Prepare a CAD floor plan for your renovation team

What is CAD, and why would a designer ask for it?

CAD means computer-aided design. In a two-dimensional floor plan, walls, openings and other objects are represented as drawing geometry rather than only image pixels. A designer can work with that geometry to measure distances and continue developing a layout.

For a homeowner, the useful starting point is a clear plan of the room and the arrangement you want. FloorDraft lets you draw that plan in a desktop browser, add furniture at its actual size and export a CAD exchange file. You can prepare your ideas without learning a full professional drafting application first.

• Autodesk: an introduction to CAD

CAD, DXF, DWG and PDF: which file should you send?

FloorDraft exports DXF, not DWG. If the team specifically requests DWG, ask whether they can open your DXF and save it in their required format and version. Renaming a .dxf file to .dwg does not convert it. Try a sample file with the recipient before preparing a large project.

• Autodesk: importing and exporting DXF
• Download a sample DXF and check units

Ask the team four questions before drawing

Keep their answers beside your measurement sheet. This makes it easier to prepare the right drawing instead of sending several unexplained versions. You can begin with one room and have the team confirm that its file opens as expected.

1. Can you accept a 2D DXF, and which drawing unit do you use: mm, cm or m?
2. Do you want the existing layout, a proposed furniture layout, or both as separate files?
3. Which measurements do you need checked on site, and what supporting photographs or heights would help?
4. Who will review the file, and should feedback refer to named rooms, objects or a numbered list?

Build a measured room in FloorDraft

Keep the measured layout as a named project before exploring alternatives. In My projects, choose Make a copy for the proposal, then rename it. Label proposed changes explicitly so the recipient can distinguish your ideas from existing conditions.

• Illustrated manual and bedroom walkthrough
• Prepare a room measurement sheet

1. Open the editor on a computer. Under My projects, choose Blank design, Example plan to practise, or Trace an image for an existing PNG / JPG plan up to 5 MiB.
2. Measure the room and openings. If using an image, choose Measure → Calibrate with two points, select a known distance and enter its actual length in millimetres. Verify another distance before tracing.
3. Use Walls, doors and windows → Draw walls to build the outline. Set wall thickness and check inside-face measurements; a wall centreline length is not the same as the room’s clear width.
4. Place doors and windows, set their widths and check Host wall. Use Flip hinge side and Flip opening direction to match the intended door movement.
5. Add furniture and enter its full outside width and depth. Use dimensions and text notes to identify the room and mark anything that still needs measurement.

Turn a layout into a brief the team can act on

For example, a room measured at 3000 × 3600 mm inside can be drawn with a 1500 × 2000 mm bed and a 1200 × 600 mm desk. These are teaching dimensions. Record the actual remaining gaps and write a specific question such as “Please check whether the desk chair can pull out without blocking the bedside route.”

A note such as “Keep the bed; compare two desk positions” is more useful than “make this room better.” Separately record window-sill heights, ceiling restrictions and other information that a top-down outline does not show.

Export the drawing as CAD from FloorDraft

The DXF carries supported drawing objects including wall outlines, door/window symbols, furniture blocks, floor boundaries, utility routes and dimension annotations. The uploaded reference image is not automatically turned into CAD geometry: the objects you draw are what you hand over.

The PDF from FloorDraft is a fitted image overview. If the team needs a sheet printed at a specified scale, they should set up the paper and scale in CAD after checking the DXF unit. Keep the original FloorDraft project for future edits; a returned DXF cannot be imported as a FloorDraft design backup.

• Detailed DXF unit, layer and opening checks
• Prepare a drawing for scaled printing

1. Save the project and download a design backup from Export & backup. Keep the original reference image separately.
2. Sign in with Google, then choose Export & backup → Export DXF. DXF export is free and has no FloorDraft brand watermark.
3. Choose the unit agreed with the recipient. Select the layers they need, such as walls, openings, furniture and dimensions; include utility routes only when relevant to the brief.
4. Review the export messages. Calibrate an estimated plan against a measured reference, or explicitly accept an estimated-scale export and identify it as such in the handoff.
5. Download the DXF. Also export a PNG or PDF showing the same version and intended visible layers. Open the files to check that the drawing is complete.

Package the files so the latest version is obvious

Rename downloaded files on your computer to match the agreed project, room, version and unit. The names above are suggestions, not files the site generates automatically. Put the deliverables in one folder or ZIP and send it through the channel agreed with your team.

Keep your JSON design backup and original image in your own project folder. If you revise the layout, increase the version number and say which earlier proposal it replaces. Do not change only the preview image while leaving an older DXF in the package.

A handoff message you can adapt

Hello, attached is bedroom proposal v02 for layout review. The DXF unit is millimetres. The PNG / PDF shows the same version. My reference measurements are an inside width of 3000 mm and inside length of 3600 mm; please verify these against the room before detailed design.

The aim is to keep a 1500 × 2000 mm bed and add a 1200 × 600 mm desk. Please review the entrance route, door swing and space to pull out the chair. Window-sill height and the proposed socket position still need confirmation. The existing layout and my measurement sheet are included separately.

Please confirm that the DXF opens, a 3000 mm reference distance reads as 3000 in your millimetre drawing, and the walls, openings and labels display correctly. Please return comments against v02 and identify any extra measurements you need. This proposal is for discussion before your detailed design.

1. Replace all example measurements with your own records.
2. Remove attachments you are not sending and list those you are.
3. Name any dimensions that remain estimated; do not describe them as verified.
4. Add a review date agreed with the recipient.

Confirm receipt before moving to detailed design

A CAD file makes your geometry easier to continue working with. It does not turn a furniture proposal into a complete construction drawing set. Your renovation or design team should verify site conditions and develop the structural, electrical, plumbing and detailed installation information needed for the work.

If the team changes the drawing in CAD, keep their returned file with the review notes. Continue maintaining your own FloorDraft layout from its original project or design backup, using the agreed changes as a reference.

1. Ask the recipient to confirm the file version and unit, not only that the attachment downloaded.
2. Have them check a known span, wall openings, door directions, layers and text in the CAD software they will use.
3. Resolve missing measurements and record decisions against the same proposal version. Keep the next revision distinct.

Questions