Measure a room by hand

Accurate plans start with good measurements. This method avoids the most common mistakes.

Before you start

• A tape measure or laser distance meter, paper and pen (or this guide on your phone).
• About five minutes per room.

Steps

1. Sketch the room roughly on paper: walls, doors, windows, radiators, built-ins.
2. Measure wall to wall at about waist height, inside faces, for every wall. Write each number on the sketch.
3. Measure both diagonals of rectangular rooms. If they're equal the room is square; if not, you'll see it's slightly skewed.
4. Locate openings: for each door and window measure from the nearest corner to the edge of the opening, then the opening's width. For windows also measure the sill height.
5. Ceiling height: measure in a couple of places.
6. Draw it: create a room and type the inside dimensions. Our walls have thickness, so set wall thickness first (e.g. 4½″ / 115 mm for interior partitions) and use inside dimensions in the inspector.
7. Check: compare a diagonal on the plan with your measured diagonal.

Common problems

• The last wall doesn't close. Real rooms are rarely perfectly square. Use the diagonals to adjust angles, or let the last wall absorb the small difference.