{"id":641,"date":"2021-11-24T13:59:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T18:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/?p=641"},"modified":"2024-01-24T14:55:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T19:55:48","slug":"how-to-read-a-blueprint-for-a-new-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/how-to-read-a-blueprint-for-a-new-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read a Blueprint for a New Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re interested in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plans\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">building a new home<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so you\u2019ve started browsing pictures online. Even though the images are gorgeous, it\u2019s hard to get a feel for the actual size of the rooms. For this, you\u2019ll need to look at a blueprint. A blueprint is a two-dimensional diagram of a home that shows the layout, indicating room measurements and the placement of features like doors, windows, toilets, showers, closets, and major appliances. You can learn a lot about a home when you really understand how to read a blueprint. Following are some tips to help you do just that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What is a home blueprint?<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A blueprint is an overhead view of one level of a home, as if you removed the roof and looked inside from above. You\u2019ll see lines of varying thicknesses and along with symbols, some that make sense and others that might be unfamiliar. The drawing is then combined with a series of notes and other plans (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) to provide all the information necessary for construction. For your purposes, the blueprint is all you need to \u201cread\u201d to understand the flow and features of your new home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>What do the different lines mean in a blueprint?<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The diagram of a home is made up of symbols. A blueprint includes a variety of lines \u2014 solid, dotted, and double \u2014 and you should know the meaning of each one on a blueprint. A solid line indicates a wall, interior or exterior. Some plans use a thick or double line for an exterior wall and a thinner one for interior walls, to provide clearer distinction between the two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A dotted or dashed line does not represent a wall. Think of the dotted line as a marker, but not necessarily structural. This line can symbolize a variety of details, like:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The division between rooms in an open-concept plan<\/strong> &#8211; A dotted line could indicate where the kitchen is intended to separate from the living and dining areas, because there\u2019s 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\u2019d like.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Where the flooring changes<\/strong> &#8211; For example, from hardwood to tile<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A ceiling treatment<\/strong> &#8211; Like a beam, coffered, or tray ceiling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A feature that is not part of the structural footprint<\/strong> &#8211; This could be an opening from one level to the other (e.g., vaulted ceiling). You\u2019ll likely see \u201cOPEN TO BELOW\u201d on the second level\u2019s blueprint, which shows that this is an open area and does not have a floor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Items like the upper cabinets in the kitchen<\/strong> and the seating space beyond the kitchen island<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Where items like shelving are included<\/strong> &#8211; As in a pantry or closet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-644 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dsouders.devfba.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_309088232-600x400.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_309088232-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_309088232-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_309088232.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>How are doors shown on a blueprint?<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your home has different types of doors: exterior and interior, as well as single, double, sliding, pocket, and barn doors. A conventional single or double door is always illustrated with a line and an arc that shows which way the door swings open. The line of the door is thinner than those used for the walls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A sliding or barn door on a blueprint is shown with a bold line for the door and is marked on the wall in its open position. A barn door will be drawn just parallel to the wall while a pocket door will be marked with a solid line that is laid over the wall where it will be hidden in its pocket.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Can I tell the size of the windows on a blueprint?<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A blueprint will show you where the windows are placed but not the height of each one. A window is drawn with parallel lines that separate the solid lines of the wall where they will be installed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>How do I read the bathroom layout on a blueprint?<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll see the various bathroom fixtures drawn in symbols. The vanity is marked with an oval within a rectangle. The blueprint might have dual vanities, but if the second vanity is optional, it will be drawn in a dotted line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bathtub is indicated with an oval. A shower stall is a square or rectangle; it\u2019s often marked with an \u201cX\u201d filling the space, which indicates it is only a shower and doesn\u2019t include a bathtub. A tub and shower combination can be drawn as a rectangle within another rectangle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>How can I figure out the size of the rooms?<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blueprints include the dimensions of each room, under the title of that space. In a dimension like 10\u2019x12\u2019, the first number represents the width of the room, and the second number represents the length. Some architects place furniture symbols in the rooms to give you a sense of how standard pieces \u2014 like a queen or twin bed, sofa, or dining table \u2014 fit there. It\u2019s helpful to know the size of your current rooms so you can compare them to those on a blueprint.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you browse our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plans\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1,000+ new home blueprints<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, if you have any questions about how to read them, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">give us a call<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 we are happy to help!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019re interested in building a new home so you\u2019ve started browsing pictures online. Even though the images are gorgeous, it\u2019s hard to get a feel for the actual size of the rooms. For this, you\u2019ll need to look at a blueprint. A blueprint is a two-dimensional diagram of a home that shows the layout, indicating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-custom-home-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankbetzhouseplans.com\/house-plan-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}