How to Draw House and Landscape Plans

• What to Include
• Cartoon Materials
• Computer Landscape Drawing
• Scaled Drawing
• Measuring and Mapping
• Copies and Prints

Preparing a landscape plan can be an enjoyable and satisfying experience if you lot exercise a little homework and follow a few guidelines. A simple landscape base map can be fatigued without a calculator, special software or fifty-fifty expensive drafting supplies, and is the showtime step in developing a mural programme. The base map is an authentic representation of the existing landscape, scaled to fit the paper, showing data such as house dimensions, distance to street, and the location of copse, woods, driveways and sidewalks, if these are already nowadays in the mural.

What to Include

Figure 1. Example of base of operations map

A good base map should prove all structures, including sidewalks and driveways. The outline or footprint of the business firm should also include the location of doors, windows, heating and air conditioning units, and spigots. Describe the street in front of the house along with the property lines. The base map should also include the locations of meters, utility boxes and poles, as these are expensive to motion and require occasional access. Some base maps also testify details such equally the location of overhead and hush-hush utilities, streams, ditches and any easements or setbacks. Interesting landscape features such equally stone outcroppings could also be drawn on a landscape base of operations map. The base map is usually fatigued after completing a site analysis. (Meet UGA Extension Circular 1032-iv, Drawing a Mural Plan: Site Analysis, for more than information on conducting a site analysis.)

Drawing Materials

The base map is essentially a birdâ??due south-eye view of the landscape. Features of the landscape are drawn with a sharp pencil or rolling ink pen. Most beginners prefer to describe landscape plans using a regular pencil and a good eraser. Special drafting pencils vary based on the hardness of the lead. The typical rating system for drafting pencils goes from 6H to 6B, where 6H is very hard and light and 6B is very soft and night. Different pencil lead weights help draw the landscape features in different ways. Ink pens make clearer, darker lines, just erasing is almost impossible. Smearing is also a potential problem with ink pens. Inexpensive pens with a rolling tip work almost equally well as the more than expensive professional pens with interchangeable heads.

The blazon of newspaper used to draw a landscape program depends on the type of copy that volition be fabricated and how the program will be used. Mural architects unremarkably describe on a stiff tracing paper chosen vellum and and then copy onto bond, which is the same paper used in virtually computer printers. Graph paper helps beginners make accurate measurements and makes information technology easier to calculate the expanse of an enclosed space. Each square on the graph paper tin can be used to correspond a specific dimension. For example, if i square equals a square foot, a square that is four squares by 4 squares in size would stand for 16 square feet. Bluish-lined graph paper can be copied and the graph lines will not evidence if the copier is at a lighter setting. Large sheets of white paper and graph paper are usually available wherever fine art supplies are sold and can also exist found at pattern supply companies. With a base map complete, tracing newspaper can exist laid overtop to experiment with different mural ideas. Direct lines and circles are drawn to represent the elements of the landscape. For example, circles are drawn to represent the judge area covered past the tree canopy. A common ruler and circular objects such as coins and jar lids tin be used, and inexpensive templates are available from function supply stores. Everything can also be drawn free-mitt, depending on your skill and the accuracy required. Drawing boards and drafting tables are used by professionals to provide a clean, polish surface for drawing. Some come up with a sliding direct edge connected. These special boards are expensive for one-fourth dimension users, but may be worth the expense if cartoon is a frequent action. Otherwise, the cartoon paper can be placed on a clean, polish table.

Computer Landscape Drawing

Many people are uncomfortable with hand drawing and feel computer drafting is easier and more than accurate. There are many software programs available, but in general, those that are like shooting fish in a barrel to use exercise not provide very accurate drawings and those that create authentic drawings have a long fourth dimension to learn. Many of the programs that provide 3-D imagery are less accurate and offer a option of plants not always adapted to Georgia. If you are skilled with computers, the best programs are those that are used by landscape architects and engineers and draw using "vector graphics" and "real" measurements and dimensions. In that location are cheap versions of vector graphic programs and even some "freeware" programs bachelor that tin can create accurate drawings. Other than how the cartoon is drafted, the process of drawing by paw or figurer is similar.

Scaled Cartoon

The drawing of the landscape should exist scaled to accurately to depict the landscape and permit measurements to be taken from the drawing. A scaled cartoon ways that measurements taken outside will be drawn in a much smaller dimension on the paper, depending on the size of scale used. Well-nigh landscape plans are fatigued to a scale of 1:x, which means that 10 feet on the basis equals 1 inch on paper. For example, a 100-foot driveway would be x inches on paper. Using a 1:4 scale, 100 feet would exist 25 inches on paper. Other pop mural scales are ane:four, one:5, 1:8, 1:x, 1:xvi and 1:20. Scales of 1:four, ane:viii or 1:16 match the common increments used on a conventional ruler, but scales of 1:x and 1:20 are used by engineers and landscape architects. Scaled rulers, particularly for drafting, are available with multiple calibration increments marked on them. They are inexpensive and can brand drawing easier. The size of the newspaper and the size of area to exist represented volition determine the scale chosen. The larger the piece of paper, the smaller the possible calibration, which makes it easier to read. If the landscape surface area cannot fit onto the paper without scaling down to a size that is difficult to read, several sheets of paper will be necessary. One benefit of reckoner drafting is the ability to print the drawing at diverse scales, depending on access to larger printers.

Measuring and Mapping

If the house is fairly new, much of the base data volition exist found on a property survey, subdivision plat or deed. Current holding maps and base information are often available from the local planning office. Canton taxation offices may also be a source of data. In many areas, this data is now bachelor online through canton websites, or in some cases, through websites that provide aeriform imagery. If none of these are available, it will be necessary to take the measurements and create a base map. For this job, a 100-foot measuring tape is helpful.

Commencement, locate the property corner markers. If none are found, estimate their locations. Mensurate from each corner betoken and record this on a sketch of the holding. Make the sketch approximately the shape of the property boundary line. This procedure may have several attempts to get accurate dimensions that fit together to form the boundary, but the fourth dimension spent at this step will make the rest of the drawing easier and more accurate. If the corner markers cannot be found, avoid landscape activeness close to the estimated boundary that volition impose on neighbors and possibly violate local zoning and building codes. If at that place is whatever question about belongings line location, the cost of a professional surveyor volition pay for itself in the long run. If the property is too large to mensurate, consider mapping merely the area called for the mural projection. Measure the street and sidewalk in relation to the property lines before locating the business firm. In most situations, in that location are setbacks and easements from the street that could affect the landscape plans, and then check with the local planning part to go this information and draw in these lines besides.

Next, have measurements of the house past starting at a corner that faces the street. Sketch in the approximate outline, or footprint, of the house. Testify all the corners and turns. Then measure from the first corner of the business firm to the adjacent point the house changes direction and record this distance on the sketch. Measure from this second point on the firm to the street. Keep the measuring tape as straight every bit possible. Continue along the front of the house, measuring to each turning point, and and then out to the street. Every point does not demand a measurement to the street. When finished measuring along the front of the house, move to the other three sides. Be sure to measure and indicate on the drawing items such equally porches, air conditioning units, steps and the front door. These, and other similar elements, can be critical to the final pattern. Once the house is measured on all sides, stop and draw a scaled version of the entire house or the portions that chronicle to the mural plan. This will serve as guide for the remaining measurements.

With the house drawn on the base map, motility out into the one thousand and record measurements of existing beds, natural areas, private trees and whatsoever other mural elements such as gardens or domestic dog pens. The easiest way to measure the locations of landscape features is to measure the distance from the firm or known location and a second fixed location, such as the street or driveway. This will increase the accuracy of the drawing and make information technology easier to depict on the program. For example, to locate a tree in the yard, measure from two dissimilar corners on the firm to the tree. The 2 distances can be matched upward on the base map to correctly show the location of the tree.

Copies and Prints

Once the measuring and drawing of all the features is complete, the base map can be "cleaned upward" with an eraser or liquid paper to remove smudge marks, crooked lines and any other not-essential lines or notes. This drawing tin then exist copied onto standard white bail paper. Make several copies of the base of operations map to apply in preparing the final plan. Whatsoever landscape pattern plans can be drawn on these copies or drawn on tracing paper laid over top.

---

Condition and Revision History
Published on May 15, 2006
Published on Feb 27, 2009
Published with Modest Revisions on Jun 21, 2013
Published with Total Review on May 31, 2017

fisherarachis70.blogspot.com

Source: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1032-3&title=Drawing+a+Landscape+Plan%2C+The+Base+Map

Share this post