How To Read And Understand Plans | BuildEazy

Buildeazy has drawn up a simple set of working plans to explain the bits and pieces.

The plans are for an addition to a fictitious house.Plan and permit requirements vary from place to place.

If contemplating drawing up your own plans or doing any building work inquire at your local building department to find out what specific needs are bound by local building code or by local authority in order to obtain a building permit.

The example plans in this article are for a 34sq metres (366 sq ft) addition to a fictitious house.Construction is concrete slab floor, brick veneer, lumber frame and lightweight tile roof on lumber trusses.

Instructions continued

Working Plans

usually comprise of the following:

Site plan:The site plan (plot plan) shows the placement of the existing building and the proposed addition.The site plan also shows the site boundaries, location of services (storm water, sewer etc.) and relative levels of floor, finished ground and services. Contour grids showing the rise and fall of the land are needed for sloping sections.Example and explanation of a site plan – Page 3

Foundation or Footing plan:The foundation or footing plan shows the outlay and measurements of the foundation / footings and any required steel reinforcing.Example and explanation of a foundation plan – Page 4

Elevation plan:The elevation plan is more like a drawing of the outside of the addition rather than a plan although is still drawn to scale. The elevation plan gives a good perspective of the addition to the untrained eye.Example and explanation of an elevation plan – Page 5

Floor plan:The floor plan (footprint) shows the layout of the walls, also where the doors and windows are along with the sizes of the doors and windows, units such as vanities, baths etc and the designated uses of the rooms. The floor plan is to scale and walls etc are dimensioned.Example and explanation of a floor plan – Page 6

Roof plan:The roof plan shows a flat plan view (looking down view) of the layout of the roof, and where the trusses / rafters etc are situated.Example and explanation of a roof plan – Page 7

Bracing plan:The bracing plan shows where the wall braces go and what type of bracing is required.Example and explanation of a bracing plan – Page 8

Cross section plan and detail example:The cross section plan is a plan taken from a cross section of the floor plan. The cross section line is marked by flags. The cross section shows construction, lumber sizes and room heights.A detail plan is a blow up (magnified) part of the plan to give clearer detail.Example and explanation of a cross section plan and detail – Page 9

Specifications:Specifications give a description of all the materials used, sizes, spacings etc and in some cases right down to what type of paint to use and how many coats.Sometimes the specifications are on a separate document but sometimes (mainly smaller jobs) the specifications are incorporated in the plan drawings.

Site Plan

Site plan:This site plan shows the placement and size of the proposed addition along with the storm water and sewer services. This plan also shows where the new sewer services will connect into the existing line and the finished floor level (F.F.L.) in relation to the sewer manhole lid and sewer invert.The plan is drawn to scale and includes boundary measurements plus the distance from the proposed addition to the boundary.