House Plan Collection · 3 Plans
Dogtrot House Plans
Open central passage, two wings that breathe independently, deep rooflines drawn for Southern summers. The dogtrot drawn the way the form was built for 200 years — not a modern floor plan with a decorative breezeway taped on. Three plans in the catalog. Designed by the Fulbright family, 35 years of building, drafted in West Georgia.
3Plans Available
35 yrDesign + Build
$1,495From (PDF Set)
50States Served
Plans worth building.
Designed in-house · Not licensed from third parties
The old Southern form, drawn for how we live now.
The dogtrot — two wings joined by an open breezeway — was cooling Southern houses 200 years before anyone ran a duct. Max Sr. has spent 35 years drawing the form for families who want one wing for the kids and one wing for the grandparents, with a shaded outdoor room in between.
Buy a plan and the designer is on the phone when your builder asks how to frame the breezeway ceiling or whether the roof can flow through cleanly. We’ve been asked most of these questions more than once.
— Max Fulbright Sr.
Lead Designer + Builder · West Georgia
Narrow the search
Refined collections within DogtrotBuyer’s Guide · 3-minute read
Before you buy a dogtrot plan,
check these three things.
i
Decide if the breezeway stays open
A true dogtrot has an open central passage — two walls, a roof, and weather passing through. It cools the house in summer and separates the wings acoustically. An enclosed breezeway conditions nicely but loses the point. If you’re building in Georgia, Alabama, or the Southeast, leave it open. In the mountains or a cold climate, consider glazing it.
ii
Plan which wing gets what
The classic split: public wing (kitchen, great room, primary suite) on one side, private wing (guest rooms, bunk, office, bonus) on the other. Grandkids on one side, grandparents on the other, the breezeway between them — that’s the whole point of the form. Don’t split it arbitrarily.
iii
Budget for two foundations and two roofs
A dogtrot costs a little more per square foot than a single-mass house the same size because you’re building two connected structures. The payoff is the breezeway itself — an outdoor room you’ll use 8 months of the year. Ask your builder to price it out before you commit.
Frequently asked · Before you buy
Questions we get every week.
What is a dogtrot house plan?
A dogtrot is a Southern house form built as two separate structures connected by an open, covered central passage — the “dogtrot.” One wing typically holds public space (kitchen, great room, primary); the other holds private or guest space. The breezeway cools the house in summer and gives the family an outdoor room they use all day.
The form dates back 200 years in the rural South and still works in the same climate today.
Should the breezeway stay open or be enclosed?
In the Southeast, leave it open — that’s the whole point. An open breezeway moves air, separates the wings acoustically, and gives you a shaded outdoor room. If you’re building in the mountains or a cold climate, glazing it is reasonable, but you’ll lose the form’s defining feature.
Does a dogtrot cost more to build than a regular house?
A little. You’re building two connected structures instead of one, which adds foundation perimeter and roof area. The trade is an outdoor room that gets used 8 months a year, and a natural split between public and private space that single-mass houses can’t match. Most clients decide it’s worth it.
How many bedrooms can a dogtrot plan have?
Typically 3–5, depending on which wing holds the bedrooms. The classic layout is primary suite in the public wing and 2–3 guest rooms in the private wing. We can modify wing sizes if your program is unusual — call (770) 301-4214.
Considering a dogtrot