| It is not the intention of this article to give you a | | | | The bathroom or bathrooms of a home should be |
| complete course in drawing a floor plan. That is a | | | | drawn at a minimum of five feet wide to |
| very involved process. In short though, I would like | | | | accommodate a bath tub and no less than seven |
| to walk you through the process for your general | | | | feet deep to allow room for a toilet and sink vanity. |
| information. | | | | A half bath should be a minimum of four feet wide |
| Most all plans start with a sketch of some sort made | | | | by four feet deep to allow for the sink and toilet. |
| by the prospective home builder, or by a professional | | | | The living or family room should almost always be at |
| architect or designer. Usually that sketch is drawn on | | | | least one and one half times the size of the smallest |
| graph paper so that some sort of scale can be | | | | bedroom to allow for plenty of room for socializing |
| maintained and usually that scale on the grid paper is | | | | and relaxing while watching television or entertaining |
| either one quarter inch equals one foot or two feet. | | | | guests. |
| The first thing that is drawn is the exterior boundary | | | | Kitchen sizes will vary but the minimum size kitchen |
| known as the perimeter walls. Weather you are using | | | | for a two or three bedroom home should be at least |
| a drafting board or a CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) | | | | one hundred square feet to allow for cooking |
| program, the process is still basically the same | | | | appliances, dish washing, food storage, and |
| because a CAD program really is nothing more than a | | | | preparation. |
| drafting board on your computer. | | | | If a utility room is on the house sketch, this should |
| Inside the boundary line, we then draw the thickness | | | | be a minimum of three feet deep by five feet wide |
| of the exterior walls which can either be four or six | | | | for a washer and dryer to be placed in it. This type |
| inches depending on how much insulation will be used | | | | of utility room usually has a five foot wide bi-fold or |
| and if the construction material is wood or metal | | | | double door to allow access to both appliances. |
| studs, with wood being the most common of the | | | | And lastly, if we have a garage, the minimum for a |
| two. This is usually determined by the climate of the | | | | single car should be twelve feet wide by twenty two |
| area the house will be built in. Houses in colder | | | | feet deep and an eight foot wide garage door. |
| climates would receive more insulation, therefore | | | | Once the rooms are laid out then the doors are |
| thicker walls, and those in warmer climates would | | | | placed. The nearest a door should be to a wall is |
| receive less. | | | | three inches because of the trim surrounding the |
| For homes built with other materials, the thickness will | | | | door casing. The minimum door sizes are as follows: |
| vary from one material to the next. For instance if | | | | Main Entrance - 36 inch, Secondary Entrance - 32 |
| the home is masonry block, the thickness would be | | | | inch, Bedrooms - 30 inch, Study or Library - 32 inch, |
| four, eight, or twelve inches. With poured concrete | | | | Bathrooms - 24 inch, Utility Rooms - 32 inch, Linen |
| the thickness can be whatever is prescribed by the | | | | Closets - 16 inch, Bedroom Closets - 24 inch, Pantries |
| designer, but usually not under six or eight inches | | | | - 12 inch, Storage Rooms - 32 inch. |
| thick. | | | | These sizes are the preferences of most people I |
| Once the exterior walls are drawn, the interior walls, | | | | have drawn houses for and may have to be altered |
| which are almost always four inches thick, are then | | | | to suit the home builder or your client. It's also good |
| placed with careful attention paid to room depths and | | | | to swing a door to the closest wall for the sake of |
| widths. For instance, a hall that is under three foot | | | | space. Wherever a door is placed, you can't have |
| wide is of no practical use because the minimum door | | | | furniture! So door placement is a matter of |
| (from my own experience) into a bedroom should | | | | functionality also. |
| always be no less than thirty to thirty two inches | | | | Windows are very important to the home as these |
| wide and the framing along with the two or three | | | | allow light and fresh air into the rooms. For a |
| inch trim should always be considered. | | | | bedroom, the minimum window should be three feet |
| A bedroom should always be a minimum of ten feet | | | | wide by four feet four inches tall to allow fire egress |
| wide and ten feet deep not including the closet to | | | | (a fire escape) should it be needed. |
| allow for a bed, dresser and chest of drawers. The | | | | Once these stages are completed then things like |
| closets should be a minimum of two feet deep by | | | | dimensions, door and window labels, notes, and |
| three or four feet wide to allow for clothing storage. | | | | electrical can be placed on the plan. |