Architectural Designs

I need to draw plans of my house?

I plan on building in my garden a new two bedroom bungalow. I need to sumitt these plans on monday but not sure how to create them ready for planning commitee .

Public Comments

1. Autocad may be useful.
2. Firstly...leaving it a bit late... :) Unless you can draw architectural plans you'll need software - try searching for CAD at www.sourceforge.net. (It's all free.) You could Bittorrent for AutoCAD but that's incredibly hard to get used to quickly. Alternatively, once you have all the measurements, you could use a program such as Inkscape (free) to attempt a plan.
3. Yeah...I do Cad. Thats the easiest way. Look through your local paper for adverts or contact surveyors or architects.
4. It's Friday, and you're looking to submit drawings for planning on Monday? Leaving it a bit late is an understatement. First off as you want to do these drawings yourself, I'm assuming that you're not going to appoint professionals to assist you. Do you have the design developed enough to be put on planning drawings? Do you know the general planning policy/guidelines for your area, and what restrictions that may put on your designs (ie: height, maximum density, plot subdivisions, etc.)? Is your area a conservation area? All these things need to be addressed before you even consider submitting drawings. In some cases, actually sitting down with a planning officer to discuss your proposals may be necessary. In your case, if I'm understanding you correctly, your intention to subdivide your existing land (ie: building a completely new house in your garden) throws up a whole load of issues such as access, emergency access, connection to services (electricity, gas, plumbing, drainage), issues with overlooking, impact on neighbouring land, the impact on the overall density, the list goes on. Unless you want a lengthy to-ing and fro-ing between the planning department and committees, I'd suggest properly discussing and resolving potential issues before going ahead and submitting drawings. Get professional advice. Then there's the building warrant application to consider if you're serious about going ahead with construction. That's where it starts getting technical. Actually drawing up the plans, elevations, sections is the easy bit. Yes, AutoCAD is good. It's simple and very easy to pick up. the snag is that an original copy costs about £5,000. ************** It's Monday now.. I wonder how she got on..
5. I agree with the above that you have really left it a bit late! Your quickest way will be to do a rough pencil sketch based on a tracing or photocopy of your plot. I presume that you are applying for outline planning permission if you have left it this late! A CAD program would be the best way to do it yourself but you would need to find a half-way decent one and then there is the learning curve .... CAD programs do take a little learning: the simple ones are not good enough for a planning application and the more sophisticated ones take time to learn - though the more familiar you are with technical drawing, the easier something like AutoCAD becomes. Google do a free program called SketchUp http://sketchup.google.com/ which isn't a full-blown CAD program but may help with visualising the results In any case, for the final application you will need drawings by an approved architect or architectural draughtsman and a surveyor's report since the detail will have to include footings, drainage, access, exact roof height and so on ... none of which can be done by an amateur.
6. source an architect.
7. Okay- you can do it by Monday, if they don't have to be too detailed (i.e., no furniture, just a space plan showing the rooms). To do it by hand, you'll want an architectural scale (like a 3-sided ruler- it's marked so you can draw in 1/4"=1', 3/16"=1', whatever scale you need.) I recommend 1/4". You'll also want a set of triangles- 30-60-90 and 45-45-90. All of these can be found at Office Max or the like. The easiest way to do it, though, is to buy Microsoft Visio Professional (approx $400). It includes templates for rooms, cabinets, toilets, furniture, doors, etc., and uses a fairly standard Microsoft interface, so that if you know Word, it shouldn't be too hard. AutoCAD is not a user-friendly program even if you've had prior classes in it.