Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Client: ______________________ Partner (if any): ______________
Four pages: (1) the plan guide, (2) the furniture cut-out sheet, (3) the traffic flow rules, (4) the peer review checklist. Keep pages 1 to 3 in your project folder. Page 4 goes to the team you review.
Page 1: The plan guide
The project scale: 1/2 inch = 1 foot. On quarter-inch graph paper, that is two squares per foot. A 12-foot wall is 24 squares. (Tiny house teams on letter paper: use 1/4 inch = 1 foot, one square per foot, so 24 feet is 24 squares. On 11 by 17 paper, use 1/2 inch.)
Write the scale in the bottom corner of your plan. Write the client's name at the top.
Steps
- The outline. Read the room's measurements on the card. Count the squares. Draw the four walls with a ruler. Check: does 12 feet equal 24 squares?
- The door. Find the wall and the spot the card gives. Leave a gap the width of the door (3 feet is 6 squares). Draw the door as a line standing out from the wall with a quarter-circle arc showing the swing. Bedroom doors and front doors swing into the room. The tiny house door swings out.
- The window(s). Find the wall and the spot. Draw the window as a break in the wall with two thin parallel lines (the symbol from Lesson 4.10).
- The closet. Draw it as a small rectangle the size the card gives, open to the room, with a line for the closet door or a dashed line for a curtain.
- Zones. Lightly pencil a circle for each zone the client needs: sleep, work, store, sit, move. The tiny house has more: cook, wash, eat, sleep, sit, store, move. Put the zone that needs the window's light near the window. Put the zone that needs quiet away from the door.
- Furniture. Cut the pieces you need from page 2, needs first. Slide them around. Do not glue until Day 2.
- Freeze. Trace lightly around each piece, or tape it down with removable tape.
Day 2 steps
- Shade every path a person walks: from the door to each zone, and between zones. Measure the narrowest spot of each path in squares. Write the width in inches beside it (at 1/2 inch = 1 foot, one square is 6 inches; at 1/4 inch = 1 foot, one square is 12 inches).
- Check every rule on page 3. Circle any path that fails.
- Check the principles. Name your focal point on the plan. Ask: is the room balanced, or is everything on one wall? Is each piece in proportion to the room?
- Peer review (page 4), then revise. Glue or tape the final pieces. On the back of the plan, write: two changes you made and why; one suggestion you rejected and why.
Blank grid (if graph paper runs out)
[Sal: print a quarter-inch grid here from any free grid generator, 32 squares by 44 squares fills a letter sheet at 1/2 inch = 1 foot for a room up to 16 by 22 feet.]
Word bank: scale (ölçek / escala / escala), path (yol / caminho / camino), clear (açık / livre / libre), swing (kapı açılışı / abertura da porta / apertura de la puerta), turn (dönüş / giro / giro). [check with a native speaker]
Page 2: Furniture cut-out sheet
Sizes are real furniture sizes, rounded to the nearest half foot so they cut cleanly. At the project scale (1/2 inch = 1 foot), draw each piece as a rectangle the number of squares shown, label it, and cut it out. Tiny house teams at 1/4 inch = 1 foot: use half the squares.
| # | Piece | Real size (feet) | Squares at 1/2 inch = 1 foot (wide by long) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twin bed | 3 by 6.5 | 6 by 13 |
| 2 | Full bed | 4.5 by 6.5 | 9 by 13 |
| 3 | Queen bed | 5 by 7 | 10 by 14 |
| 4 | Bunk bed (twin over twin, floor space) | 3.5 by 6.5 | 7 by 13 |
| 5 | Crib | 2.5 by 4.5 | 5 by 9 |
| 6 | Loft mattress (tiny house, full) | 4.5 by 6.5 | 9 by 13 |
| 7 | Nightstand | 1.5 by 1.5 | 3 by 3 |
| 8 | Desk, 4 foot | 2 by 4 | 4 by 8 |
| 9 | Desk, small or wall fold-down | 1.5 by 3 | 3 by 6 |
| 10 | Desk chair | 1.5 by 1.5 | 3 by 3 |
| 11 | Armchair with arms | 2.5 by 2.5 | 5 by 5 |
| 12 | Rocking chair or glider | 2.5 by 3 | 5 by 6 |
| 13 | Loveseat (seats two) | 3 by 5 | 6 by 10 |
| 14 | Bench | 1.5 by 4 | 3 by 8 |
| 15 | Dresser, 5 drawer | 1.5 by 5 | 3 by 10 |
| 16 | Dresser, small (3 drawer) | 1.5 by 3 | 3 by 6 |
| 17 | Bookcase, 3 shelf | 1 by 3 | 2 by 6 |
| 18 | Cube storage, 9 cubes | 1 by 3 | 2 by 6 |
| 19 | Wardrobe | 2 by 4 | 4 by 8 |
| 20 | Shoe bin row (4 bins) | 1 by 4 | 2 by 8 |
| 21 | Changing table | 1.5 by 3 | 3 by 6 |
| 22 | Small table, two seats (folds) | 2.5 by 2.5 | 5 by 5 |
| 23 | Kitchen counter with two-burner cooktop and sink | 2 by 4 | 4 by 8 |
| 24 | Mini fridge | 2 by 2 | 4 by 4 |
| 25 | Shower stall | 3 by 3 | 6 by 6 |
| 26 | Composting toilet | 1.5 by 2.5 | 3 by 5 |
| 27 | Ladder or stairs to loft (floor space) | 2 by 3 | 4 by 6 |
| 28 | Floor lamp | 1 by 1 | 2 by 2 |
| 29 | Area rug, 5 by 7 | 5 by 7 | 10 by 14 |
| 30 | Rubber-backed entry mat | 2 by 3 | 4 by 6 |
| 31 | Walker, parked | 2 by 2 | 4 by 4 |
| 32 | Wheelchair turning circle (draw as a circle) | 5 across | 10 across |
Anything not on the sheet: measure a real one, or look it up, round to the half foot, and draw it. Write the real size on the piece.
Page 3: Traffic flow rules
A path is as wide as its narrowest point. Measure the pinch, not the entrance.
| Rule | The number | On the plan at 1/2 inch = 1 foot | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A path a walker or wheelchair uses | at least 36 inches (3 feet) | 6 squares | A walker is about 24 inches wide and the person leans; a wheelchair is about 26 inches wide and needs room for hands on the wheels |
| The front entry path (people carrying things, a dog, kids) | at least 36 inches | 6 squares | Two people pass, a door opens, bags are carried |
| Any other path | at least 30 inches (2.5 feet) | 5 squares | One person walks without turning sideways |
| A wheelchair turning circle | 60 inches (5 feet) across | a circle 10 squares across | The chair turns all the way around without backing up; needed in the open floor and beside the bed |
| The door swing | fully clear | the quarter circle has nothing in it | A door that hits a dresser is a door that never opens all the way |
| A bed | one long side open to a path | the open side faces the path | You get in and out from that side; a walker or wheelchair user transfers from that side |
| A window that must open | clear in front of it | nothing taller than the sill in front of it | Air, light, and a way out in a fire |
| A crib | at least 36 inches from a window, cord, heater, or shelf that could fall | 6 squares | Safe sleep (Lesson 3.17) and Lesson 4.2 |
| A desk for a wheelchair user | 27 inches clear under it, 30 inches wide | open underneath on the plan | The chair rolls under |
Sources: 36-inch clear width and 60-inch turning space are from the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (sections 403.5.1 and 304.3). The 30-inch general path is a common residential planning guideline. [Sal: the room is not a public building, so the ADA does not require these at home; we use the numbers because they work.]
Page 4: Peer review checklist
Reviewing team: ______________________ Team being reviewed: ______________________ Their client: ______________
Rules: write in colored pen on their plan. Mark, do not fix. Their team decides what to change. Check every box yes or no; every no gets a short note.
| Check | Yes | No | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The scale is written on the plan | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 2. The client's name is on the plan | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 3. The walls match the card's measurements (count the squares) | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 4. The door is on the right wall and its swing is drawn and clear | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 5. The window(s) are on the right wall and nothing tall is in front of one that must open | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 6. The closet is where the card says, and you can reach it | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 7. Every piece of furniture is to scale (check two against page 2) | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 8. Every path is shaded and measured in inches | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 9. Every path passes its rule (36 for walker, wheelchair, entry; 30 elsewhere) | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 10. The turning circle is drawn if the client uses a wheelchair | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 11. The bed (or crib) has one open side facing a path | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 12. Every need on the client card has a zone or a piece on the plan | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 13. The focal point is named | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 14. The room looks balanced (not everything on one wall) | [ ] | [ ] | |
| 15. Each piece is in proportion to the room (no full bed in a room it swallows) | [ ] | [ ] |
Two things that work for this client (name the feature and the client):
- ________________________________________________
- ________________________________________________
One thing to change, and why it would help the client:
Reviewer signatures: ______________ ______________
Teacher key
- Page 1: a "got it" plan on Day 1 has the scale written, the client named, walls matching the card square for square, the door swing drawn into the room, and the window as a break with parallel lines.
- Page 3 conversions to keep on the board: at 1/2 inch = 1 foot, 1 square = 6 inches; 36 inches = 6 squares; 30 inches = 5 squares; 60 inches = 10 squares. At 1/4 inch = 1 foot, 1 square = 12 inches; 36 inches = 3 squares; 30 inches = 2.5 squares; 60 inches = 5 squares.
- Page 4: a review with fifteen boxes checked and no notes on the no's is incomplete; send it back. A "one thing to change" that says "add more stuff" does not name a client need; ask the reviewer to point to the card.
- Common fails to expect: item 4 (door swings into a dresser), item 9 (a 24-inch pinch at the foot of the bed), item 11 (bed pushed into a corner with both long sides against walls; a walker user cannot use it).