Drawings. They’re what your design team work from. They’re how your architect brings those initial ideas of yours to life. Every construction project needs drawings, and your self-build is no exception. You will need a variety of drawings to ensure the project is designed, approved, and constructed correctly.
A novice self-builder may find it hard to navigate these drawings and their meaning, which is why we’re here to break down the meaning of every self-build drawing you’ll typically see, as well as a breakdown of the stages these drawings go through before construction.
THE STAGES OF YOUR DESIGN
Drawings are a fundamental component in the self-build process, visualising your ideas and guiding other consultants. These drawings are either hand-drawn by your architect or created using Computer Aided Design (CAD).
Their drawings are developed for each sequential stage becoming more detailed as the project moves along. There is a drawing package produced in collaboration with the client for the following stages-
Initial design stage - The design drawings will be the first drawings your architect creates. They will use the information provided in the design brief and produce two or three different designs in conjunction with their client. These drawings show the intent of the build, and the selected drawings will develop into planning drawings.
Planning – Planning drawings are outline drawings that accompany your planning application for your proposed build. These are sent to your local planning authority to ensure that the proposed development meets all required legal and regulatory standards before any construction begins.
Building Control – Building control drawings provide proof that the proposed project will comply with the relevant building regulations. These drawings are sent to your chosen method of building control, whether it be a private inspector or your local authority. These drawings feature more detail than planning drawings and incorporate information from your engineer and any others in your design team.
Production Stage - Production drawings are created once the client has received approval from Building Control. To put it simply, these are the drawings you build the house from. These drawings feature thorough detailing and are fully dimensioned. These drawings must also show compliance with building regulations. Your production package will feature multiple drawings, including your MEP plans. Once that package is complete, that will be what they use to build the house. You may see these referred to as construction drawings by some of your contractors.
EXPLAINING YOUR ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS
Your architectural drawings encompass multiple drawings that make up your production package. This is a comprehensive set of drawings and documents created by your self-build architect that provides detailed information about the design and construction of your self-build. These drawings are essential for communicating your architect's design intent to the other engineer and other contractors. These can include:
SITE PLAN
Your site plans give more context to the surrounding area, showing the boundary and the land you’re building on. Your drawings may also include the dimensions of your boundary and the main access road to your new home. You will have two of these drawings for planning and Building Control.
FOUNDATION PLAN
Foundation plans are detailed drawings that specify the design and layout of the foundation for a building. These plans are essential for self-build projects as they provide the necessary information to construct a stable and secure base for the structure. This may also include the design of your drainage system.
FLOOR PLAN
Your floor plans provide an overhead view of a building's layout, illustrating how spaces are organised and connected. These drawings will be present at the planning stage and the Building Control stage. Your planning drawings will provide the basics, such as the gross floor area and room sizes. When it’s time to submit to building control, more detail will be added.
Your project will also have a separate roof plan, which simply show the dimensions of your roof and would be submitted at the same time.
ELEVATION
Elevation drawings are flat representations of one side of a building, typically including the front, back, and two sides. They show the structure’s vertical layout and detail. Elevation drawings are typically labelled according to the direction they face (e.g., North or South Elevation).
A self-build will have two sets of elevation drawings. One for planning and another for Building Control. The planning stage drawings will tell you the finishes any other relevant information. Your second set of drawings will provide more detail, such as window placements and glass types.
Elevation drawings serve as a guide for builders and contractors, providing a clear picture of what the completed building will look like from all sides.
SECTIONS
Sections take a cut through the building at critical junctions such as stairs, roof intersections, doorways, windows in order to show what is happening in these areas and allow details to be developed of how these will be constructed on site.
MEP
MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) drawings are essential for ensuring that the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are properly integrated. It also includes details for any HVAC installation and maintenance required on site. These systems will be shown on the main plans at the building control stage but will provide the full detail.
At the production drawing stage, separate MEP drawings are produced to show the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in more detail. This is done to ensure they are properly integrated into the overall construction plans.
Your Planning drawings will be submitted to your local planning authority as part of an application for planning permission along with other required information. The authority then reviews your drawings and may request changes to the plans.
Once planning permission has been granted, in order to obtain permission to build your house, an application must be submitted to building control (which be the local authority building control in Scotland and can be either the local authority or private approved inspector in England or Wales) with the relevant building control drawings and information required to support these. Your drawings must comply with building regulations. Your drawings will then be reviewed and commented on by building control If the drawings meet all requirements, they'll be approved, however in most cases, you'll receive requests for further information or changes requested to areas of the drawings. Once you have permission and start building your home, site inspections will be conducted by building control to ensure compliance.
This process may vary depending on your local regulations, so it's important to check specific requirements in your area.
FINALISED DRAWINGS
Once your drawings have received approval, they are referred to as finalised drawings. These drawings have been sent and approved to building control and are ready to be built from. Making any changes to these drawings will come with new fees and may need to be sent to Building Control again.
Once the production package has been finalised, with any required input from external contractors received, the drawing package is typically issued as a set of construction documents, which may also include specifications, contracts, and other pertinent information. These documents are distributed to all relevant parties, including your building inspectors
ENGINEERING DRAWINGS
Engineering drawings refers to any drawings displaying different aspects of engineering. For self-build, this usually includes Structural and Civil drawings.
Structural drawings symbolise the skeleton of your project, illustrating the layout and design of load-bearing elements such as columns, beams, walls, and foundations. These plans detail the dimensions and specifications required to support the structure safely. For more information on structural drawings, click here.
Civil drawings generally detail engineering that has taken place out with the main structure, this could include drainage design and the layout of surrounding roads.
DRAWINGS FROM OTHER DESIGNERS
These are not the only drawings you may come across on your self-build journey. Many external professionals you bring on board the project will have their own drawings. This could include an Engineer, interior designer, a lighting designer, MVHR designer to name but a few.
You can read more about these roles here:
- Navigating The Interior Design Process with Julia Kendell
- How Appointing A Lighting Designer Can Help Your Self Build
- Benefits of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery
3D RENDERINGS
Our architects create highly accurate 3D renderings of your home during the planning stage as part of our service package. We also output our 3D model to the BIMx App, which then allows you to walk around your future home on your iPad or home computer.
Using twinmotion software, we can bring these drawings to life using virtual reality. This software allows you to walk around your home, changing materials, furniture and lighting. Find out more about this service here.
HOW OUR DESIGN TEAM BRING YOUR DRAWINGS TOGETHER
How do we take all these drawings and details and bring them together into one big plan? The key is communication. Our architects and technologists use their technical expertise to coordinate with the various consultants, ensuring every minute detail is properly integrated.
External drawings may clash in some cases, such as the MVHR system having to go through a steel beam designed by an engineer. It’s then up to us to work around these issues to bring the drawings together in a full production package.
Our number one priority is to produce a comprehensive set of construction drawings that covers all aspects of the building project. This complete drawing package is what is used by the builders to actually construct the building.
We hope this guide to your self-build drawings gives you more understanding about how we communicate details and design choices to others in the process. Through strong communication and an understanding of the industry, we provide a complete, integrated set of construction documentation that turns your project from a dream to reality.
