No problem, right? Good. Now we're up and running with this recording garden measurements thing we can crack on.
As I said yesterday, the next thing that we need to measure are all of the vertical measurements on the house. "Why bother?" I hear you ask( actually I don't hear you at all, but that would be really clever wouldn't it?). The purpose of having a detailed plan of your house face is so that any design you create matches in with architecture and is kept within proportion to the building. Although you may not be aware of it at the time, if you design a feature that is out of proportion to the house then it just won't 'sit' right in the garden and will bug you forever, or until you get so fed up with it, you rip it out and change it.
To record the vertical measurements of the house you need to include everything you can see. It sounds a bit daunting, but actually, once you get going, it's not that bad - honest. Remember to record the dimensions and locations of all windows and doors, windowsills, air bricks, vents, downpipes (carrying water, electric, gas), taps, and also the damp proof course (DPC) level. If you can't see a DPC then it may not be visible or may not even exist - don't worry about it in this case then. You will need to be really detailed with measurements for the doors and windows. Don't just record their dimensions, but also measure the doorframe, jamb, and where the middle point of french doors are located. You will also benefit from noting which way all doors and windows open. On the windows look out for not only the actual size of it but where the glass finishes and the sill begins. You might find on inspection an unusual pattern of glass that you can incorporate into your design at a later date.
In order to record all of this accurately, imagine that your baseline tape is now running up the right-hand side of the house face as you are stood looking at it ( only imagine- don't actually move that baseline tape!). Your original point of origin will still be in the same position. Now, using your steel retractable measuring tape, record from the base of the building up to each feature that doesn't reach the ground (see diagram below). You should already have it's location along the building face from your original baseline measurements but you may find it handy to check. There's inevitably something that gets missed.
You won't need to risk your life to measure the whole height of the building. Nor will you need to run to your neighbour, asking to borrow their ladder (apologies if you, yourself, own a ladder). You can approximate the height of the building by counting the courses of bricks and multiplying them. You will need to measure a brick and one side of the mortar joint to do this!
Before you ask what to do if there is no exposed brick, here's what to do. Simply take a photograph of the house, and using a known measurement, for example a window height, calculate how many times that measurement fits within the height of the building. Any features that are above the ground floor may not be directly relevent to the design of the garden and so there is no need for complete accuracy with these measurements. It is acceptable to guesstimate these measurements.
Whilst making all of these measurements, it is wise to add notes in a separate pad, to record details and observations as you discover them. Note the style of the house, colour of bricks, etc.
If your house has a conservatory or existing extension then you will need to take this into careful consideration before you lay your baseline. You will need to record all the measurements of these additional buildings too - sorry!
Now you should have every measurement required to give you an accurate drawing of the house face. You may also have measurements for existing drain covers, outlines of patios, built-in bbqs, etc. That's all good. These will enable you to make a detailed site survey drawing to scale later on.
A Bit about Scale and how to work to it.
The purpose of a scale is to represent a full sized garden. I would be seriously impressed if you could find a sheet of paper large enough to draw a fully sized plan of your garden but I somehow doubt that that is possible.That is why scale is so useful. You can create an exact replica of your garden just smaller.
Before I get all technical with the scale talk, you may find it handy to have your scale rule close by.
If you require a detailed drawing then it is advisable to use a larger scale (these are the smaller numbers on the scale rule). You will need to be careful with just how large a scale you decide to use though, as the larger the scale, the larger the paper, and that could cause difficulties. A drawing that is produced using a scale of 1:20 is going to be much larger than a scale drawing at 1:100. The size of paper needs to be practical to use. I use A2 or occasionally A3. I find that A4 is just too small. There needs to be room for detailed notes as well as the drawing.
The following scales are usually used for garden design drawings:
A Scale of 1:200 - every unit of your drawn plan represents 200 units on the ground. So if you draw 1cm onto your plan, it will represent 200cms, or 2 metres. This scale is restricted to larger gardens where details are not really required.
A Scale of 1:100 - every unit of your drawn plan represents 100 units on the ground. So if you draw 1cm onto your plan, it will represent 100cms, or 1 metre. If you have a small or medium sized garden then this is the scale for you. You will be able to include a reasonable amount of detail without needing a forest to achieve it (that's a metaphorical forest- you don't have to put one in your garden!).
A Scale of 1:20 - every unit of your drawn plan represents 20 units on the ground. So if you draw 1cm onto your plan, it will represent....yep, you guessed it, 20cm on the ground. This scale is excellent for more detailed drawings, such as construction drawings and very small gardens.
A Scale of 1:50 - is between the two scales above and is commonly used for planting plans and medium gardens.
Have a look at your scale rule. You will see that it includes ( or mine does anyway) scales of up to 1:500, 1:1000, 1:10000, 1:1250. These would all produce tiny drawings, so are generally used for producing maps and plans of extremely large areas. I'm talking country estate size here, so it's best you avoid these sized scales, unless you own a country estate that is!
It is vitally important to draw your plans to scale so that you can eventually have your design created in real life. If some poor person is having to re-jig your design so that it fits into your allocated space, they aren't going to be happy.
Try practising using your scale rule to draw simple objects. Only use your scale rule to make measurements. Do not use it to draw the actual lines. This will ruin the edges of the scale rule and future results will be innaccurate.
Try drawing these rectangles at scales of 1:100 and 1:50:
- 6m x 12m
- 3.5m x 5m
- 16m x 8.5m
Repeat the exercise using these following dimensions:
- 10cm x 5cm
- 15cm x 20cm
Now draw them using scales 1:10 and 1:20
Remember to write the scale that you decide to use on the bottom right-hand side of each drawing you produce. That way, when you refer back to it, you won't have to spend ages trying to work out what scale you were working to.
The next part of the site survey to measure, are the boundaries and features within the garden. I'll talk about that later. For now though, have a practice of scale drawing with those rectangles and measure your house facade.
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