To property owners and developers who ask, "how do I draw a site programme?," this guide answers with, "let us count the ways!"

There are a handful of DIY site plan options, and one of them is sure to be a expert fit for you lot. If non, we've got alternative suggestions for letting an experienced drafter do the work for yous.

This guide does four things:

  1. We suggest where you lot might find an existing site programme for your property.
  2. The post explains what information is needed on a site programme and where you lot can notice information technology.
  3. Information technology discusses the most common DIY plot plan drawing options.
  4. If you make up one's mind a DIY site program isn't for you, we'll tell you lot where to find a professional site program at an affordable cost.

What nosotros don't answer, here are the basics, such as what is a site plan is and why you need one, explained here: https://www.24hplans.com/what-is-a-site-plan-plus-12-elements-of-plot-plan/

Does a Site Programme Already Exist?

There'southward no reason to reinvent the wheel, then to speak, if a site plan was fabricated for the property during an earlier phase – perhaps the initial edifice of the home.

In our guide called Where Tin I Get a Site Plan of My Property, nosotros list the five most common places to locate 1, if it already exists. https://www.24hplans.com/where-can-i-get-site-programme-for-my-property/

Here are the places you may want to check to see if the site programme for the property in question already exists:

  • In the endmost documents provided when y'all purchased the holding.
  • From the championship company or bank that handled the endmost or provided a loan.
  • Your canton: Endeavor the Registrar of Deeds and the Building Section.
  • The architect: If the home was recently built and the construction company is still around, it might have a site plan on file.
  • The seller or realtor involved in the sale.

A Site Plan Checklist

What is included in a site plan? Here's an overview.  For example, the City of Fairbanks, Alaska is representative of most cities in what the officials there require of a site program/plot plan.

Contact your local metropolis or county office for a site program checklist. Nosotros'll add a brief explanation where needed.

Following the list are a few items that other cities and counties desire to see on a site program.

  1. Scale at which site program is fatigued (for example i"= 20'). The scale can be adapted per the size of the lot and local requirements.
  2. Due north arrow. A north arrow shows the directional orientation of the property.
  3. All belongings lines and their dimensions. These items can be found on earlier site plans, a survey and other places discussed below. They are readily available, so no worries are necessary.
  4. Location, type and dimensions of existing structures or a driveway including a house and garage, detached garage, shed, inground puddle, retaining wall or other permanent structure.
  5. Location, type and dimensions for proposed permanent structures, whether attached to the original home or discrete, or driveways.
  6. Setback distances (distance off the belongings line) of all proposed structures, since each customs has required setback distances.
  7. Buildable area of the lot inside required setbacks to testify how much space is bachelor for new development.
  8. Names of adjacent road(s).
  9. Well or water main location.
  10. Septic tank and field or sewer line location.

Items not included in the Fairbanks listing but required by some cities and counties include topography (topo – non often required) elevation and slope, wetland areas (rare), big trees and utility easements.

Where to Detect Information Required for a Site Plan

Dimensions: Dimensions and possibly the location of utility easements, if they exist, can exist institute on several documents:

  • Property Survey
  • Holding Revenue enhancement Assessor's Map located where your taxes are collected or in the metropolis/canton offices
  • Tax Beak (In written form rather than drawn)
  • Subdivision Plat (available at the city/canton office or from the developer)
  • Hiring a Surveyor (starting at about $300 and usually non necessary)

Structures: A previous plot plan volition show the location of permanent structures. The Google Maps satellite office and services like Google Earth and InstantStreetView.com are useful, besides, providing aerial satellite views and a 360% street view of the property.

Utilities: Gratis locating and marking of underground utilities including electrical, fresh h2o, sewer, telephone and cable is available in almost areas. This prevents costly harm during structure. Calling 811 should connect you to the free service.

Setbacks: If you don't have a previous plan and they are not shown on the survey, y'all might need to measure and decide setbacks and building dimensions, when required.

DIY Site Plan Options

Drawing your own site plan ranges from literal hand-drawing to using sophisticated software. Of the latter, there are gratis and paid options, online and downloadable versions for many.

How to Draw a Site Plan past Hand

Graph newspaper makes hand drawing a site program easy. The Fairbanks, AK document gives this encouraging word, "A site plan need not exist professionally prepared and tin can be manus fatigued. With a little work, you can draw an acceptable site plan for your project."

Beware that not all local offices will take a hand fatigued program, merely information technology'southward worth finding out, if yous're inclined to DIY.

The City of New Smyrna Embankment, Florida lists four easy steps to drawing a site plan. To summarize:

  1. The basics. Choose a scale for the graph paper such every bit 1 square equals 20 or 25 feet, and annotation the scale in a prominent place on the drawing. The squares are usually a quarter inch, and so your calibration might be ¼"=20'.

Then draw the lot lines and place the business firm, driveway, sidewalk and other permanent structures as accurately as you can. Measure and write in anxiety the closest distance from the house to the nearest lot line to prove the structure (existing or proposed) meets local setbacks rules. Draw your North arrow.

  1. Well and septic. Locate and describe in, if applicative, a well location and the location of a septic tank and drain field, aka leach field, existing or proposed. Annotation: The distance between the wellhead and drain field must be 75 anxiety or more in most counties.
  2. Sensitive areas and trees. Locate and mark wetlands, sinkholes, alluvion plans and bodies of water, if any of these exist on the property. In New Smyrna Embankment, like in many cities, large copse (6" in diameter or larger in NSB) must be noted. Measure out the circumference at 54" off the footing and carve up by pi, or iii.14, to get diameter.
  3. Changes. Bear witness where construction activeness will occur – new dwelling house edifice, an add-on, inground pool, driveway, etc.

If there is significant slope to your country and you have nearby neighbors, you might too need to show slope and the pattern of water runoff. This might be the largest claiming to DIY site programme drawing.

The Fairbanks guide shows a skillful example of a DIY site program.

Using Software to Create a Site Plan

If you enjoy making use of engineering science and/or hand drawn site plans aren't accepted where you live, free and fee software is available for the purpose.

A search volition produce a listing of results to explore, but a few we found most useful are these:

RoomSketcher Site Plans (Free)

This site allows you to create 2D and 3D printable site plans on a PC, Mac or tablet. It starts with inputting measurements for property line dimensions to create the "framework" for the drawing. Measurements tin likewise be supplied to infinite objects on the DIY site programme and to show setbacks, zone/construction sizes and total expanse calculations.

Click, elevate and drop elements like structures, landscape items and other necessary elements. Text, labels and symbols can be added too. When the site plan is complete, generate and print it from the RoomSketcher software.

The 3D name, whether with the RoomSketcher or other services, can sometimes be somewhat misleading, since the plans are evidently are 2-dimensional. However, using advanced technology, the drawings tin take photorealistic depth like the 3D renders from 24H Plans.

  1. Create a Gratis account
  2. Wait for the RoomSketcher email to confirm your account
  3. Download the RoomSketcher App
  4. Start the App
  5. Choose second or 3D Site Plans, and explore

The Gratis account allows you to create five projects.

SmartDraw (Gratis)

SmartDraw site plan software gets a 5-star rating from CNET. Y'all have the choice of using the online edition of SmartDraw, an advantage over RoomSketcher, or downloading an app or desktop edition.

SmarDraw offers integration with Microsoft Office and G Suite, and drawings can be saved to Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox.

A disadvantage is that instead of beingness allowed 5 gratuitous projects, you're given a 10-day costless trial period. If you don't complete your projection during the trial, the cost is $9.95 per month.

  1. Set up your complimentary account
  2. Download the software and/or work online
  3. Generate your cartoon
  4. Print the cartoon or consign it to another supported format to Visio VSD or VSDX, Google Bulldoze, OneDrive, etc.

Microsoft Visio

This isn't a free service, and plans aren't cheap, starting at $5 per calendar month but with an annual delivery, so $60 minimum.

However, many individuals and companies already have admission to Visio, and yous can make site plans with Visio. See the lengthy footstep-by-pace process hither.

To summarize:

  1. Choose File > New and search Site Plan. Discover Site Programme in the results, and choose Create.
  2. Use Tools to draw structures or insert a CAD drawing or copy and paste an existing Visio drawing.
  3. Enter roads, landscape, symbols, text and other features.

Autodesk AutoCAD

A 1-year subscription to AutoCAD is near $1,700. Just once more, many companies and professionals already have AutoCAD, and a site plan feature is included.

The cosmos of a site plan with AutoCAD is a footling more complex than with the other options listed higher up. This 9-minute tutorial on YouTube walks you through the process.

Getting an Affordable Professionally Drawn Site Plan

If none of the options above meet your needs, then having a plan drawn professionally is easier and more affordable than yous might think.

An address is all information technology takes: You accept to supply nil more than the address of the property – or if information technology is vacant state, information technology's survey coordinates. Companies like 24H Plans take if from there using the about advanced technologies.

24H Plans Team: They are CGI artists and draftsmen specializing in site plans and similar drawings. The specialists utilise AutoCAD and other leading software options to create site plans of the highest detail, clarity and quality.

They Detect the Information for You: Where does 24H Plans go the information needed? From county parcel maps, tax information, GIS and updated satellite images, forth with other public records. In that location is no need for visiting your site.

Your Next Footstep to an Affordable Site Programme

Now that you lot know how to describe a site program and understand your options, which works best for you?

If yous're a natural DIYer, then trying 1 of the free options makes sense – SmartDraw or RoomSketcher. If y'all have access to Visio, run across the folio on how to depict a site plan on Visio, and requite it a try. AutoCAD is a more than complex tool that takes some experience to successfully work with. Notwithstanding, it is a highly accurate and robust tool. Information technology's what the pros at 24H Plans employ, but they've mastered AutoCAD and know how to become fantastic results.

While surveyors charge upwards of $ane,000 for a professional person site plan, the drawings beginning at less than $100 from 24H Plans – and the results are equal to or superior to what surveyors and civil engineers produce. Contact 24H Plans today, and give them your address. You'll have a professional site plan of premium accuracy and quality in less than i business organisation twenty-four hour period.

Note: Hither'south how we tin can assistance:24hplans has team of highly-trained, professional architects and drafters who can fix whatsoever kind of site program in the shortest amount of fourth dimension possible, so that you can hands obtain that building permit and get on with your project. Use the promotion code:24hplans-20off to go atwenty% discount off any bundle. — Please annotation this is a limited time offering, exclusive to the readers of our blog. This offer is not being advertised anywhere else.