Building plans are a graphical representation of what a building will look like after construction. They are used by builders and contractors to construct buildings of all kinds. Building plans are also useful when it comes to estimating how much a project will cost, and preparing project budgets.
Whether you are building a new house or remodeling an older home, you'll need plans to guide you through the project.
Types of building plans drawings
The creation of a set of building plans starts when an owner or developer approaches an architect with an idea for a new building, considering the detailing and complexity of a project, different types of drawings are issued by an architect for the easy understanding and smooth working of construction process.
Site Plan
Site plan is comprehensive detailed drawing of the building or an apartment representing whole plan of a building. It shows property boundaries and means of access to the site, and nearby structures if they are relevant to the design.
For a construction project, the site plan also needs to show all the services connections like drainage and sewer lines, water supply, electrical and communications cables, exterior lighting etc.
These drawings should comply with the local development codes, including restrictions on historical sites. It acts as a legal agreement for the permission of construction from the government body. For this, it is required that the site plan is made by a licensed professional like architect, engineer, landscape architect or land surveyor.
A plan means, top view of any building or object. Floor plan is the most fundamental architectural diagram, a view from above showing the arrangement of spaces in building in the same way as a map, but showing the arrangement at a particular level of a building.
Floor plan view is defined as a vertical orthographic projection of an object on to a horizontal plane cutting through the building. This shows the walls, windows, door and other features such as stairs, fittings and even furniture too.
Elevation
An elevation drawing is an orthographic projection drawing that shows one side of the house. The purpose of an elevation drawing is to show the finished appearance of a given side of the house and furnish vertical height dimensions. Majorly it is divided into 2 types.
External Elevation
Exterior elevation is the outside representation of a building. It consists of details of type of finish, floor height and projections if any.
Exterior elevations can be 2D or 3D drawings. 2D drawings typically have measurements on them, showing where the relationship between exterior elements like doors and lights. 2D elevations also can have callouts to different kinds of bricks, stones, and paints, so you know exactly where each material needs to go.
Most of the time, a rendering is a concept drawing to take to whoever is constructing your project to give them an idea of what you want the exterior to look like.
Internal Elevation
Interior elevations are very similar to exterior elevations in purpose. Elevations are extremely useful when constructing a room such as a kitchen or bathroom, which require visualisation of built in elements.
Usually interior elevations are made in 3D that show your furniture in your space. The inner elevation effects a lot on the living condition and peaceful mind. These days great importance is given to interior elevation than exterior elevation. Interior elevation has the paint colour, lightning types, furniture design and floor patterns.
Landscape Plans
A perfect home or building has a lush green garden adjacent to it, which enhances the beauty or aesthetic appearance of the building. Hiring a landscape architect for the beautification of houses is trending nowadays.
Once the building plans have been finalized, they are put out for bid. During the bidding process, contractors and subcontractors review the plans and submit their price to complete the work. Most of the time, the job is awarded to the lowest bidder, but this is not always the case. Owners may also take experience, schedule, and relationships into account when awarding a project.