The Floor Plan:
Imagine if you will, having a house and cutting into it horizontally with a knife. Once this is done, you are able to see the interior rooms or layout of the home. That's what the floor plan is. On a floor plan you have strings of dimensions that define the locations of the porches, decks, walls, windows, doors, etc. You will also have door and window sizes, floor coverings, ceiling heights and types, water heater, washer and dryer locations listed. Almost always included on the floor plan is a kitchen layout showing cabinet sizes and location. Bathrooms cabinets should be defined there too.
The Foundation or Basement Plan:
Same as the floor plan this is a view that is made by the same type of cut. Here you will find wall sizes and types, floor support posts or piers, floor support types such as trusses or joists, slab thickness, footing sizes, and wall openings that should all be defined by dimensions.
Electrical Plan:
Many designers and drafters include the electrical plan on the floor plan and some don't. What you will find on this plan is outlet locations, light fixture types and locations, smoke detectors, door bell, meter base and circuit panel.
Exterior Elevations:
These are the views of the house from the front, left, rear, right, and roof. This drawing usually defines exterior finishes, shutters, pediments, trim types, roof shingle materials, grade levels (where the exterior ground level meets the house), railing types and locations, etc. It should also include roof pitches which is defined by 12 inches horizontal X however many inches vertical to define the angle of the roof.
Sectional Details:
This drawing is also a knife cut illustration only on a vertical plane which shows things like insulation “R” factors, stud and header sizes, floor truss or joist sizes and spacing, floor and roof decking sizes, etc.
HVAC and Plumbing Plans:
These show the duct work and pipe locations along with pipe size for hot and cold water, and the fixtures and fitting types.
Tim Davis is an Architectural Designer with over 20 years experience in his field. He teaches Architectural Blueprint Reading classes at http://blueprints.8m.com and Architectural Drafting at http://houseplandrafting101.com
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( 2.9 / 186 )Many house plans are drawn today where the drafter or designer is a long distance away. Most often it's because the process is being handled over the internet. If this be the case and you are having your house remodeled long distance, here are a few things that will get the ball rolling for you.
You will need to have the following:
a. Tape measure. 25' would be the best choice.
b. A pad of grid paper. 8 1/2" x 11" minimum.
c. A pencil.
d. A Digital Camera.
Step #1. They will need to know how the home is laid out. Go to each room of the house and measure the depth and width. Draw the rooms on the grid paper using the grid squares as a guide. If you are using small paper (8 1/2" x 11"), each grid will equal one foot (12"). Show the door openings and windows on the grid paper relative to their position in the room. If you draw in a door, place the width inside the opening. If it's a window, place the width then height (w x h) near the window. Where ever possible, photograph special items in the house that are hard to sketch. You will probably need to sketch the Kitchen and Bathroom in the same manner including the cabinets.
Step #2. Go to the exterior of the home and photograph the following views.
a. Front
b. Front Right Corner
c. Right Side
d. Right Rear Corner
e. Rear Side
f. Rear Right Corner
g. Left Side
h. Left Right Corner
i. Photo any special exterior item that is hard to sketch. Try your best to photo as much of the roof as possible.
Step #3. If your home is built on a foundation or basement it would be good to know what type of floor system you have. Take pictures of underneath the floor of your floor joists or trusses. Then measure the depth and spacing for me. If your house is on a slab, you can skip this step.
Step #4. Many municipalities require a site plan even with a remodeling. If this be the case you will need to get a copy of a surveyors plat or tax map showing the general location of your home on the property. It would be nice to know driveway and sidewalk sizes and locations too. Also the locations of any trees you are wanting to save or remove as a result of the remodeling.
Step #5. On a separate sheet of grid paper, sketch out what additions you are wanting to make to the home.
Step #6. Send these to the drafter or designer via mail or email and you have begun the process.
About the Author
Tim Davis is a trained architectural designer who has drawn hundreds of remodeling drawings since the late 1980's. Visit his website at http://customhouseplans.8m.com for more details.
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( 3 / 124 )You are here to get exposure for your site. Right? Well, lets see if I can help you with that.
Step 1
Write an article about the subject of your site or product. Simple, right? Well, it can be simple but the trick to it is that you really don't want to seem like you are making a sales pitch. Surfers are looking for useful content, not spam. So write your article so that your reader is learning something that you are knowledgeable about.
Step 2
Write a good biography that will compel the surfer to click on your link to learn more about your subject. Again, this doesn't need to be all hyped up either. To the contrary, a simple "Hey, this is my site, please scope it out to find out more" with a link will do. This is where the simpler, the better is the rule in my humble opinion.
Step 3
Submit it to every ezine directory you can find. There are some services that will send your article to hundreds of ezine sites for a small amount of cash like Article Trader at http://www.articletrader.com/distribution/?ss=51425.
Step 4
After your article has been submitted to all these sites, do a search for your particular site on Google and Yahoo by placing the article title in quotes like this: "my site article for all to see". Look at all the different sites carrying your article on the first page. These are called the Prime Results. You'll need to place the URL to these results on your page on your site that has the same article. This makes for great backlinking.
Step 5
Write fresh articles often, repeating steps 1, 2, 3, & 4!
Tim Davis is a trained architectural designer and web builder/programmer who has been building Architectural and Christian websites since 1995. He also has several ebooks published, including architectural drafting courses called "House Plan Drafting 101, Learning to Draw House Plans in a No Nonsense Way" that you can find at http://homedesign.8m.com/101ebook
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( 2.9 / 140 )Drawing an architectural set of plans isn't a simple matter when you consider all the elements that make up a set of house plans. What you need to do is first research all the needs of the family, understand the local codes, know what style of house you're wanting, know what sort of foundation is needed, etc...
There are several automated drawing programs on the market that say they will take your data and turn it into a plan. But to be quite honest, the technology hasn't quite been perfected yet to read your mind and put all the elements into place. There has to be an amount of human planning and an algorithm just can't handle that right now.
So what are your options?
1. Hire a Drafter or Designer. This would be the least expensive method short of drawing them yourself. Main reason is they normally give you a flat square foot price.
2. Hire an Architect. If you have the money, spend it. Most of us don't. No, I'm not down on architects. It just seems that most want to tell you what you want instead of being concerned about what you are wanting. If you find an architect who is really wanting to give you your dream instead of his or hers, you've got a winner.
3. Buy a stock plan and have them alter it to suit your needs. Sure, this will work but you can nickel and dime yourself to death in revision costs. Not to mention note and dimension errors that can be overlooked in the changes.
4. Take an online drafting & design course and learn to do it yourself. Hey, there are several architectural drafting and design courses on the net that are affordable. Some that would actually only take up a few weeks of your time and give you the solid education you need to draw your house.
About the Author
Tim Davis is a veteran Architectural Designer who also teaches architecture and drafting over the internet at http://houseplandrafting101.com
His custom home design site is at http://customhouseplans.8m.com
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( 3 / 127 )Great idea, it sure saves money. Also eliminates the middle man. Those architects and designers can get expensive. I've heard that some designers can charge up to ten dollars per square foot for simple drawings containing a floor plan and exterior elevations. Now that is a chunk of change. If you are going to do it for yourself, you're going to need to know how. Below are just some of the things needed to know to draw a simple ranch style home.
So what do you need to know to draw your own house plan?
1. You need to know how to lay out your Floor Plan. The floor plan is the template for your entire set of drawings. From the floor plan show where we want our electrical, tell how big our rooms are, note our window and door sizes, etc., so this is where we have to begin. Sure you could start with the exterior views but that would limit our interior of the home to what the outside looks like. Not a good idea! The house needs to be functional first and look pretty second out of necessity.
2. You need to understand the mechanics of a well designed kitchen. A kitchen is a place where the homemaker spends a majority of their time. It needs to be comfortable but functional. This area consists of a Sink area, Cooking area, & Food storage area. The best layout for a kitchen is one in which the least steps are taken to reach each appliance. This is called the working area or working triangle. A good working triangle doesn't exceed 12 to 14 feet all the way around.
3. The builder of the home would sure appreciate knowing where the walls, windows, & doors are located exactly. They would also like knowing door and window sizes, not to mention anything else special that is on the plan. That's where the dimensions and notes come in handy. You need to be able to create a dimensional string and groups of notes that are not confusing.
4. The Electrical Plan is very important to you as it gives you the opportunity to customize the home to your power and comfort needs! On the other hand, it is not always needed. What I mean by this is that any electrician who has taken a test for his or her license knows what is required electrical service by code. Chances are that they have already wired quite a few residences and barring any special needs or preferences can do the job without this plan. Always be aware though! Certain states require that you be a licensed Architect or Electrical Engineer to do Electrical plans. Be sure to check with your local building inspector to see what your limitations are! This will definitely save you some headaches down the road.
5. In standard construction, at least in the South Eastern United States, houses are built on Masonry Foundations or Basements. A foundation is the part of the home that anchors it to or keeps it from settling into the ground. This knowledge is a must in completing your plans.
6. What about how the exterior is going to look? It is no small matter if you are wanting to convey the idea of how the finished product is going to look when construction is complete. What is it going look like when its built? How to determine the best roof pitch, do we use brick, siding or rock?
7. Folks, I defiantly don't believe in mind reading! Neither does to typical contractor! If there is anything special you are wanting to build into your house, how is the builder to know unless you show them? You can make all the notes you want to on your plans and elevations but the message of how you want the house constructed may not always come across. That's why you need to understand how to draw details.
8. Then there is the task of finishing your drawings and not letting goofs and slip-ups get out the door. You need to understand the most common mistakes made by people who draw house plans so you can look out for them!
9. Last but not least in drawing your house plans is to know how to print them out and in what format and size.
http://pcimunity.blogspot.com/2008/10/d ... -plan.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-You-Want-t ... ;id=935949
http://houseplandrafting101.com/reposit ... 810-150113
About the Author
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I know what I'm talking about. I also teach others how to draw plans in a virtual classroom on the internet called House Plan Drafting 101 at http://houseplandrafting101.net - Also in Ebook format at http://homedesign.8m.com/101ebook
Above are the basics I teach in that class.
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