Having covered the must-know information on how to get your extension’s technical designs down to a tee, here are four bonus tips to help you get the most our of your working drawings, especially to help you visualise detail, size and even your furniture in the new space!
1. Zoomed-in detail
If a particular part of the extension drawings is deemed mission-critical or warrants a closer look, then a zoomed-in view to show the detail is a good idea. An example of a valuable expanded view might be the exact size and position of a supporting pillar in a kitchen, where seeing the detail could determine whether a set bi-folding doors is achievable or if the depth of joist hangers will impede onto ceilings below. In such cases, showing a zoomed-in detail with measurements can really help with touch-and-go decisions.
2. Size and space information
It goes without saying that plans will be to scale (typically 1:50 or 1:100 for extensions), which allows the builder to measure out with a scale rule for the location starter walls, stud partitions, measure surface areas for buying quantities, and so forth. To make life a little easier, it is also worth showing the room dimensions on plan, which will serve as a sense check for the tradesmen on-site and costs nothing to add.
3. Inserting furniture and people
If adding room dimensions makes the tradesmen’s jobs easier, then inserting scaled furniture and people to the drawings will make your life easier. Getting to grips with real-life space sizing can be challenging to perceive, even for experienced eyes, and rooms can look misleadingly larger on a clean white sheet of A3 paper than they are in real life. However, dropping in a double bed to the plan view of your new bedroom, for example, acts as a yardstick and immediately puts the space into context. Indeed, the same is true when a human figure is placed into the side-on sectional view, allowing you to see the height of a room as it really is.
4. Supplemental 3D images
Sometimes, no matter how many room dimensions have been inserted or how many bits of furniture shown, it remains devilishly difficult to get a tangible feel for the new space. That’s where 3D imagery can help. 3D rendering software is used to produce an accurate likeness of how the extension will look and feel, giving you an accurate sense of the space you can expect to enjoy by the end. In addition, for quirkier designs, 3D images will help the builder to understand the vision you have for the new space, in just the same way putting a jigsaw together is easier when you know what it is supposed to look like. It is worth spending a few extra pounds for 3D imagery.
These bonus tips help get the most of out your working drawings by providing another lens through which to appreciate the scheme. The better you understand the space you have, the better-quality decisions you will make, and the closer the built extension will be to the design.