Build This DIY A-Frame Cabin in Two Weekends for Just $2,500

Author

Ellen Eberhardt

Photographer

Jeff Waldman aka Elevated Spaces

Build This DIY A-Frame Cabin in Two Weekends for Just $2,500

These comprehensive cabin plans feature everything you need to buy to build your very own A-Frame micro cabin, from Elevated Spaces

Published: 02-03-2022

Updated: 07-05-2023

About the author

Ellen Eberhardt

Ellen is an New York City-based writer, designer, former architectural worker bee, and current reporter for Dezeen.

Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer of cabin studio Elevated Spaces are again building woodland cabins, with the latest being a particularly dreamy A-frame micro cabin with a translucent roof. After wrapping R&R on the design at their Santa Cruz adjacent property, the two are now releasing its corresponding plans package to inspire fellow DIY cabin dreamers.

Designed specifically for novice builders interested in diving into cabin creation, the DIY plans (available now for just $60) cover all materials needed to bring the project to life—from nails and plywood to roofing and even the front door—for an estimated cost of just $2,500. Amazingly, this puppy is affordable.

The Elevated Spaces team is best known for their celebrated Redwood Cabin that sadly burned down in California's 2020 wildfires, as well as their other hand-built projects like outhouses, decks, tree forts, and more. They also have an active Instagram presence, where they share honest anecdotes about their building process, which often includes a crowd of acquaintances and friends. The construction of their newest A-frame continues a slow return to building on their property, and lucky for us, we can join in by building our own.

With a footprint of just under 120 square feet, the tiny A-frame house is just big enough to act as a backyard office, peaceful retreat, kid's playhouse, or glamping hut. Not only does the small stature cut down on costs, it also means there's no need for the builder to obtain a permit—at least in most jurisdictions.

As the DIY cabin plans are meant to be nearly foolproof, the design makes use of full sheets of plywood, and no roof panels need to be cut for ease of building. And while Waldman and crew may have built their A-frame in the trees, plans include how to build on a variety of foundations.

As designed, the A-frame is fully off-grid and uninsulated, although it can be wired and weatherized fairly easily to add conduit and outlets and four-season comfort if preferred.

A-Frame-California-Elevated-Spaces-Ceiling

The DIY cabin kit includes 3D digital plans, blueprints, a materials list with links to products, over 400 photos and videos depicting the build process, and 40 pages of instructions. All this help means the A-frame can be built in just two-weekends-the perfect project to get your cabin-building career started.

And if that wasn't enough resources, Jeff himself recently published Tools: The Ultimate Guide, an exhaustive catalog of more than 500 tools, their uses, histories, and how to care for them, available for preorder now. Happy building!

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