Types of Building Plans That You Should Know About

Learn the most common types of building plans, from floor plans to elevations, and understand what to request for your next renovation or build.

Are you looking for strictly aesthetic design plans for a remodelling project, or are you looking for technical building plans? Before requesting quotes from potential building contractors or design professionals, it’s important to determine what you need first.

There are many different types of plans that a qualified professional can prepare for a project. Every drawing — from floor layouts to exterior elevations — tells a different story about the space and how it will come together.

Don’t worry if it’s difficult to tell elevations apart from reflected ceiling plans. Below are some of the most common types of building and design plans, so you know exactly what to request when engaging a professional.

• Floor Plans – Every interior design or building project needs a floor plan. A floor plan allows you to view your room as though you removed the ceiling and are looking down from above. Consider yourself a giant taking a bird’s-eye view of the plan. There are several different floor plan types, each having a specific purpose. Some of the types include 2D and 3D designs.

• Site Plans – Site plans are similar to floor plans, except they allow you to see the whole structure. Site plans can be for a single house or a whole apartment building. Depending on your scope, you can detail the floors of a single structure on a site plan. You can make a different site plan to reflect each relationship between the various structures if you wish.

• Exterior Elevations – You can see the building’s exterior in exterior elevations. These are tremendously helpful since, when building, it’s ideal to have an idea of what the structure should look like once construction is complete. Exterior elevations can be presented in 2D or 3D and can be as intricate or straightforward as you wish.

• Interior Elevations – The aim of interior elevations is quite similar to that of exterior elevations. Interior elevations allow you to design a space with all the furniture or a view with only the baseboard, windows, and crown moulding. Elevations are incredibly helpful when building a room like a kitchen or a bathroom, which requires visualising built-in components.

• Reflective Ceiling Plan – Reflective ceiling plans are the opposite of floor plans. By that, we mean that floor plans show what the floor would look like if you removed the ceiling and you were looking down from the top of the building. When considering a reflective ceiling plan, imagine turning a house upside down after removing the floor. In this type of plan, the ceiling is the floor.

• Landscape Plans – Building a house or place of business involves much more than just designing its appearance inside and out. Your space won’t appear complete without appropriate landscaping. Everything from flowers to sidewalks, lawn ornaments to fountains can be seen on landscape plans.

• Millwork Drawings – The smallest details in your design plan are shown in millwork drawings. These are frequently carried out for cabinetry and furnishings, including baseboards and crown mouldings. These will show the smallest details of a product’s construction, right down to the last screw, with precise measurements.

Even though this overview isn’t exhaustive, it should provide a clearer understanding of the types of plans that may be required for a successful project.

Having difficulty finding the right professional to bring your ideas to life?

Michael Worth is a Melbourne-based building contractor working on residential and commercial projects. With experience across a wide range of modern and contemporary building and construction techniques, including work on historical structures, Michael is committed to delivering high-quality outcomes from planning through to completion.

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