How to Draw a Landscape Plan for a Residential Home

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

Preparing a landscape plan can be an enjoyable and satisfying experience if yous do a little homework and follow a few guidelines. A simple mural base of operations map can be drawn without a computer, special software or even expensive drafting supplies, and is the showtime step in developing a landscape plan. The base map is an accurate representation of the existing landscape, scaled to fit the paper, showing information such every bit house dimensions, distance to street, and the location of trees, wood, driveways and sidewalks, if these are already present in the landscape.

What to Include

Figure 1. Example of base map

A practiced base map should show all structures, including sidewalks and driveways. The outline or footprint of the house should also include the location of doors, windows, heating and air-conditioning units, and spigots. Draw the street in front of the business firm forth with the property lines. The base map should also include the locations of meters, utility boxes and poles, as these are expensive to move and require occasional access. Some base maps likewise show details such as the location of overhead and underground utilities, streams, ditches and whatsoever easements or setbacks. Interesting landscape features such every bit stone outcroppings could likewise be drawn on a landscape base map. The base map is normally fatigued afterwards completing a site analysis. (Run into UGA Extension Round 1032-4, Drawing a Landscape Plan: Site Assay, for more information on conducting a site analysis.)

Drawing Materials

The base map is substantially a birdâ??south-eye view of the landscape. Features of the landscape are drawn with a precipitous pencil or rolling ink pen. Most beginners adopt to draw landscape plans using a regular pencil and a good eraser. Special drafting pencils vary based on the hardness of the lead. The typical rating organization for drafting pencils goes from 6H to 6B, where 6H is very hard and light and 6B is very soft and dark. Different pencil lead weights help describe the mural features in dissimilar means. Ink pens make clearer, darker lines, but erasing is almost impossible. Smearing is as well a potential problem with ink pens. Cheap pens with a rolling tip work almost as well every bit the more expensive professional person pens with interchangeable heads.

The type of paper used to describe a landscape plan depends on the blazon of copy that will be made and how the programme volition exist used. Landscape architects usually draw on a strong tracing newspaper chosen vellum then copy onto bond, which is the same paper used in most figurer printers. Graph newspaper helps beginners make accurate measurements and makes information technology easier to calculate the area of an enclosed space. Each square on the graph paper can be used to represent a specific dimension. For case, if 1 square equals a square foot, a square that is four squares by four squares in size would represent 16 foursquare feet. Blue-lined graph paper can be copied and the graph lines will not show if the copier is at a lighter setting. Large sheets of white newspaper and graph newspaper are usually available wherever art supplies are sold and tin can also be found at blueprint supply companies. With a base map consummate, tracing newspaper can exist laid overtop to experiment with dissimilar landscape ideas. Direct lines and circles are drawn to stand for the elements of the landscape. For example, circles are drawn to represent the estimate expanse covered by the tree canopy. A common ruler and circular objects such equally coins and jar lids can be used, and cheap templates are available from office supply stores. Everything can also be fatigued costless-hand, depending on your skill and the accuracy required. Drawing boards and drafting tables are used by professionals to provide a clean, smoothen surface for drawing. Some come with a sliding direct edge continued. These special boards are expensive for ane-time users, but may be worth the expense if drawing is a frequent action. Otherwise, the drawing paper can be placed on a clean, smoothen tabular array.

Computer Landscape Drawing

Many people are uncomfortable with hand drawing and feel computer drafting is easier and more accurate. There are many software programs bachelor, but in general, those that are easy to use do non provide very accurate drawings and those that create accurate drawings take a long time to larn. Many of the programs that provide iii-D imagery are less accurate and offer a pick of plants not always adapted to Georgia. If yous are skilled with computers, the all-time programs are those that are used by landscape architects and engineers and depict using "vector graphics" and "real" measurements and dimensions. There are inexpensive versions of vector graphic programs and fifty-fifty some "freeware" programs available that can create authentic drawings. Other than how the cartoon is drafted, the process of drawing by hand or calculator is similar.

Scaled Drawing

The drawing of the mural should exist scaled to accurately to depict the mural and allow measurements to be taken from the cartoon. A scaled drawing means that measurements taken outside will be fatigued in a much smaller dimension on the paper, depending on the size of scale used. Most landscape plans are drawn to a scale of 1:10, which means that x anxiety on the ground equals ane inch on paper. For example, a 100-foot driveway would be 10 inches on newspaper. Using a 1:iv scale, 100 feet would exist 25 inches on paper. Other popular landscape scales are ane:4, 1:v, 1:8, 1:10, 1:16 and one:20. Scales of 1:4, 1:viii or 1:16 friction match the mutual increments used on a conventional ruler, but scales of 1:x and one:20 are used by engineers and landscape architects. Scaled rulers, peculiarly for drafting, are available with multiple scale increments marked on them. They are cheap and can make drawing easier. The size of the paper and the size of area to be represented will determine the calibration chosen. The larger the slice of newspaper, the smaller the possible scale, which makes it easier to read. If the landscape surface area cannot fit onto the paper without scaling downwards to a size that is difficult to read, several sheets of newspaper will be necessary. One benefit of computer drafting is the ability to print the drawing at various scales, depending on admission to larger printers.

Measuring and Mapping

If the house is fairly new, much of the base of operations information volition exist plant on a belongings survey, subdivision plat or human activity. Current property maps and base information are oft available from the local planning part. Canton revenue enhancement offices may also be a source of information. In many areas, this data is now bachelor online through canton websites, or in some cases, through websites that provide aerial imagery. If none of these are available, it volition be necessary to have the measurements and create a base of operations map. For this job, a 100-human foot measuring record is helpful.

First, locate the property corner markers. If none are found, estimate their locations. Measure out from each corner point and record this on a sketch of the property. Make the sketch approximately the shape of the property purlieus line. This process may take several attempts to become accurate dimensions that fit together to class the purlieus, only the time spent at this step will make the rest of the cartoon easier and more accurate. If the corner markers cannot be found, avert landscape activity close to the estimated boundary that volition impose on neighbors and possibly violate local zoning and edifice codes. If there is whatever question well-nigh belongings line location, the cost of a professional surveyor will pay for itself in the long run. If the property is also large to measure, consider mapping just the expanse chosen for the mural projection. Measure the street and sidewalk in relation to the holding lines before locating the house. In most situations, at that place are setbacks and easements from the street that could impact the landscape plans, so bank check with the local planning office to get this information and draw in these lines besides.

Next, have measurements of the house by starting at a corner that faces the street. Sketch in the approximate outline, or footprint, of the firm. Bear witness all the corners and turns. Then measure from the first corner of the house to the next indicate the house changes direction and record this altitude on the sketch. Measure out from this second point on the house to the street. Keep the measuring record as directly as possible. Keep along the front of the business firm, measuring to each turning point, so out to the street. Every betoken does not need a measurement to the street. When finished measuring along the front of the house, motion to the other three sides. Exist sure to measure and indicate on the drawing items such as porches, air workout units, steps and the front door. These, and other similar elements, tin exist disquisitional to the final design. One time the house is measured on all sides, stop and draw a scaled version of the entire firm or the portions that relate to the landscape programme. This will serve as guide for the remaining measurements.

With the house fatigued on the base of operations map, move out into the grand and tape measurements of existing beds, natural areas, private trees and whatever other landscape elements such as gardens or dog pens. The easiest fashion to measure the locations of landscape features is to measure out the altitude from the firm or known location and a second stock-still location, such equally the street or driveway. This volition increment the accuracy of the drawing and make it easier to describe on the program. For instance, to locate a tree in the yard, measure out from ii different corners on the firm to the tree. The two distances can be matched upwardly on the base map to correctly show the location of the tree.

Copies and Prints

Once the measuring and cartoon of all the features is complete, the base map can be "cleaned up" with an eraser or liquid paper to remove smudge marks, crooked lines and any other non-essential lines or notes. This drawing can then be copied onto standard white bond newspaper. Make several copies of the base map to use in preparing the final program. Any landscape blueprint plans tin be drawn on these copies or drawn on tracing newspaper laid over tiptop.

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Status and Revision History
Published on May 15, 2006
Published on February 27, 2009
Published with Minor Revisions on Jun 21, 2013
Published with Total Review on May 31, 2017

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

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