Guides & how-tos

How to create professional floor plans.

Practical, step-by-step guides for every property trade - from your first measurement to a client-ready PDF, DXF, or 3D export.

General How to Create a Floor Plan (Step-by-Step) Step-by-step guide to making an accurate floor plan on iPhone: LiDAR scan or draw, edit in 2D/3D, verified HMO room sizes, and PDF, DXF or portal-ready exports. 8 min read Fire Alarm How to Create a Fire Alarm Zone Plan Build a BS 5839-1:2025 compliant fire alarm zone plan on iPhone: coloured zones, fire symbols, detector coverage circles, and branded PDF export. 12 min read Security CCTV How to Plan CCTV Camera Coverage Plan CCTV coverage on iPhone: wall-occluded FOV cones, DORI pixel densities from IEC EN 62676-4, ICO privacy checks, and a client-ready PDF proposal. 12 min read Estate Agents How to Create a Floor Plan for Property Listings How estate agents create branded, dimensioned floor plans on iPhone - Rightmove-backed stats, DMCC Act accuracy rules, and a portal-ready export workflow. 11 min read Renovation How to Create Floor Plans for Renovation and Contracting Make renovation-grade floor plans on iPhone/iPad: LiDAR as-builts, 1:50/1:100 planning drawings, party wall notices, and DXF or branded PDF exports. 9 min read Interior Designers How to Create Floor Plans for Interior Designers Floor plans for interior designers: capture a to-scale base plan fast, test layouts with proven clearance rules, and export branded client-ready PDFs. 9 min read Surveyors How to Create Floor Plans for Surveyors How surveyors capture measured building surveys on iPhone: LiDAR accuracy, IPMS vs GIA measurement bases, RICS accuracy bands, and DXF/PDF exports. 9 min read General How to Create a Floor Plan PDF Report Build a branded multi-page floor plan PDF report on iPhone - cover, area schedule, legend, photos - and meet HMO, BS 5839-1 and survey expectations. 7 min read General Floor Plan Templates and Export Styles Six RoomPlot floor plan export styles and when to use each - portal-ready specs, print scales and format tips for agents, surveyors and trades. 5 min read General How to Make a Floor Plan Without LiDAR No LiDAR? Draw an accurate floor plan by hand on any iPhone or iPad: laser-measure each wall, use room templates, add doors, and export PDF, PNG or DXF. 6 min read General How to Calculate Floor Area From a Plan GIA vs NIA vs GEA explained, how to calculate floor area from a plan by hand, HMO minimum room sizes, and reading accurate areas off your phone. 6 min read General How to Measure a Room for a Floor Plan How to measure a room for a floor plan: LiDAR scan vs tape measure accuracy, diagonal checks, door and window positions, and RICS-aligned tolerances. 10 min read Property Managers How to Create Floor Plans for Property Managers How property managers create reusable floor plans: HMO licence plans, minimum room sizes, fire alarm markup, dated photo evidence and branded PDF reports. 8 min read General LiDAR Scan vs Manual Drawing: Floor Plans LiDAR scan or draw by hand? Verified accuracy numbers (1-3 cm), device list, and when each method wins - plus a hybrid survey-day workflow. 6 min read General Metric vs Imperial Floor Plans Metric or imperial for floor plans? What UK (BS 8888, RICS m2) and US (1/4 in scale) standards expect, and how RoomPlot switches units in one tap. 6 min read Estate Agents Floor Plans for Mortgage Valuations How to produce a floor plan for a mortgage valuation: measure GIA to the inner wall faces, add dimensions and area, and export a clean plan the lender accepts. 7 min read General 10 Floor Plan Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) The ten floor plan mistakes that catch out beginners and pros: missing wall thickness, forgotten door swings, hopeful furniture and no scale check. 7 min read General What Is a Floor Plan? A Plain-English Guide What a floor plan is, what the lines and symbols mean, the main types you will meet, and how to make an accurate one yourself in minutes on an iPhone. 7 min read Interior Designers The Kitchen Work Triangle: Rules and Layouts The kitchen work triangle explained: the 4-9 ft leg rule, layout examples, and how to check your own triangle on an accurate scaled floor plan. 6 min read Estate Agents Virtual Tour vs Floor Plan: What Listings Really Need Floor plan or virtual tour? What the research says buyers want on property listings, what each costs to produce, and how to capture both in one visit. 7 min read Security CCTV Where to Place Motion Sensors on a Floor Plan A practical guide to placing PIR motion sensors for a burglar alarm - the placement rules, choke points, and how to map wall-accurate detection coverage on a floor plan. 8 min read Renovation Block Plans and Site Plans for Planning Location plan vs site (block) plan for UK planning: 1:1250 and 1:500 scales, red-line rules, what councils check, and how to draw yours in RoomPlot. 5 min read Estate Agents Do You Need a Floor Plan to Sell a House? A floor plan isn't legally required to sell a UK home, but 1 in 5 buyers skip listings without one. The 2025 rules, the stats, and how to make one fast. 6 min read General How to Export a 3D Scan to USDZ and Share it in AR Export a LiDAR scan as USDZ and share it in AR - device requirements, step-by-step export in RoomPlot, and when a 3D model beats a flat floor plan. 6 min read Fire Alarm How to Create a Fire Compartmentation Plan How to draw a fire compartmentation plan on iPhone or iPad: rated compartment lines, FD30/FD60 doors, escape routes, plus the UK rules behind them. 6 min read Renovation How to Create a Floor Plan for Planning Permission The drawings a UK householder planning application needs: 1:50/1:100 floor plans, 1:1250 location plan, red line rules, 2025 fees, and how to survey with RoomPlot. 6 min read Estate Agents How to Make a Floor Plan for Rightmove and Zoopla Listings with a floor plan get more enquiries. Here is how to draw a clean, portal-ready plan and export it at the right size for Rightmove and Zoopla. 6 min read Fire Alarm Floor Plans for HMO Fire Safety How to produce an HMO fire safety floor plan on your iPhone - protected escape routes, interlinked smoke and heat detectors, FD30 fire doors, and a council-ready PDF. 7 min read Security CCTV How to Plan a Home CCTV System Layout Plan a home CCTV system on a floor plan first - place cameras for gap-free coverage of doors, drives and blind corners using RoomPlot's live coverage cones. 7 min read Security CCTV How to Avoid CCTV Blind Spots A practical guide to finding and eliminating CCTV blind spots - map wall-occluded camera coverage on the plan, overlap cameras, and cover every corner before you drill. 7 min read General How to Create an Office Floor Plan A step-by-step guide to creating an office floor plan on iPhone or iPad - capture the shell, zone the space, place desks and services, then export. 8 min read General How to Design a Restaurant Floor Plan Space per cover, aisle widths and UK exit-width rules - a practical guide to designing a restaurant floor plan on iPhone or iPad with RoomPlot. 6 min read General How to Draw Stairs on a Floor Plan How to draw stairs on a floor plan: tread lines, UP/DN arrows, break lines, plus the Part K rise, going and headroom figures every UK plan should respect. 6 min read General How to Read a Floor Plan How to read a floor plan: scale bars, wall, door and window symbols, door swings, GIA floor areas and dimensions - plus a 60-second pro checklist. 6 min read Renovation How to Draw a Loft Conversion Floor Plan Draw a loft conversion floor plan: map the 1.9m headroom line, Part K stairs, fire escape route and dormer, then export PDF/DXF for building control. 8 min read Security CCTV How to Plan a Warehouse CCTV Layout Plan a warehouse CCTV layout on a floor plan: DORI levels, aisle and dock camera placement, WDR specs and UK GDPR signage - proven before you install. 7 min read General 2D vs 3D Floor Plans: When to Use Each When to use a 2D floor plan vs a 3D model: standards, Rightmove buyer stats, headroom checks, and how RoomPlot keeps both views in one plan. 5 min read General How to Add a North Arrow to a Floor Plan Add an accurate north arrow to a floor plan in RoomPlot: set it from the compass, handle magnetic vs true north, and print it on every export. 5 min read Surveyors What Is an As-Built Floor Plan (and How to Make One) What an as-built floor plan is, how accurate it must be (RICS bands, 1-2 cm LiDAR), and how to capture, label and export one with RoomPlot. 6 min read General How to Export a Floor Plan to DXF (CAD) Export an editable DXF from a floor plan scanned or drawn on iPhone - correct units, clean LINE/POLYLINE geometry, opens in AutoCAD or any free viewer. 7 min read Fire Alarm How to Create a Fire Escape Plan Draw a fire escape plan to ISO 23601 on iPhone or iPad: green ISO 7010 routes, You Are Here marker, assembly point, and a postable A3 PDF export. 7 min read Property Managers How to Make a Floor Plan for an Airbnb or Holiday Let Make an Airbnb or holiday-let floor plan on iPhone/iPad: verified UK fire-safety and Scottish licence rules, plus listing and welcome-book exports. 6 min read Estate Agents How to Make a Floor Plan for Real Estate Photographers Add listing floor plans to property shoots: LiDAR-scan on the same visit, meet UK material information expectations, and export portal-ready branded sizes. 7 min read Interior Designers How to Draw a Bathroom Floor Plan Draw a to-scale bathroom floor plan on iPhone or iPad: fixture sizes, WC and basin clearances, BS 7671 electrical zones, and clean PDF/DXF exports. 7 min read Interior Designers How to Draw a Kitchen Floor Plan Draw a to-scale kitchen plan on iPhone: capture walls, place 600mm units, check the 1.2-2.7m work triangle and 1,200mm walkways, then export PDF or DXF. 7 min read Security CCTV How to Plan an Intruder Alarm System Layout Plan an intruder alarm layout on a floor plan: BS EN 50131 grades, PIR placement rules, wall-clipped coverage cones and BS 8243 confirmed-alarm design. 7 min read General How to Create a Multi-Floor Floor Plan Scan, align and export a multi-storey floor plan on iPhone or iPad - one project per building, HMO-ready per-storey plans and a single branded PDF report. 6 min read Fire Alarm Smoke Detector Coverage and Spacing on a Plan Smoke detector spacing on a floor plan: BS 5839-1 7.5 m smoke / 5.3 m heat radii, NFPA 72 rules, HMO grades, and how to prove coverage in RoomPlot. 6 min read