Why plan first?
The most expensive renovation mistake is the one you notice after the work is done: the fridge doesn’t fit its new spot, the door hits a cabinet, a socket ends up behind the furniture. Drawing your home as it is today, to scale, and trying the change on the plan reveals these mistakes from the start.
Example: opening the kitchen into the living room
- Before: living room 17.6 m², kitchen 11.2 m²; total net area 59.3 m².
- After: living room with open kitchen 29.6 m²; 0.8 m² gained from where the wall stood, total net area 60.1 m².
- The kitchen door is gone; the kitchen is now entered from the living room. The kitchen fittings stayed where they were, and the dining table sits between the two areas.
Load-bearing wall warning
The wall you want to remove may be load-bearing. Touching a load-bearing wall, column or beam compromises the building’s safety. Before removing a wall, have a civil engineer look at it; if you live in an apartment building, consult the building management and, if necessary, the municipality. Drawing a plan doesn’t replace this decision; it only helps you show what you want.
Renovation plan step by step
- Measure and draw the current layout. Put in the rooms, doors, windows and fixed items (worktop, toilet, boiler). If you don’t know how to measure, read the how to measure a room post.
- Make a backup. In Nodaform, download the plan as .json; you can load it back any time with Open.
- Draw the change. Remove the wall, move items to their new spots, and check that door swings and walkways are clear.
- Look at it in 3D. Walk around the 3D view to see how the open kitchen looks from the living room.
- Talk to your builder. Put the plan on a drawing sheet and send it as a PNG to your builder or engineer.
Pre-renovation checklist
- The wall to be removed is not load-bearing (engineer’s approval)
- New positions of the water, drain and gas lines are settled
- Sockets and switches placed to suit the new furniture
- Doors open without hitting furniture
- Building management and, if required, the municipality informed
The plans and dimensions in this post are layout ideas. A building permit, structural design or construction project requires a design by, and approval from, a licensed architect and engineer; ask your municipality about the details of the regulations.