Are floor plans easy to understand? Whereas it is exciting to read floor plans, compare them and hopefully make the decision, sometimes it can be confusing due to the many unfamiliar symbols and different types of lines. Armed with some basic knowledge, you will be able to gain more information from floor plans.

Doors
When reading floor plan, it is easier to first visualise yourself at the main door. That helps you better understand how the living room, bedrooms are connected.

Doors are quarter-circles on the floor plan. The arc of the door symbol indicates if the door swings inwards or outwards.

Windows
Windows are marked with thin hollow lines. There are two types of windows in Singapore – sliding window and casement window. The difference is that casement windows usually come in pairs.

Walls
You can quickly notice these bold lines and normal lines by looking at its thickness from the floor plan.

Bold lines are structural walls which cannot be hacked.
Normal lines are non-structural walls which usually can be safely removed. Non-structural walls separate one room from the other.

* For development using prefabricated structure, walls are indicated as normal lines but they cannot be hacked. You need to check the brochure or a principal engineer if it is prefabricated units before planning any renovation work.

Facing
It is important to know the facing of doors and windows. The facing of North is usually indicated at the corner of the floor plan and is easier to tell directions from the site plan.