american construction

Understanding Your Home Plans
Interpreting Plans for New Home Construction
Many dream of the day that they can break ground on their dream home. But interpreting the plans for that new home is a significant part of the construction process.
   
A home that is custom tailored to you is nothing more than a collection of the parts it will be made up of. Sitting with a siding, flooring and cabinetry sample may not allow you to visualize the finished product. How does this collection of interconnected pieces fit together to form the final finished home you have dreamed about for days, months and often even years?

Without the elaborate collection of drawings that form the overall design of the home, your vision would not have a form to follow. So having the ability to visualize the home in its blueprint form is a valuable asset. Unfortunately, many leave the final design and layout decisions to the builder because they really do not understand the blueprint document. Learning how to read and interpret new home blueprints will allow you to make more informed and hopefully more decisive decisions. This will help eliminate some of the more common cost overruns.

The Foundation Plan is important because it identifies the type of foundation your home will have. This plan identifies whether you use block or a poured foundation, or whether you have a full basement, crawl space or a slab. This plan also locates the footings, the dimensions of the house and all the other specifications for construction of the foundation.

The Framing Plan indicates how the walls of the home will be constructed. This will indicate the type and size of lumber to be used during construction.

Floor Plans are exactly what they sound like. They are the plan for room layouts and interior dimensions of the home. There is an individual plan for each level of the home, and they show any built-in elements such as fireplaces and cabinetry.

Roof Plans have the details needed to construct the roof of your new home, including the pitch, type of roof and framing.

Interior Elevation Drawing shows a selection of interior walls of the home.

Exterior Elevation Drawings show all four sides of the exterior of the home.

Detail Drawings provide a close-up view of specific features of the home.

The Electrical & Plumbing Schematics will show the locations of the many plumbing and electrical fixtures in a modern home.

The actual interpretation of all these documents is key to the construction of your new home. By talking with your builder or your architect you will be able to delve into the complex mass of symbols and numbers that are used to formulate the line drawing of the finished product. Your personal understanding of the construction documents will assist in finalizing your construction details before the first shovel full of dirt is turned.