You’re thinking about building a home, so you’ve been browsing designs and floor plans. Does it sometimes feel like you’re trying to figure out the directions for building a piece of IKEA furniture? Honestly, it’s not that complicated. Here’s some insight for how to read a floor plan for a new construction home.

What is a floor plan?

A floor plan is a scaled technical drawing that shows a birds eye view of the interior spaces in a building—as if the roof was removed and you’re looking down from above. The plan is used by the builder to see the relationship of rooms and spaces within the structure. They read the floor plan to determine the framing of the home.

The plans are usually created by an architect who understands the intricacies of structural engineering. If you want to dabble with a design of your own, there are software programs to guide you. Then, you can share your plans with a builder or architect to communicate what you’re envisioning for your new construction home.

You might also hear about a “set” of plans for building a home. This term refers to several components, in addition to the floor plan:

• The elevations, which are the exterior views that show the details of the various facades of the home
• The site plan, representing the placement of the home on the lot and any landscaping features, such as gardens, walkways, and the driveway
• Mechanical, electrical, and fire prevention plans, detailing the placement of each of these key elements

There are other individual plans that show the roof, foundation, framing, and ceiling, but those are the more technical documents for the tradespeople, engineers, and inspectors.

This two-dimensional floor plan diagrams the layout, indicating room measurements and the placement of structural features like doors, windows, columns, knee walls, closets, cabinets, countertops, and built-in shelves. They also show the placement of fixtures, such as toilets, showers, sinks, and major appliances. Some floor plans will include furniture to give a sense of scale. You can see how an average sofa, table, or bed fits within a room.

How do you interpret a floor plan?

A floor plan is similar to a map. The names of the rooms, like locations on a map, are written clearly. Then, there are symbols, a scale, and a legend that identifies the meaning of the symbols. In order to learn how to read a floor plan, you need to understand the symbology. Here’s your guide.

The walls and frame

A floor plan has lines of varying thicknesses; some are solid lines, but not all. Lines can mark walls, ceiling treatments, partitions, and more. It’s important to understand the difference between a load-bearing wall and the other types that make up your home.

A solid line indicates a permanent wall, interior or exterior. Some floor plans use a thick or double line to indicate an exterior wall and a thinner one for interior walls, to provide clearer distinction between the two.

A dotted or dashed line represents a separation but not a full wall. Think of the dotted line as a marker, but not necessarily structural. This line can symbolize a variety of details:

• A dotted or dashed line could be used to indicate a partition that isn’t a full wall, like a half-wall or knee-wall.
• It could show the division between rooms, as in an open concept. A dotted line might mark where the kitchen is intended to separate from the living and dining areas, because there’s no actual wall there. In a space like a formal dining room or flex room, there could be a dotted line to show the opening. That means there is no door, but you can close it off with French doors if you’d like.
• The dotted line might also show where the flooring changes; for example, from hardwood to tile. 
• A broken (dotted or dashed) line around the perimeter of an area means that there is a ceiling treatment planned there, like a beam, coffered, or tray ceiling.
• A feature that is not part of the structural footprint is indicated with a dotted line, like an opening from one level to the other (e.g., vaulted ceiling). You’ll likely see “OPEN TO BELOW” on the second level’s floor plan, which shows that this is an open area and does not have a floor.
• A doorless entry, like an archway, is indicated with two dotted, parallel lines.
• A dotted line on a floor plan also marks items like the upper cabinets in the kitchen and the seating space beyond the kitchen island.
• The broken line on a floor plan can also show where items like shelving are included, as in a pantry or closet.

The doors

Learn how to interpret the placement and type of doors throughout the home. From the front entry to the slider on the back, from doors that separate rooms to those that close off your closets, there are a variety of door symbols to learn.

• A single door is represented on a floor plan as a thin, perpendicular line with an arc from the top point to the point on the wall below. This symbol shows the placement of a door and the direction in which it opens.
• A closet door symbol is similar to the single door, but the arc for the door’s swing is sometimes at a lesser angle than an interior door.
• Double doors, such as French doors, have two opposite door symbols, with the arcs meeting in the center. 
• A sliding door is marked with two parallel lines and an arrow that indicates the door moves sideways, rather than opening in an arc. 
• A barn door is drawn parallel to the wall where it is hung.
• A pocket door is mounted within the wall and is pulled in and out as needed. On a floor plan, the placement of a pocket door is illustrated with a thin line that extends from inside the interior wall to the open doorway.

The windows

Windows may vary in size and style. Here’s what you need to know about reading window symbols on a floor plan.

• A rectangular window—which comprises most of the windows in a home—is drawn as two parallel lines in a wall. Some plans might also show the size of the window.
• A sliding window has 2 arrows, 1 pointed in each direction, either within the lines of the window symbol or above and below it.
• A casement window, which opens outward, is a combination of a window and a closet door symbol. An arc that shows the swing as added to the window’s parallel lines.
• An arched window is drawn with an arc, and it’s usually labelled.
• A bay window is shown as double or triple lines that extend beyond the wall, most commonly as a set of three lines.

The stairs

Stairs inside the home are drawn as a stack of rectangular boxes. There’s an arrow indicating whether the stairs go up or down. Some plans will include the number of stairs, too.

Bathroom fixtures

Many of the symbols in a floor plan’s bathroom are self-explanatory. A toilet looks like a toilet. The vanity is a rectangular or square box, with an oval or circle inside to represent the sink(s). If the second sink is optional, it will be drawn with a dotted line.

A bathtub is shown as a rectangle with an oval in the center, unless it’s a freestanding tub, which is indicated only as an oval. The shower could be one of various styles. A step-in shower is 3 lines with an opening; if the shower has a door, you’ll see the door symbol, with the arc showing a swing. 

For a shower-tub combination, the floor plan symbol is a rectangle tub with a small circle for a showerhead, or an oval within a rectangle. 

Optional features

The floor plan you’re considering might have features that aren’t included as standard. Pay close attention to the signs so you don’t end up with unmet expectations or an unwelcome surprise in the price to add these options. You can find the non-included features—like a fireplace or dual vanity—because they’re marked by dotted lines and are usually tagged with “OPT” for “Optional”. If in doubt, ask the builder or architect.

How does your floor plan measure up?

Size really matters when it comes to the home where you’re going to spend many years. Every room on a floor plan includes measurements—the width of the space (side to side) is the first number and the length (top to bottom) is the second one. 

If you’re unfamiliar with room measurements, now is the time to learn. Measure the rooms in your current home. You might even draw out a floor plan so you can see the size of the spaces you’re living in now. Measure the closets, bathroom, and laundry room. Note the size of your kitchen island and cabinets. Use these measurements as reference when you’re reviewing floor plans for a new construction home.

What’s the ideal size of your main living area and bedrooms? Are there rooms in your house with wasted space? How large are the furnishings you plan to move with you? Do you have a king-sized bedroom set or a large sectional? Write down those measurements, too.

As you’re thinking about building a home, take a tour of model homes and ask to see the floor plan. Consider this hands-on training for how to read a floor plan. Seeing numbers on paper is one thing. Walking through a home with knowledge of the dimensions is much more enlightening.

Why is there a compass on the floor plan?

Sometimes you will see a compass in the lower corner of the floor plan, outside of the actual design. This symbol shows how the home is intended to be situated on the property. By knowing which side faces north or south, you can get a better idea of how the natural light will stream through your home. Ask the architect or builder how the placement of this home affects your choice of lot to build on. What should you be looking for to evaluate property for building a home?

The future-proof floor plan

Most likely, you expect to live in your new home for many years. The home you invest in should have the versatility to fit the way you plan to live in the future. Keep that thought in mind as you look at floor plans.

What features are essential for you right now? Fast-forward a few years. What will change? 

• Who will be living with you? What are their specific living needs?
• Will your household grow or get smaller? 
• Would a first-floor suite be useful?
• Are you working from home? Will you need more than 1 office?
• How much do you plan to entertain (frequency and size)?
• Where should the laundry ideally be placed?
• Are you expecting to expand the number of smart devices to be used in your home, including appliances, electronics, and smart home automation?
• Do you plan to buy an electric vehicle?
• What features would be helpful to have for your pets?

Answer all of these questions so you have an idea of the features and accommodations necessary in the floor plan for your new construction home.

New Home Inc. is a Raleigh home builder that specializes in designing and building Future-Proof homes. Our research into the most important features for homebuyers who are forward-thinking prompted us to more thoughtfully design our floor plans, for both single-family homes and townhomes. 

Here are some innovative features that make New Home Inc.’s floor plans more appealing to today’s homebuyers.

• The included smart home automation package provides for easy management of your network, as well as a smart security system (video doorbell and camera), smart lighting, smart door lock, and smart thermostat. 
• Our kitchens are designed to reduce bottlenecks and provide more workspace and casual dining area. The oversized island is extended far enough to allow seating on 3 sides, not just 1 or 2.
• The truly unique smart door delivery center provides peace of mind for your packages. We enclose the space between your front door and the exterior front door, secured by a smart lock. An authorized delivery person uses the code provided, opens the door, and leaves the package in the protected space. The door automatically locks when closed. 
• If you need a floor plan with a first-floor suite, you can choose from a variety of designs, because we’ve incorporated this important element into many of our plans.
• You have the option to convert a space near the kitchen into a pocket office. It’s not an upgrade, but a feature that’s already designed into the plan, if you choose to use it.
• New Home Inc.’s “messy kitchen” is a service pantry adjacent to the kitchen and separated by a pocket door. Like a butler’s pantry, the messy kitchen is a separate space to use for serving, storing, clean-up, or even a snack and beverage station. For people with busy households who converge on the kitchen or those who enjoy entertaining—or both—the messy kitchen is a must-have!
• An electric vehicle charging station has been roughed in, which means the behind-the-wall work is already done in your garage. When you’re ready to activate the charging station, it’s a quick task.
• Energy efficiency is always a concern. New Home Inc. uses the most advanced materials and methods to earn ecoSelect certification, a program developed by Southern Energy Management that requires third-party inspection to ensure every home meets their stringent requirements.

• New Home Inc. uses only CAT6 ethernet cable, because it delivers a much stronger, more reliable signal than the standard CAT5. With CAT6, you don’t have to worry about sluggish speeds and dead zones.
• Indoor air quality should be on your list of must-haves. New construction homes these days are built to prevent leaks and drafts. As a result, the air in your home could have more allergens contained inside. The whole home air filtration system is built into every New Home Inc. single-family home and townhome. The system filters the air to remove allergens and pollutants. 
• We make it easy to give extra love to your pets. In our 2-story plans, you can choose to convert the area under the stairs into a private space where they can escape for much-needed quiet time. You can also easily add a grooming station to the laundry or garage, because we thought ahead and planned for including it, as desired.

With New Home Inc.’s “cutting-edge” approach to design and construction, we’ve considered the needs for households in the years to come. 

Now that you understand how to read a floor plan, we invite you to read some of ours! New Home Inc. builds these plans throughout the Raleigh area. We’ve chosen some of the most desirable and affordable suburbs, like Angier, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Lillington, Smithfield, and Willow Spring. Our communities of new homes for sale near Raleigh, NC, bring together the quality of life you’re seeking from your new hometown, the style and features you want in your next home, and the personal attention that guides you through the process of buying or building a new home. Contact the new home experts at New Home Inc. to review our floor plans, tour the models of new homes for sale near Raleigh, NC, and talk about your future-proof home!