Did you ever looked at a drawing and thought it was a mini-map of a certain part of a building? You were not looking at some sort of diagram of an area and land, but what was in front of you was a floor plan. There is more to a floor plan than intricate drawings. It is scaled to show relationships between rooms, spaces, and physical features viewed from above and provide a way to visualize how people will move through space. Skill mastery is the biggest contributing factor of easy-to-understand operational plans. If you want to know more about floor plans, this article will help learn what a floor plan is, its different parts, and how to create one. Let us have a look below.
A floor plan is a type of diagram. It contains a scaled representation of a room or building using bird’s-eye view. As its main characteristic, a floor plan depicts an entire building, floor of a building, or single room. Moreover, it also includes measurements, furniture, electrical plan, appliances, or anything necessary to easily visualize a specific area of a building in real life.
Floor plans are useful in designing furniture layout, wiring systems, plumbing, and so much more. Additionally, it provides a way to easily visualize how people would move through a given space and makes it easier to check if that space is fitting for its intended purpose, work on any potential problems, and redesign before moving forward into more elaborate planning or building phases. Because of that, floor plans became a valuable tool for real estate agents and leasing companies in helping sell or rent out space.
One of the most common threats most infrastructures face is fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association of the United States, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation every 24 seconds. Since the 1970s, the number of fires and fire deaths in the US has decreased significantly but some statistics are more troubling like 3,700 civilian deaths and 14.8 billion US dollars damages in 2019.
It is not debatable how useful a floor plan is in many industries like construction, real estate, and other maintenance-oriented businesses. They use floor plans for responding to emergencies, building properties, and performing maintenance services, among other things. To a beginner, making a floor plan seems too much to be done. However, if you know the basics and get familiar with the terms, tools, and concepts relevant to floor plan making, drawing this diagram is a lot easier than you think. Below are the things you might want to consider before you put your visions into reality.
Whether you like it or not, making a floor plan comes along with learning how to read signs and symbols, measuring dimensions, and using drawing tools. Some use outstanding online programs or software to draw up their floor plan. A piece of advice: use what you are most comfortable with. This will put you at your own pace as well as your skills. Whatever method you choose, here are some essential steps and items that go into the creation of a solid floor plan:
Before you kick off drawing your diagram, make sure you have everything you need. From the details of the structure down to the equipment to be used, all that should not be out of reach. The thing about drawing a floor plan is it requires completeness of materials needed. Without utilizing the proper resources, you would never complete a good floor plan. What better way to identify all the requirements than having a list. Make sure the list identifies the needs and wants of those who and what will occupy the space. Also, a task list will ensure you will not miss any step of the way in finishing your task.
When it comes to measurements and scales, most people would back out to the idea. But, measuring dimensions and then scaling them is not as difficult as you think. With the right measuring tools, you can come up with accurate dimensions for your floor plan. Measure the walls, columns, and partitions. Then label them in the diagram. It is more convenient to use only one unit of measurement so that your floor plan is easy to read and does not require conversion. But that depends on the standard unit of measure used by most people where you live. Americans and their influence use the Metric System while others utilize the English System. We will leave that for you to decide.
After that, scale the floor plan or downsize each measurement but it should remain directly proportional to the actual measure of the space. A common scale is 1/4 inch = 1 foot. A similar scale should be applied to objects like furniture or exhibit booths in your floor plan.
We have already introduced what a sightline is above. But what does a sightline do in the floor plan? As a theoretical line (or view), a sightline is a perspective of someone and what he or she sees. It extends from an observer’s eye to a viewed object on the floor plan and is used as a reference to good or bad visibility. Hence, adding a sightline in the floor plan helps its audience see things in the actual setup. To make it simpler, if you want to look at the project plan from one perspective, that is a sightline stationed to where you stand.
Review your floor plan by referring to your to-do list. You will know if your task is done when everything on your list is covered, especially those wants and needs. Take time to evaluate the spatial arrangement as well as analyzing circulation. Other factors to include are usable space, privacy, and accessibility. Lastly, every successful undertaking is a collaborative effort between teams or groups of people. If you want to strengthen the efficiency of your floor plan. talk with other people who have experienced and skillful in making an action plan like this. Open your doors for suggestions because it is one of the best ways to improve.
You can use a floor plan not only to locate rooms or for directions but also you can use it along with an emergency action plan. A floor plan is created to represent the actual setup of a space. With this, anyone can read it and find its way out of a building in case of fire, earthquake, and other emergencies that are life-threatening. Because of that, it is important to label every floor plan properly. As much as possible, identify each area that will be included in your floor plan for safety measures.
The general rule is to follow the commonly used system of measure, which most people are familiar with within the place where you live. However, the easiest system to use is the Metric System. Still, using the English System is not discouraged. The reason why you have to choose only one system of measurement so that the floor plan has uniformity. Otherwise, readers would have to convert the measurements if there is more than one unit system used.
As a diagram that measures drawing to scale of the layout of a floor in a building, a floor could include the following components:
Usually, floor plans are thought to be the stepping stone of home or office environment design, but not many know these fundamental diagrams serve many other purposes such as establishing garden plans, strategizing safety plans, planning of parking lot, making exhibits plans, and so much. In fact, creating floor plans is fun because you can expirement with an available space and make into something your own. If you invest in making a floor plan, you can create nice flow between spaces, which will lead to increse the enjoyment of every people who utilize it. Now that you know what a floor plan is, its different components, and how to make one, download a template to assist with your task. Visit our website now and unveil an array of ready-made plan templates!
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