What is the planimetry of a house?

Planimetry is the branch of topography that is dedicated to reproducing to scale, on a flat surface, details of a terrain. In architecture, planimetry refers to the graphic representation of a work.

What is shown in the planimetry of a house?

The architectural plan of a house shows a bird’s eye view of its floor plan. It depicts the walls, stairs and other architectural elements. The plans also show linear and volumetric dimensions and values.

Elements of furniture can also be included in a floor plan to check that the distribution of spaces is adequate or to show possibilities for their use. Plans are an excellent tool for communicating ideas related to the design of a project and serve as guidance material for its development and construction.

What types of house plans are there?

There are different types of plans that can be prepared according to the characteristics of each house and the practical purpose for which the plan is being developed. Different types of plans include:

• Foundations plans.
• Installation drawings (electricity, piping, etc.).
• Structural plans.
• Detailed plans.
• Roof plans.

What are the house plans for?

Plans are very useful for architecture and construction professionals, but also for current or future homeowners. Some of the advantages of such plans are:

• Clear visualization of the layout of the spaces in a house. This helps architects and designers visualize how the different areas connect and helps homeowners understand how the finished home will look.
• Effective communication between architects, builders, designers and owners. Architectural plans enable effective communication between people with different technical skills. They also help to convey ideas, evaluate options and make modifications before construction begins.
• Efficient distribution of spaces. Thanks to planimetry, the dimensions and location of the spaces can be evaluated to check their suitability or to optimize their design. By observing a plan, it is possible to identify unused areas or improve the relationship between rooms, achieving a better functionality in the house.
• Efficient execution of a project. The planimetry of the house serves as a guide for the different parties throughout the construction process.
• Documentation and future reference for property owners. The planimetry of the house is extremely useful for the maintenance and restoration of the structure, as well as for future remodeling or expansion. It is also an important document for the transfer of ownership.

How is the planimetry of a house done?

In the past, plans were made manually following the guidelines of technical drawing. Nowadays, architects and planners no longer draw plans manually, but use a series of software packages to speed up the technical work, both for the development of the planimetry and for the creation of renderings that allow them to see a preview of the general appearance of the work in three dimensions.

In planimetry, there are some universal graphic elements that are used to represent different elements of a house. such as

• Walls: these are generally represented by solid continuous lines.
• Doors: these are represented by an opening on the wall line. A very thin straight line is drawn at the opening; a slightly thicker line is also drawn to represent the door panel; and a circular section represents the path on which the door opens and closes. This serves to indicate the opening direction of the door and to ensure that the design and spacing of the door allows it to open correctly.
• Windows: these are indicated by a wall opening, with thinner lines representing the window frame.
• Stairs: these are represented by lines indicating the steps and the railings. Diagonal or zigzag lines are used to represent stairs in a plan.
• Fixed furniture: elements such as built-in closets, fireplaces or shelves are generally represented as rectangular or square shapes in the rooms.
• Dimensions: these are indicated by lines showing the length or width of a room or a specific element.
• Symbols: there is a standard to represent the different systems and elements of a house, such as plumbing symbols (faucets, showers, toilets), electrical symbols (sockets, switches) or heating and air conditioning symbols.
• Key: this is an important part of planimetry and provides a description of the symbols used, as well as additional information about the plan, such as the scale used.

What is scale?

Scale is the relationship between the dimensions of the drawing and those of reality. The scale will be decided depending on the nature of the plan and the project. According to the type of plan, the most common scales are:

• General plans: 1: 500, 1: 400, 1: 250 and 1: 200.
• Architectural and construction plans: 1: 100, 1: 75, 1: 50 and 1: 25.
• Details and parts plans: 1: 20, 1: 10, 1: 5, 1: 2 and 1: 1.

On a scale, the number on the left indicates the unit of the plan and the number on the right indicates its equivalence. On the scale 1: 100, 1 cm from the plan corresponds to 100 cm in reality, i.e. one meter.