For most first-time buyers, the floor plan is the page they glance at and move past. It is actually the page that tells you how you will live. You do not need to be an architect. You just need a simple order to read it in.
Step 1: find north and the scale
Look for a small arrow marked N. It tells you which way the flat faces, and so where morning and afternoon sun will fall. Then look for a scale or written dimensions. A plan without either is a picture, not a drawing. Ask for a dimensioned one.
Step 2: thick lines and thin lines
Thick lines are usually walls. Thin lines are often furniture, fixtures or flooring patterns. Gaps in walls with a curved arc are doors. Double or triple thin lines inside a wall are usually windows. Once you see this, the plan becomes much easier to follow.
Step 3: walk through the home with your finger
Start at the main door. Trace the path to the kitchen with shopping bags. Then to each bedroom. Then from a bedroom to a bathroom at night. Ask yourself:
- Does the main door open straight into the living room, with no buffer?
- Does every door swing into a space where furniture would go?
- Can a bed, a wardrobe and a desk all fit in the bedroom you plan to use as a work-from-home room?
Furniture drawn on a plan is often smaller than real furniture. Measure your own sofa and bed and draw them in.
Step 4: read area the right way
You may see several area numbers. Under the RERA Act, 2016, a sale must be based on carpet area, which is the usable floor inside your flat. Ask for the carpet area of your exact unit in writing. When you compare two homes, compare carpet area to carpet area.
Step 5: the 2 BHK and 3 BHK questions
- 2 BHK: Is the second bedroom big enough to be a real bedroom later, not only a study?
- 3 BHK: Does the third bedroom have a window to the outside? Is there a bathroom near it, for a parent who may live with you?
- Both: Is there a spot for a washing machine, and somewhere to dry clothes?
Step 6: what a plan cannot show you
A plan will not tell you the ceiling height, the view, the noise from the road, or how much light really comes in. Those you learn only on a site visit. Go at two different times of day if you can.
Step 7: match the plan to the paperwork
The plan in the brochure should match the plan attached to your agreement. If they differ, ask why before you pay anything.
A worked example: will the bedroom fit?
Illustrative sizes, not a Reeva floor plan. A plan marks a bedroom as 10' × 12'. That is 120 sq ft. A queen bed is often around 5' × 6.5', or about 33 sq ft. A two-door wardrobe can be about 4' wide and 2' deep, another 8 sq ft. You also need walking space of about 2' on the sides of the bed you use. Sketch it to scale on squared paper and you will know in five minutes whether a desk still fits.
If a plan is in metres, 1 square metre is 10.764 sq ft. A room of 3.0 m × 3.6 m is 10.8 sq m, or about 116 sq ft.
Symbols you will see often
- W or WC: toilet. D: door. V: ventilator, a small high window, often in a bathroom.
- Utility: a small space beside the kitchen for washing and storage.
- Shaft or duct: a vertical space for pipes. It is not part of your carpet area.
- Dimensions like 10'0" × 12'0": feet and inches, width then length, usually measured inside the walls.
A checklist to take to the site visit
- A printed plan of your exact unit, with dimensions.
- A measuring tape and your own furniture sizes.
- Your phone compass, to check the north arrow.
- A note of where the sun is at the time of your visit.
- Questions about the window sizes, ceiling height and what faces each window.
Common mistakes
- Comparing a 2 BHK in one project with a 2 BHK in another by name only, not by room sizes.
- Counting a balcony as living space. Under RERA's definition, exclusive balconies are not part of carpet area.
- Choosing a flat from a typical floor plan when your unit is a corner or a mirror image of it.
Questions to ask about the plan before you book
- Is this the sanctioned plan, or a marketing drawing?
- Are the dimensions inside the walls, or to the centre of the walls?
- Which walls are structural and cannot be moved later?
- Where are the electrical points, taps and drains in the kitchen and bathrooms?
- Where will the air-conditioner outdoor units and the water heater go?
- What faces each window: another tower, a road or open land?
Write the answers on the plan itself and keep it with your agreement. If the plan attached to the agreement later differs from the one you marked up, you will spot the change in seconds.
Turning the plan into a decision
Once you have walked the plan, give each room a simple mark: works, works with changes, or does not work. A home where every room works with your life, even if it is smaller on paper, often feels larger than one with a big number and an awkward layout.
Take your time with this page. You will see the brochure for a few minutes, but you will live inside this plan every day.
If two plans tie on every mark, choose the one with better daylight and cross-ventilation. Those are the hardest things to add later, and the easiest to enjoy every single morning.
At The Shalott Marque, our 2 and 3 BHK homes, we are happy to walk you through the plan of your exact unit. Call us and we will set it up.