How to Grab Plans from Magazines & Books

Using simple drawing tools and a copy machine you can scale up a small magazine plan to usable size. In addition you can turn a real estate map into your site plan, and cut and paste plan elements from different sources into your own custom floor plan. 

Here's how to do this.

First, find a copy machine that has a variable zoom - as an example, we will use the copier to resize a property map you might be given by the real estate agent.

Find a copier that can print out on 11"x 17" paper. This will give you a good sized scaled plan to use for a detailed property layout. Most stationery and office supply stores have these.

Once you've located the machine, have someone in the shop explain how to use the zoom and manual contrast features. You will need to control the contrast to keep the image readable through several generations of copies. Keep it as light as possible while still picking up the important details.

Make sure you start with a clean copy with only the detail you want. White out distractions, smudes and imperfections before you start enlarging as they will only get worse as they get larger.

Scaling up a small Plot map

If you have a property map you have obtained from the tax assessor's office or a local property map, you can use that (when you bring it up to the right scale) as the foundation for the site plan map that will likely be required by your jurisdiction for the permit submittal. Once you have a large scale layout of your property, you will have a way to start planning your land use and where you want to put buildings, driveways, gardens and such. This is one of the most important first drawings you will want to make.

The hard part of this process is knowing what ratio you need to adjust the copy machine to get to the final scale you want.

An engineering scale is usually used for plot plans. This is ruled out on a base 10 number system with ratios of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 marks to the inch. A site plan might state that it is drawn to a scale of 1" = 50'. On the engineering scale you would use the 50 ratio side to measure things on such a plan.

Engineering scale @ 1:50

What would be the length (in inches) of the longest dimension of your property at this scale? If you want to blow up your property to fit on an 11x17 page, then adjust your scale (try 1"=30' for instance) until the scaled outline dimensions fit comfortably onto the page.

Property laid out on an 11x17 sheet at different scales

When you know the dimension you want for a property line in the final plan, compare that to the measurement on the plan you will be copying from. These dimensions will allow you to calculate the zoom ratio for the copy machine.

Example

Your long property dimension is 396' and it measures 3.5" on the map you have. After experimenting a bit you find that a scale of 1"=30' gives you a line 13.2" long for this dimension on your final plan. That will fit well on an 11x17 page (check the other dimensions at the same scale to see that they don't fall off the edge of the page).

To zoom your map to this size will mean taking a 3.5" line and enlarging it to 13.2". (13.2 / 3.5 = 3.77) That means you have to enlarge the image over three and 3/4 times or 377%. If the copier can't make this jump in one move, you will have to enlarge it to the maximum first and then remeasure this intermediate print to get a new ratio for your final copy. The simple formula for this zoom ratio is "final plan size / current plan size". Express that as a percentage for the copier.

Adjustments and fine tuning

Copy machines are not precision instruments. Bring your scale with you and measure the dimensions on your final prints to see that they are as expected. You may have to enlarge or shrink a few percent points to get it right.

What do I do with it now?

Once you have it to the right scale it may look a bit ragged, especially if it had to be enlarged more than once to get to the right size. Use your scale and check that all the marked property lines scale at something close to the size of the property map. If they do, you can use this scaled map as the template for your property drawing. Tape it down to your drawing table and lay tracing paper over the top. Now you can trace a clean property map at the right scale and with the right angles for your final map.

If this process does not work well for you or if you do not feel the task is within reach of your drawing skills, you can hire a local draftsperson or land surveying firm to draw this up for you. You may also find that for simple rectangular plans, the permit packet from your jurisdiction may have additional help. Some provide a grid paper example for laying out a simple site plan.

A plan "Grabbing"  technique

You can use this same scaling technique and formula to zoom parts from magazine plans so they can be used as a kind of "clip library" of plan ideas.

Normally a magazine plan will not have a stated scale so to get the zoom ratios right you have to find something of a known dimension in the plan. You can then use that as an anchor dimension. Here are some standard sizes:

Architectural plans, to be useful and consistent, are usually drawn at 1/8" or 1/4" to the foot. (Yes, an architectural scale is different from an engineering scale. Architects like to use fractions!) Although drawn larger, magazine plans are reduced to fit the page and lose their scale in the process. 

Architectural scale with 1/8" & 1/2" shown

Architectural scale with 1/8' & 1/2' shown

To capture plan ideas so you can use or combine them with others you want everything at the same scale. For preliminary design layouts enlarge everything in your clip library to a scale of 1/8"=1'.

Say you find a plan with a standard tub and a washer/dryer space in the drawing. Set them at 5' and everything else in the plan will also be a 1/8" scale. At a scale of 1/8"=1' a 5' bathtub should measure 5/8" (.625") long. What is the dimension of that space on the magazine plan you have? Let's say it's 1/4".

The "Formula"

Your zoom ratio is "final plan size / current plan size" or  ( .625 /.25) = 2.5. This means you have to enlarge the magazine plan 250% to get it to 1/8"=1' scale.

You can do this with several different plans bringing them all up to 1/8" scale. Even if they each have a different magnification or scale in the magazine or book. When you do this you will start to build a library of plan ideas all at the same scale. You can then use these to trace or cut and paste into new floor plans of your own design.