Free (or nearly free) Software for site plan

[Dustin]

I've got to come up with a site plan for our 2 1/2 acre lot and I am trying to figure out what I should use to do it. What have you guys used? Or did you just hire the surveyor?
If there's some good software to use that's not hideously expensive, I'm willing to buy it. I'm also looking for some sample site plans to base mine off of, just to see what sort of info is needed. I know I need to show the location of the well, roads, septic, home placement.

[glenn-k]

We used to be able to just draft them up ourselves by hand with fairly accurate measurements - I don't know if that still goes but the bldg dept should be able to tell you.

[peg_688]

[size=12]You should be able to draw your own . You'll need a engineers scale , as the plan will need to be larger , I think you'd call it larger, scale.  

 Unlike a buiders scale that has 1/4 ", 1/2 " etc , engineers scales are in feet.


 http://www.draftingsteals.com/catalog-drafting---drawing-aides-scales-triangular-scale-engineers-scales.html
 
 Engineers Scales

Engineers scales units of measure are equal to parts per inch and parts per foot. The most common graduations are 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 parts per inch, but there are scales available that have 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 parts per foot. The graduations vary upon the application.


 

Check with your local building dept. they will tell you what they want and in what scale they'll except .

Hopefully you can find all your property corners , or at least a couple you can "home in" on the rest using what you can find . If no corners can be found then MTL you'll need that surveyor.

  Good luck, PEG        [/size]

[Daddymem]

Peg put up a pick of an architect's scale.  Engineer scales look like that but have whole numbers 10,20,30 etc.  Any of the free CAD software could also work.  Do you have any plans for the site at all?  Or a deed description with coordinate geometry on it?  With CAD software you can draw the property lines in, based on the plans or description easily.  Throw in aerial photos or USGS maps to assist as well (if you can get high resolution images that is).  Other than that, a simple sketch on a napkin could suffice...depending on your local authorities.  Highly detailed plans like mine were can be required when there are issues of setbacks, well and septic distances, etc.  Authorities should only really be interested in where the lot is, how big it is, and where what you propose relates to environmental constraints (if any) and property lines.  Have you checked with your authorities for what is required in a building permit?  We got a long checklist with ours and we spoke with our Building Inspector to see what he wanted for our site plan.  Shockingly he was going to accept our septic plan (24x36) shrunk down to 8.5x11 so he could file it.  I made a new 11x17 plan for him instead and he was happy, but I have access to AutoCAD so will little effort I made his life a little easier.

[Dustin]

I'll have to find out out next time I'm up there what sort of detail they need.

[MikeT]

For my property, I did it by hand and it seems to be okay, even for a somewhat finicky county.  I found that my property had been suveyed in the past and those maps were available from the county.  But that only showed dimensions, lot lines, etc-- no elevations.  I used Google's arial map program (Google maps--and in the past  called "Keyhole" arial mapping) plus USGS and NASA imagery to get a sense of the existing contours.  THEN I followed John's handy hand-held sight instrument ahd basic trig to do my own, more detailed mapping.  

For all my plans, I have done it with trace and a ruler--just like in the old days.  

Hope this helps,
mt

[MikeT]

For my property, I did it by hand and it seems to be okay, even for a somewhat finicky county.  I found that my property had been suveyed in the past and those maps were available from the county.  But that only showed dimensions, lot lines, etc-- no elevations.  I used Google's arial map program (Google maps--and in the past  called "Keyhole" arial mapping) plus USGS and NASA imagery to get a sense of the existing contours.  THEN I followed John's handy hand-held sight instrument ahd basic trig to do my own, more detailed mapping.  

For all my plans, I have done it with trace and a ruler--just like in the old days.  

Hope this helps,
mt

[jraabe]

My Building Dept. provides a sheet of 11x17 gridded graph paper with the permit packet to use for a site plan. They want all site plans drawn on that sheet so they can be filed in the same drawer. The backside of this sheet has a checklist you sign for environmental issues. If you draw in CAD or hand draft on another sheet, that drawing should be copied onto this sheet for the final application.

Nobody should buy a CAD program to do a site plan. It is a waste of money, and more importantly, time. With a 25¢ sheet of graph paper you don't even really need a straightedge or triangle. You can hand draw it on the underlying grid. Nobody has to read the manual to use a pencil.  

PS - The most handsome set of drawings I ever did was for a little stone cottage where all the drawings were hand drawn lines - no straight edges were used. (The underlying plans and detail drawings were initially drafted but the final tracings were all loose). It had a very organic feel... perfect for this stone place. (Too bad it was never built  )