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An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized materials laid up against one another, and attached at the top in a convenient fashion. These materials are often wooden or steel beams arranged in a 45-degree or greater angle. These materials are then lashed together with rope, or secured in another fashion such as welding, gluing, or riveting.
| Due to having only two "legs", A-frames are usually set up in rows so that they can have good stability. A saw horse is a good example of this structure. More complex structures will have a crossmember connecting the two materials in the middle to prevent the legs from bowing outwards under load, giving the structure the appearance of the capital letter A. |
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A-frame house
An A-frame is a simple structure usually built by putting two walls/roofs together at an angle to form a building akin to the letter "A". If large enough to have two stories, the second level floor is equivalent to the horizontal line in the letter 'A'. A-frames are popular as simple to build structures, and avoid the necessity of complicated roofs, roof joints, and draining/load mechanisms as anything falling on the roof will simply slide off the heavy angle. They are not space-efficient; elementary geometry implies that the upper floor will always be much smaller than the ground floor. A-frames are common in areas of extremely heavy snow. |
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