more than passing bad for it).  Why go to the effort?  Well, sometimes it can get you "ahead" farther in the game.  Much better to work out that the rafter-studs are 2x8 and not 2x12 or some other dimension.  Good set of dimensions almost always has a good use down the road, too.  Number of squares on the "roof"; pitches, outlets, circuits--whatever you document finds a use, eventually.

   But, that's me, too; a nortorious documenter.

   Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
1. 
   Piffin | Oct 23, 2007 12:43am | #8

   As I hit post I was thinking I should have mentioned how hard it is to do kitchens with wall cabs in an A-frame. That makes it a good reason for moving to the add-on with the kitchen all by itself 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   CapnMac | Oct 23, 2007 01:05am | #9

   I should have mentioned how hard it is to do kitchens with wall cabs in an A-frame

   Strooth.  You're stuck with either a shed dormer of some sort for the uppers, or a honking deep "knee" wall.

   The design issue I started on, then deleted for brevity, is that if you "cross" the axis on an A, the "easy way" is to use the same pitch.  But, then you start "violating" the golden section proportions and afterwards no one can tell you why they don't like it, but they all do.

   (and I know of an A out in our local sticks that has a mail-order-plan addition on it--got to love those 4" overhang 9/12 roofs butting into that 28/12 A . . . "ugly" too kind, fubar-ugly might be closest--at least it's about 20 min drive from the nearest public road . . . )Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)