DIY Drawings

[fattony]

As I understand it the council will accept drawings from the house holder and you don't need to employ an architect. I want to try and submit plans for a small side extension but not sure what the council will want, I assume:

Floor Plan
3D external view

Is there anything else, or better still someone who has more knowledge who could offer some advice.

I also need to find a simple to use drawing program - any suggestions? or could I draw by hand and scan in?

Thanks

 

[HERTS P&D]

I wanted a higher garden wall and the local council wanted 'drawings'.

So I bought some graph paper and a scale rule, then drew a sketch of what I wanted.

I had to submit it to the council and wait 6 weeks, then they agreed it.

Best thing to do is give them a call and ask if that would be ok.

Andy

 

[^woody^]

Your local council will/should specify exactly what is required for the drawings and supporting information

Typically you will need complete floor plans and all elevations showing before and after details to their specified scale.

A block and location plan showing the boundaries and vegetation

Any other supporting information for the type of application - eg a design statement

Then you need to think about who is to do the detailed building control plans or if you will do the work on a building notice

 

[RonnyRaygun]

If your extension is permitted devlopment you don't have to submit plans to the council; you can get the work done on a building notice - although your builder will probably still want drawings...

You don't have to use a computer to produce the drawings; you've just got to ensure that the required information is there. By the time you've learned to use a CAD package you could have done the drawings by hand...although you have to be more careful about getting the position and scaling right first time.
A lot of councils still insist on paper copies of the drawings anyway...even if you've got .dwg or .pdf files.

 

[JohnD]

if you go to the councils website, look at Planning Applications, then Documents, you can look at what is usual for the sort of job you have in mind.

I did mine on A3 paper with a ruler and a square.

 

[garyo]

I did my own for both Planning and Building Regs. I found using a computer more flexible because I could change things as I went along without needing to re-start, and all the scaling is done for you.

If you download the Planning and Building Regs applications forms from your council website they'll include a list of all plans that you need to submit. You can also download other peoples planning applications to get a feel for the kind of thing you're going to be expected to produce. In my area around one in twenty seen to hand drawn.

Are you building this yourself - what's the purpose of the plans you want to draw - planning, regs, or to give to a builder to get a quote and work from?

Gary

 

[mattylad]

Google sketch will do what you want for free.

There are also the occasional CAD package available on the web for free, Mr Google will find them for you if you ask him.