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📘 Instructions for use
Instructions for the online house drawing tool
The tool lets you draw the floor plan of a house on your phone or computer, as easy as playing a game. You need no technical drawing skill; you need only tap and drag. Follow the steps below.
The steps for drawing a house plan
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Enter the size of the house
When the page opens, a small box appears asking for the Width and Depth of the house in metres. Type the figures and press “Start Drawing”. For example a house 5m wide and 12m deep. It does not matter if you do not know exactly; simply estimate.
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Choose a model house for speed (optional)
Press the “Model House” button and choose the model closest to your own house: an apartment, a tube house, a single-storey house or a villa. Then you need only adjust it to match your own. This is the quickest way for a beginner.
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Add rooms and furnishings
Press “Furniture”, and choose what you need: a bed, a sofa, a stove, a lavatory, an altar. The item appears in the middle of the house; tap and drag it into place. Drag the yellow dot at the corner to make it larger or smaller, and drag the dot at the top to turn it.
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Mark the doors and windows
Press “Furniture” and choose “Door” or an “Window”, and set it in its right place on your wall. You may also press “Wall” or “Plot Boundary” to draw walls and an outline for a house that is irregular or missing a corner.
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Name each room
Press “Add Text”, and choose quickly from the ready labels such as Living Rm, Bedroom, Kitchen, or type a name yourself. Tap the text twice to edit it.
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Mark the facing of the house
Press the “Compass”, enter the bearing in degrees of your house (see how to measure it in the section below) and choose which side of the drawing the frontage lies on. Turn on “Divide into 8 sectors” to see which sector each room falls in.
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Save or export the drawing
The drawing saves itself on your own device. Press “Save Image” to download a picture, or “Print” to export a PDF. Press “Library” to keep several drawings and open them again later.
Tips for using a phone: Use two fingers pinched together or spread apart to zoom the drawing out and in. Turning the phone sideways makes it easier to work. Press the “Fit” button in the lower corner to fit the drawing to the screen. Swipe the toolbar left and right to see all the buttons.
A key to the toolbar buttons
Below are the buttons on the toolbar. Look at the icon to see what each one is for:
No tape measure? A quick way to measure a house
You do not need a professional tape measure. Estimate in one of the following ways:
- Count the floor tiles: tiles commonly measure 0.6m or 0.8m along a side. Count them and multiply. For example, 8 tiles of 0.6m make that side about 4.8m long.
- Count your paces: an adult pace is about 0.6 to 0.7m. Walk along the wall and count your paces.
- Use a measuring app on your phone: many phones come with a distance measuring app (an AR tape measure).
An error of 10 to 20cm still serves well, so you need not worry unduly about precision.
How to find the facing of a house with your phone
- Open the Master's Compass tool , or the compass app already on your device (the iPhone has “Compass”; on Android download a free “Compass” app).
- Stand right at the main door, turn to look out at the street. The direction you are looking in is precisely the the facing of the house.
- Read the bearing in degrees on the compass, for example 172°, then enter it in the “Bearing” box under the Compass button of the tool.
- Choose “Frontage on the: Bottom” if you have drawn the main door on the lower edge of the plan.
Saving and exporting the drawing
- Save an image: press “Save Image”, and the PNG picture goes to the Pictures or Downloads folder of your device.
- Export a PDF: on a computer press “Print” and then choose the printer “Save as PDF”. The printout comes with a title block and a north arrow.
- Take a screenshot: you may also take a screenshot as a quick way of saving it.
- Save several versions: press “Library” to save the drawing under a name, so that next time you may open it and carry on editing.
Frequently asked questions
- I cannot draw. Can I still use it?
- You can. The tool needs only tapping and dragging, and no technical drawing skill. You may also choose a ready-made Model House and adjust it to match your own.
- Can I draw on a phone?
- You can. The page is made for phones: use two fingers to zoom in and out, turn the phone sideways to work more easily, and swipe the toolbar to see all the buttons.
- What if I do not know the exact size of my house?
- You may estimate by counting the floor tiles or counting your paces. An error of 10 to 20cm still serves well.
- How do I save or export the drawing to a file?
- Press Save Image to download a PNG picture, or press Print and choose Save as PDF. You may also use the Library to keep several drawings and open them again later.
- Is this tool free?
- Entirely free, with no software to install.
- Is the data of my drawing safe?
- The drawing is saved in the browser on your own device and is not sent over the network. To be certain of keeping it, press Save Image or save it to the Library.
- My house is not square; it is irregular or missing a corner. What then?
- Use the Plot Boundary tool to draw the outline of the house to its true shape, whether trapezoidal or missing a corner. The tool works out the area itself.
- What is the facing of a house, and where is it measured?
- The facing of a house is the direction you look in when you stand at the main door and turn to face outwards. Open a Compass app, stand at the main door looking out at the street, read the bearing in degrees and enter it in the Bearing box.