Penny Lewin of Hills, British Columbia, however, never thought she would live in an A-frame. That was until the day she and husband Frank were cruising the north Slocan Valley, in BC’s Kootenays, on a day-trip from Nelson where they were enjoying a four-month house exchange in 1989.

The couple spotted the A-frame nestled in the woods and saw its potential, but dismissed it, figuring it was just too much work. However, they liked the general neighbourhood and the proximity to Slocan Lake so they subsequently purchased a property in the area. Their next step was to return to their native Toronto, sell all their belongings and move west. However, the charming chalet-like A-frame she had first seen — and the feeling it evoked — kept pulling at Penny. So in 1995 the couple sold their Kootenay home, purchased the nine-acre property and took their first steps down renovation road.

Getting From B to A

First, they stripped the interior back to bare rafters and removed the upstairs wall. Then they huddled around the wood heater burning scrap wood in the uninsulated frame during part of their first winter prior to returning to Ontario to work — a pattern that continued for the next nine years.

While the home had appeared sound, the basic 16-by-32-foot A-frame was constructed of two-by-fours of miscellaneous and questionable grades of wood. The house had a seedy past, being a biker house and a one-time marijuana grow-op. But the couple shared a vision of how cute it could be. Good thing, as the dark tunnel-like interior and ’50s-era shag carpet held little appeal. The dropped ceiling and the tongue-and-groove squared-off walls combined to create this tunnel effect. Two bare ceiling bulbs and two small windows on each end provided the only light. In addition to facing massive renovations, the Lewins removed two tractor-trailer loads of crushed cars from the property and burned trash for weeks before they could appreciate the potential of their rural acreage.

With the discovery of sagging ceiling beams, the project got worse before it got better — but fortunately Frank was a contractor and had the skills to handle the tasks, plus the local community stepped in on more than one occasion to help out the couple living in the midst of a completely gutted home.

“If I had known what was in store for us — the neighbours must have thought, ‘who are these crazy people?’” says Penny. In reality the neighbours were thrilled that some good people were cleaning up the eyesore.

Renovations All-Round

To jump-start the initial stage of the project, the Lewins sold a half-acre portion of their property on the other side of the highway for $18,000. With that they finished the first little dormer bump-out addition on the north side of the A-frame and installed sliding glass doors, which brought in a lot of natural light.

The entry doors had been placed in the centre of the A, which worked aesthetically from the outside but created a traffic flow and furniture arranging challenge inside. A new door was hung close to the perimeter of the building and a large picture window was installed in the centre. In any A-frame, the dead space at the bottom of the A permits a great deal of closet and storage space, something the Lewins used to good advantage especially with their laundry facilities, which are tucked under double-width bifold closets in the living area.

The slanted walls of the A-frame were a decorating challenge and Penny— originally from the Onondaga tribe of Ontario’s Six Nations — struggled to find a spot to display a beautiful piece of beadwork completed by her grandmother. The addition of the new dormers helped a bit.

With Frank’s untimely death in 1999, Penny continued the project on her own, with the occasional help of neighbours. Then came another reality check: faced with installation of a new septic system Penny pondered whether to tear down the A-frame and build a smaller structure up in the woods farther away from the highway.

But her earlier vision prevailed, and along with the new septic system, new plumbing and fixtures were installed. This latter step improved the quality of the well water as a bonus. The electrical service was also brought up to code and R20 insulation was used throughout the building along with soundproofing in the bathroom.’

The now luxurious-feeling bathroom with the rich burgundy walls has a large corner Jacuzzi tub, a single pedestal sink and plenty of room for visiting family to rub elbows while brushing their teeth, a major change. Until the bathroom was complete, Penny says, “I spent a lot of time at the beach that summer — that’s where I bathed.” She used an outhouse up in the woods and had a makeshift kitchen on the front porch with a camp stove, microwave and coffee maker. Towards the end of the first summer after Frank’s death, Ray Nikkel, a local landscape designer, installed a shrub and perennial garden that gave the A-frame an established look as well making an attractive, welcoming entrance.

At Christmas that year, following the community choir concert — Penny is a longtime member of the Valhalla Community Choir — she left for work in Toronto but was back by April to work on her home. Immediately upon her return, Penny hired a local contractor, Al MacDonald. A skilled craftsman, MacDonald built a set of classic stairs and finished the upstairs interior walls and floors to create the good-sized master bedroom and guest room with ample closet and storage space.

Over the subsequent winter MacDonald refurbished the kitchen, installing new counters, prefab cupboards and fir and larch floors throughout the main floor. The flooring came from a local mill and beautifully finished by Jeremy Tickner.’

The final act was to install the new wood stove and tile hearth. Penny selected a Pacific Energy glass-doored heater from Kootenay Woodstove. This combination of stove and hearth allowed her to place the heater four inches from the wall, a significant space savings.

Still hungry for light though, this summer Penny expanded the first dormer bump- out she and Frank had originally built and installed a 64-inch square picture window. This decision effectively added about 18 square feet of useful floor space to the living area. Her son expanded the existing exterior deck to create a comfortable front entrance and another outdoor entertainment spot.

The final decor touches of pot ceiling lights, on dimmer switches, in the living room and grass blinds are both effective and energy-efficient choices where space is precious.

As with most building projects: “They’re never done,” says Penny. But for her the end is in sight. “I’m ecstatic. I love it; it’s light, and it’s pretty and comfortable as well as easy to look after. And it’s not crowded even with seven family members visiting.”