A north arrow is the smallest symbol on a floor plan and one of the hardest working. It tells a buyer which rooms catch the morning sun, lets a designer sanity-check a layout against orientation-based rules like Approved Document O, and turns a floating rectangle into a drawing anchored to the real world. Rightmove's research found that around 90% of buyers consider a floor plan essential, and over a third are less likely to enquire about a property without one - orientation is a big part of why. This guide shows how to add an accurate north arrow to your floor plan with RoomPlot, using the device compass rather than a guess.
Why orientation matters
Without a north point, a floor plan is just a shape. With one, it carries meaning - and in several contexts the direction is more than decoration:
- Selling light. A south-facing garden, an east-facing bedroom, a kitchen that bakes in the afternoon: agents use orientation to sell before a viewing is ever booked, and a north arrow is the standard way to show it on the plan itself.
- Overheating rules. In England, Approved Document O sets maximum glazing areas for new homes based on the orientation of the most-glazed facade, judged to the nearest compass point (north, east, south or west). Get north wrong on the drawings and the wrong limits apply - if Part O affects your project, confirm the details with building control or a competent designer.
- Site work. Surveyors tie a plan to the site with it, and anyone specifying solar panels, rooflights or external shading needs the bearing to be right, not roughly right.
Where the arrow belongs on the sheet
Drafting convention is simple and worth following, because reviewers notice when it is broken:
- Place the arrow in a free corner or along the edge of the plan, near the scale or title information, where it will not collide with dimensions or room labels.
- Orient the sheet so north points towards the top of the page where practical, or to the left or right - never towards the bottom.
- Keep the same position and orientation on every sheet of a set. On a multi-floor project, every storey should read the same way up so rooms stack visually.
Set north from the compass
RoomPlot reads the device's magnetic compass directly, with no location-permission prompt, so you can set orientation on site in seconds. There are two ways to do it:
- Auto. Hold the device flat, line it up with the building, and tap Use This Heading. An accuracy chip and an interference banner warn you if metal or magnets are throwing the reading off.
- Manual. Drag the on-canvas compass to set the angle by hand. The arrow snaps to 5 degree steps and to the cardinal points, so a square building reads cleanly.
Place it and bake it in
- Add the marker. Drop the North Arrow from the Real Estate symbol set onto the plan, usually in a free corner.
- Set the heading. Use Auto on site, or Manual to dial it in - snapping to a cardinal point where the building sits square to the street.
- Check the accuracy chip. If the compass flags interference, step away from radiators, steel beams, appliances and laptops and take the reading again. A second reading from outside the front door is a quick cross-check.
- Export with North on. The plan export and the multi-page PDF report both have a North Marker toggle, so the arrow prints on every drawing you hand over.
One mark, more credible plans
A correct north arrow is the difference between a sketch and a survey. Set it from the compass, snap it to the building, keep it in the same corner on every sheet, and let the export toggle print it on every drawing. For more on getting the fundamentals right, see how to create a floor plan or browse the full set of RoomPlot guides.
