Area & Measurement
How to Read a Floor Plan
People choose a flat from a drawing, and then discover the things a drawing cannot show. Here is how to read one properly, and what to check that isn't on it.
The short answer
A floor plan shows you the layout, the room sizes and the circulation. Read it properly and it tells you a great deal.
But it does not show you: ceiling height, orientation, actual light, noise, the view, or what will be built in front of it.
Which is why a floor plan is the beginning of the decision, not the end of it.
How to read one
- Find the scale. Usually 1:100 or 1:50. Everything follows from it.
- Find the north arrow. This is the most important thing on the drawing, and most people never look at it. See below.
- Read the room dimensions. They're written in each room. Multiply them yourself — brochures round generously.
- Add up the rooms. Compare with the stated carpet area. They should broadly agree.
- Look at the WALL THICKNESS. Thick lines are structural. You cannot move them, ever.
- Find the doors — and which way they SWING. A door swinging into a small room eats it.
- Find the windows. Which walls have them, and how big?
- Trace the circulation. Walk the plan with your finger, from the front door to each room.
In most of India, WEST-facing rooms take the full afternoon sun. A west-facing living room is 4°C hotter at 4pm and will cost you a fortune in air-conditioning, every summer, for as long as you own it.
North-facing gives even, indirect light all day. It is the best orientation for a bedroom or a study in most of India.
East-facing gets morning sun — pleasant, and gone by noon.
South is hot but manageable with shading.
Find the north arrow. Then look at which rooms face west. This is a ninety-second check and it will affect your electricity bill and your comfort for thirty years.
What a good plan looks like
- Cross-ventilation. Windows on opposite walls, so air moves through. A flat with windows on one side only will be hot and stuffy forever, and no amount of money fixes it.
- Little wasted circulation. Long internal corridors are floor space you paid for and cannot use.
- Regular, rectangular rooms. Odd angles and triangular corners are unfurnishable.
- Bedrooms away from the living room. Somebody will be sleeping while somebody else watches television.
- The kitchen near the entrance — for deliveries and rubbish — and with an external window.
- Bathrooms stacked above one another, floor to floor. Cheaper plumbing, fewer leaks.
- A usable balcony — five feet deep or more.
- Space for the things you actually own. A wardrobe. A fridge. A washing machine. Look for them on the plan.
The red flags
| Red flag | Why |
|---|---|
| Windows on only one side | No cross-ventilation. Hot, stuffy, and permanent. |
| A bedroom with no external window | Check the bye-laws — it may not even be lawful as a bedroom. |
| Long internal corridors | Floor area you bought and cannot use. |
| A kitchen with no external window | Smoke, smell, damp. |
| Bathroom door opening into the living room | You will notice this every day for thirty years. |
| Odd-shaped or triangular rooms | Unfurnishable. Measure whether a bed actually fits. |
| A tiny 'utility' counted as a room | The 0.5 in '2.5 BHK'. Go and stand in it. |
| The main door opening directly into the living room | No transition, no privacy from the corridor. |
| West-facing living room and bedrooms | Heat. Every afternoon. Forever. |
What a floor plan CANNOT tell you
• Ceiling height. Not on the plan at all. A 9-foot ceiling and a 10-foot ceiling are completely different rooms.
• The actual light. A window facing a blank wall six feet away is not a window.
• The actual view. And what could be built in front of it — check the layout and the master plan.
• Noise. The road. The lift shaft. The generator. The children's play area under your bedroom.
• The neighbours.
• Water pressure on the 14th floor at 8am.
• Whether the building matches the plan at all. Count the floors.
The plan is where you start. The site is where you decide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important thing on a floor plan?
The north arrow, and almost nobody looks at it. In most of India, west-facing rooms take the full afternoon sun — a west-facing living room is several degrees hotter at 4pm and will cost you a fortune in air-conditioning every summer for as long as you own the flat. North-facing gives even, indirect light all day. It is a ninety-second check that affects thirty years.
What makes a good apartment floor plan?
Cross-ventilation — windows on OPPOSITE walls so air moves through; a flat with windows on one side only will be hot and stuffy forever, and no money fixes it. Little wasted corridor. Regular rectangular rooms. Bedrooms away from the living room. A kitchen with an external window. Bathrooms stacked floor to floor. And space for the things you actually own.
What are the red flags in a floor plan?
Windows on only one side (no cross-ventilation). A bedroom or kitchen with no external window. Long internal corridors — floor area you bought and cannot use. Bathroom doors opening into the living room. Odd-shaped or triangular rooms that cannot be furnished. And west-facing living rooms and bedrooms.
What does a floor plan not show?
Ceiling height — not on the plan at all, and a 9-foot and a 10-foot ceiling are completely different rooms. The actual light, since a window facing a blank wall six feet away is not a window. The view, and what could be built in front of it. Noise from the road, the lift shaft or the generator. And water pressure on the 14th floor at 8am.
Should I trust the room dimensions on a brochure?
Check them. Multiply the dimensions yourself and add up the rooms, then compare with the stated carpet area — brochures round generously. And get the carpet area from the RERA filing, which is the legally binding figure.