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What is a scaled floor plan?

A scaled floor plan is a drawing that represents a real building at a reduced, proportional size. Every measurement on the page relates to the building by a stated ratio. At 1/4 inch = 1 foot, one quarter inch on the printed plan stands for one foot in the house, so a 10-foot wall is drawn 2.5 inches long.

Metric plans often use ratios such as 1:100, meaning one unit on the drawing equals 100 of the same units in real life. At 1:100, one centimeter on paper represents one meter in the building.

Scale lets a whole house fit on a manageable sheet while walls, rooms, openings, and fixtures stay in proportion.

Even so, use written dimensions whenever they are available. Printed plans get resized and scanned PDFs can distort the scale. A scaled drawing is good for visualizing the layout and estimating unmarked distances, but labeled dimensions should control construction, takeoffs, and material orders.