Site Planning: Everything You Need to Know

Many people seek for a house to purchase, while others look for a property they can alter, build on, and renovate to turn their ideal home into a reality. And renovating a home or property is never an easy or uncomplicated project that should be undertaken without thought or forethought.

You may face a host of financial and legal issues in the road if you remodel a house or property without enough planning. More than 71% of homeowners finish some form of home renovation or remodeling project after acquiring a property.

Renovations to the kitchen alone might cost up to $14,000 for some households. A home improvement project costs the average American more than $6649. Also, don't get the sense that most homeowners renovate their homes only to show off. Over 80% of residences in the United States are over 20 years old.

You may be compelled to complete a home renovation job whether you want to or not. This might be a project for the inside or outside. It'll also help if you remember that these efforts don't happen by themselves. You may accidentally cross adjacent property borders as a result of your exterior home renovation work.

Your intended home repair project may be in violation of the bylaws of your homeowner's association if you are a member. Aside from ensuring that you only make modifications that are actually essential, you must also guarantee that your home construction project, especially those on the exterior, is up to code.

As a result, you must have a site plan before starting a building project.

What Is A Site Plan and Why Do You Need One?

A site plan, sometimes referred to as a plot plan, is a diagram that depicts the proposed changes to a land. Because it provides information about a parcel's landscape components, site planning is important.

A site plan shows both what's already there and what you wish to do with it. A garage expansion to a particular property, for example, is an example of this.

The relationship between what is now existent and what you wish to develop is one of the most important parts of a site plan. All site designs are unique and will not be built in the same manner. Because different building authorities have different criteria, this is the case. Some permits require you to hire a land surveyor, while others allow you to draw your own plan on graph paper. Check with the local permitting authorities for clarification before moving further.

Governments need site plans to ensure that local and state building regulations are fulfilled when a property is renovated or expanded. Another reason site plans are important is because they are often kept as historical records by governments, particularly when people make significant changes to their dwellings.

A site plan is a detailed blueprint that depicts the improvements or additions that will be made to a particular piece of property.

What Is The Purpose Of A Site Map?

The primary purpose of a site plan is to describe how the intended land use relates to the parcel's and its surroundings. In addition to illustrating how your intended development or structures connect to what is currently on your property, a site plan will assist your building authorities to confirm local building and zoning requirements.

Any changes you make to your property will be in compliance with current regulatory norms thanks to the site plan. Another important feature of a site plan, as well as a building plan in general, is that it ensures that local services such as schools, sewers, roads, water, and emergency services are appropriate for the development.

Following zoning restrictions will also lower your chances of being prosecuted for illegal land use. Furthermore, zoning compliance will assist in ensuring that your project is safeguarded for future regulations, such as insurance coverage.

In the case of a loss, your insurance coverage may not cover you if you install anything without authorization or in a manner that breaches zoning and building rules.

 

What Is The Distinction Between A Site Plan And A Floor Plan?

What's the difference between a floor plan and a site plan? A floor plan is a scaled depiction of a structure's room arrangement on one level.

Do you live in a 1000-square-foot home and want a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home with a kitchen and living room? Agencies may come up with a number of suggestions to assist you better grasp how to utilize that particular region. This is a common option for commercial applications like tenant improvement.

On the other hand, a site plan is concerned with depicting everything inside the land's limits. This includes topography in relation to buildings, pathways, and other elements.

Unless the property is expected to undergo proposed modifications that would result in significant changes to the home's footprint, floor plans are seldom offered alongside site plans. Despite their technical complexity, floor plans are typically more understandable and accessible to non-experts in the field of site planning.

 

Is Having A Site Plan Necessary For Me?

Consider the following situations if you need a site plan:

• You're curious as to the size of your home.
• Display your home's position with respect to your property lines.
• You'll need a strategy to complete your yard work. To prevent misunderstandings, make a list of your directions.
• A new roofline should be drawn.
• Is your space being invaded by a neighbor? Create a drawing of the city's overhanging invasion as an exhibit.
• Do you want to change the look of your yard? To assist you determine what to keep and what to get rid of, start by drafting a site plan.
• You want to build a new building outdoors and need a permission.
• You want to destroy your house or another building, and you need a demolition permit.
• You're attempting to get a construction permit in a city that mandates tree preservation. Officials in charge of planning might use this data to determine if extra tree protection is necessary.
• You want to remove or remodel your swimming pool.
• A Conditional Use Permit is needed for commercial buildings.
• Take a look at our three basic site plans to learn more about them and decide which one is best for you. In order to best meet your requirements, we also provide hourly work.

What Is a Site Plan, and What Does It Include?

A woman is examining floor plans on a computer screen.

There are a few standards that must be observed when it comes to site planning and design. The following is a list of features that should be incorporated in most website designs.

• The most fundamental and crucial components of your web strategy are your name and location.
• Your range, township, tax las, and section will all be included in this.
• Scaling is required for the site plan diagram.
• To show how your land is oriented, the North cardinal direction must be indicated on the site plan.
• The site plan must illustrate the boundaries of your land.
• The site plan should contain information like the location of your driveway and neighboring streets.
• Structures that are now in place as well as those that will be built in the future: The site design should include both current and planned constructions.

Depending on where the property is situated, some building authorities may need more or less information than indicated above. Authorities may impose requirements for lighting, routes, landscaping, drainage, sanitary sewer lines, garden components, utility services including electricity and water service lines, and sidewalks and other walkways. Although our drafters at MySitePlan.com are unable to identify utilities, they may be included at the client's request through our Detailed Site Plan.

 

Software for rendering and site planning

Select the most up-to-date and effective tools accessible while building your site strategy. AutoCAD, a professional computer-aided design application that has provided "CAD expertise to Global Customers since 2000," will be used to build your site layout. The benefit of AutoCAD is that it can easily create 3D models to help visualize the final product. A typical 2D site plan graphic cannot match this level of technical accuracy. For a quote on a bespoke 2D or 3D rendering, please contact us.

 

What Is A Site Plan And How Do You Make One?
The goal of your site plan is to provide an aerial view of your property, complete with scaled drawings of existing buildings and other elements. Your intended buildings must be incorporated in the design and depicted in a manner that clearly shows how they will interact with the property's current structures.

 

Instructions for a Site Plan

Site designs must usually meet specified regulations, depending on the building authority. The first and most important thing to understand about a site plan is that it should be a scaled visual. Second, you must show and identify every dimension on your site plan. Always ensure that everything is in order with your local building authority.

A site design should contain both property boundaries and all required measurements. It's crucial to be able to tell the difference between what's already in place and what's being proposed. The use of dashed vs solid lines to distinguish between planned and existing buildings comes in handy here.

Furthermore, any needed existing structures, such as recommended walkways and patios, must always be included in a site plan. Large trees on the property must be indicated on the site plan, according to several building authorities. In general, if your tree has a diameter of more than two feet, you should include it, stating the diameter as well as the species. These must be turned in to us.

It is impossible to overestimate the significance of adequate site preparation. Once your designs have been approved, a site plan will serve as a layout map for the garage, new room, new driveway, or whatever else you're building.

 

What Is The Most Effective Method Of Obtaining A Site Plan For My Property?

If you wish to make improvements to your property, such as adding a shed or an in-ground pool, or if you want to sell your home, you'll need a copy of your site plan.

If you've never needed a site plan before, you may be unclear where to look. Fortunately, you can get a site plan from a number of places, and you may already have one.

Signatures are being taken on various documents. The documentation you received when you acquired your property should have included a copy of the site plan. If you can't find it in your closing documents, ask your mortgage lender or title insurance provider for copies. If you purchased your home some years ago, you should double-check that the listing is still accurate.

The county administration. Many counties may preserve copies of residential site plans to ensure that they conform with local building standards and laws. Your local government may be able to provide you with a printed or downloadable copy of your site plan that you may print. If you get your site plan from the county government, be sure it's up to date and be prepared to pay a service fee.

a building company Whether you know who built your home, you may ask them if they have your house plan on file. You should double-check its validity again, depending on how much time has passed.

Internet-based services are also accessible. If none of the aforementioned sources can offer you with your site plan, you may assume that hiring a surveyor to create a new one is your only option. Unfortunately, this may be rather pricey, so if at all possible, avoid it. Instead, you may get a site plan on the internet from a company like MySitePlan.

Try utilizing up-to-date satellite data, county parcel maps, and other resources to create your site plan at a fraction of the price of a traditional surveyor. Site plans are authorized throughout the United States for over-the-counter permits and other minor modifications.

 

How to Get a Site Plan Via the Internet

Assume you need a new site plan (which you most likely do if you're reading our blog!). You have two options: pay a surveyor to come out to your property and draw out a site plan, or create your own site plan online.

It's possible that hiring a surveyor is your first impulse. After all, you'll get the most accurate data if someone really walks about your property, right? While one element of hiring a surveyor is debatable, another is not: they may be quite expensive. The national average cost of a land survey, according to HomeAdvisor.com, is $753, with rates ranging from $1,500 to $1,500+ depending on the size of the property and your location.

 

Online Site Plans: The Fundamentals

You may, of course, get a site plan on the internet. While some homeowners may worry that they won't be able to get an accurate site plan from afar, agencies use the most up-to-date satellite imagery, GIS data, county parcel maps, and other data sources to digitally generate plot plans that are both precise and detailed.

Other benefits of getting a site plan online include speed and, more importantly, cost savings over hiring a surveyor. Is this accurate to any extent? For our simplest plan, try ten times less, and for our most thorough plan, try around six times less. You'll only have to pay between $69.99 and $129.99, depending on how much information you need.

 

Money, time, and effort are all saved. This Method Can Help You

A site plan may be ordered online in the same way that any other online transaction is completed. By supplying your address, selecting a file type for the document, and attaching any appropriate property documents, you may acquire a basic, medium, or complete site plan immediately from our website.

Please fill out our simple contact form if you have any particular queries before making an order, or if you'd like to learn more about having a customised site layout. It's entirely up to you whether to hire a surveyor or get a site plan online, but now that you know how easy it is, we hope you'll choose the latter.