Example Floor Plan

•  PC: Use the scroll bars to view different parts of the plan
    or drag the image where you want it.
•  Tablet: Use the 'pinch' gesture to enlarge the plan.
•  Tap or click on the grey hotspots to see explanation.
•  Note: Explanations will replace this text.

•  PC: Use the scroll bars to view different parts of the plan
    or drag the image where you want it.
•  Tablet: Use the 'pinch' gesture to enlarge the plan.
•  Tap or click on the grey hotspots to see explanation.
•  Note: Explanations will replace this text.

Deposited Plan.   DP is the acronym for Deposited Plan and is the Land Titles Office description of your torrens title property in an old title description that is still used today eg. Lot 1 in Deposited plan 99099 of the parish of Gosford - in Cumberland county

Set-Back.   7000mm is how far you must set-back your development from the street boundary line, this figure varies from council to council, check with your local councils on-duty building inspector. Here is an example from Gosford Council NSW in NSW.

Contour Line.   This is a contour line and represents the rise in ground level at each contour, this plan shows the contours at 500mm high intervals

Plan Issue.   "A" is the plan issue & states it is a first issue, "B" would be the second issue where plan changes have occurred.

Amendment Area.   The amendment area allows the designer to note down changes that have been made to the drawings eg. Extra floor space added to bed. 1

DA & BCC.   Development Application and Building Construction Certificate Drawings The DA process reviews the development proposal in its form, size and finish. The BCC drawings explain to council how the building will be constructed - with exact dimensions for construction

Length In Millimetres.   5590mm equals 5.590 metres, it is common place in the building industry to use millimetres unless it is a very long length - the case of boundary lines

Scale Bar.   This is a scale bar, in this case one of the small bars, between 0 to 1 is equal to 1000mm or 1 metre - 1:100. This is the most common scale used for homes and you will know if your drawing is at this scale if 1cm on your own ruler equals 1 metre on the scale bar of your drawings. If there is no scale bar on your drawings match your ruler to a door opening. Internal door openings are 820mm on average - see if this scales correctly - 8mm on your ruler.

Boundary Junction.   This is a boundary junction and when they join a circle is usually sited here to graphically distinguish the lines as a boundary junction

Windows Can Be Doors.   Yes this is correct - W (windows) can be doors as many window & door (W. & D.) manufacturers find it easier to process them this way The box numbers help council during the approval process and assist the window and door manufactures during manufacturing and pricing W. & D. numbers are also noted on the elevations and a list of the window numbers and a description may accompany the drawings.

Basix Window Numbers.   Basix window numbers will not be the same as the standard window numbers if your house has more than 14 external windows and doors - most houses do. This is due to the inadequacy of the BASIX software as is does not offer any more fields to fill out after the fourteenth window field. See the BASIX websites for more information: www.basix.nsw.gov.au & www.sustainability.nsw.gov.au

Balustrade.   Balustrade is the common word used for railing in the Australian building industry Council heavily regulates the height and construction standards of these to ensure public safety You can contact your local council or a balustrade manufacture or carpenter for safe balustrade construction - as all these professionals use the Building Code of Australia (BCA) as a guide to ensure regulation safe balustrades.

Floor Level.   Floor Level is an Australian Height Datum level.Read more at www.ga.gov.au/geodesy/datums/ahd.jsp

Dashed Lines.   These dashed lines tell the reader that there is something going on above or below this area and there is usually a note explaining this. In kitchens it easily defined it to be leg room under a bench or over head cupboards. And outside it easily defines roof type and overhang locations and depth.

True North.   This is the symbol for True North. True North or Solar North needs to be Note on your plan which is currently 13% east of magnetic north. Finding true north on your property will allow you to design living spaces facing north and the quality of living to this orientation is unbelievably better than any other.

Section.   This is a section call Section A these sections can provide the reader with a great detail of internal information including internal finishes and wall, floor and roof construction

Roof Overhang.   This dashed line defines the roof overhang. Average roof overhangs are 600mm without the gutter depth included. The optimum roof overhang is 900mm allowing ample sunlight to penetrate through windows during the winter months and stopping the summer sun from entering the house. But this will be site and sun orientation specific eg. If you are surrounded by trees and get very little sun penetration then no overhangs maybe appropriate.

Underside Eave Level.   The under side eave level is AHD59.1 - 59.1 metres above sea level. Read more at www.ga.gov.au/geodesy/datums/ahd.jsp

Bulkhead Over.   Bulkhead over suggests to the reader that there is a lowering of the ceiling at this point. It is usually finished in Plaster Board (Gyprock or drywall) and they are used to cover plumbing structural members such as beams or they can be added to a building to offer the inhabitants a visual separation to define spaces and add internal form interest to ceilings