If you are looking for a career in drafting, go to the library for some books on Autocad.

On the other hand, if your drafting will be limited to your own needs, I suggest you just jump in and start. Some of my own thoughts on how you might do that are in the link below. If you can learn to upload your work for forum members to see, we can answer your questions as you go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drawing the Plan. part 1

Check PLS's link, it is helpful.

If you are talking about drafting a landscape plan, I start by measuring something that I can measure other things off of. That is usually a building.

The other benefit of measuring from a building is that it is usually easy to draft the building accurately because it has right angles, so it is very easy to draw to scale. Everything else can be measured to and from the building.

Pls gave you a link to graph paper which is an excellent way to start to draw a plan to scale. All you have to do to draw a building is measure the walls and trace the lines on the graph paper making sure to count the right amount of lines that you are using to represent a certain distance.

The fun begins when you try to measure and draft all those things such as trees that are just hanging out there in space. Actually, it is not that hard to do. There are two methods that I use (this is how I spend many of my weekend days). One is the coordinate method the other is the swing tie method. The right angle method is easier and the swing tie method is a little more accurate. Sometimes it is a little difficult to make coordinate measurements if there are obstacles in the way.

The coordinate method is to measure the distance out from a building and over from the end of the building. I used to do this by attaching a hundred foot tape measure to the corner of the building. Then I would run the tape out while lining myself up with the end wall of a building so that it is perpendicular to the front wall of the building. You can tell that you are lined up properly when you can just barely see the end wall (if you see none of it, move over until you just see a little of it. If you see a lot move the other way until you see only a sliver). Then I would walk out along the length of that tape until I was just as far out as the object that I wanted to locate. I would use a second tape to measure over to the object (out 37.5'over 26.8'). Then I could use a scale or count out squares on the graph paper to locate the position in the plan. Now I use a laser tape, so all I do is line myself up, shoot the distance to the building and then over to the object to get the coordinates - much faster.

I usually use the swing tie method now that I use a laser tape. After measuring the building and sketching it (very crudely), I label all of the corners (A,B,C,...). Then I go out to the object that I want to locate (usually a tree) and measure back to whatever corners that I have a clear shot at (A=45.6', D=22.3'). I use circles to draft the locations. Using "A" as the center of the circle and a radius of 45.6', and D with a radius of 22.3', the intersection of the circles is the location.

Swing ties are more accurate because it is very difficult to estimate a right angle accurately when you measure over to an object using the coordinate method.

Drafting swing ties is much more time consuming (unless you use cad). You also have to make sure that you have measured the building very accurately when using swing ties because a slight shift in the center of the circle may move the intersection quite a distance and in odd directions.

Cool info, laag. I've never used a laser measure. I guess they are accurate? Do you have trouble hitting weird targets, such as trees or bushes or small things? Does it show you a dot of light so you know you're on the right thing? I'd buy one if I thought it was worth it. Also, do you measure the width of tree trunks? It seems like it would be so much easier when you are by yourself.

Instead of measuring tape I use a wheel measurer.

The advantage is that you don't have to drag a tape around. I have the $100 Stanley Fat Max which is not as effective as the $500 Leica I can use at my day job.

The negative is that the device sometimes will not get a reading off of a particular object. It seems like the surface texture combined with how brightly the sun is hitting it can affect its ability. It won't give you a bad distance, just an error message. I'd say that I easily get over 90% of the shots. I have to bust out the tape for the others. Sometimes I set a white piece of paper on a clipboard up as a target as it tends to get a good read.

Also, I have to place it inside my jacket to warm it up every few minutes if it is really cold out.

They say it has a range of 100'. I have taken one or two shots over 90' in ideal conditions, but I would say that it is pretty reliable under 80'.

The expensive one will shoot 600', has a sight viewer, and a level bubble. The laser beam is much tighter so that the dot is much smaller and harder to see (that is why it works better).

The stanley's red beam is easy to see unless there is a lot of sunlight on the surface you are shining. The farther away it is the more it is spread out which makes it harder to reflect back to the device. Tree bark is harder to get a read on than the corner board of a house, so I tend to go to the tree and shoot back to the building.

Another thing is that as you squeeze the button, the beam sometimes moves off target, especially a long shot. I often hold it with my teeth so that it stays on target as I push the button. Sometimes it helps to shine the beam on something close where you can see the dot and then move it to the longer target. It is still easy to lose sight of the dot. If you hold it with your teeth, it is easier to follow the dot as you turn your head with the device.

I don't know that I'd drop $100 for one plan of your own house, but if you draw only three or few plans a year it is worth it. Last week I located about 40 points in someone's back yard in about an hour and a half.

I bought it 2 years ago after I spent three hours locating things around the first two buildings in a 10 building spur of a condo relandscape plan. I went back the next day and located around the next three buildings and re-did the two I had done, all in two hours.

I find that I now take a lot more measurements because it is easier.

I found that the range of some of the devices can be doubled with the use of reflectors based on cubic surfaces. The two most useful to me have been bicycle reflectors and the reflective tape made for temporary highway centerline marking. I liked the bicycle reflectors made for wheel spokes. I taped them to welding rods with a sharpened end. These could be stuck in the ground for a target along walks and other items with no above ground surface to shoot, or they can be stuck in the side of trees when there is a limited line of site.

The reflector tape was cut into short pieces, the backing removed, and then applied to a heavy paper. These targets can then be taped to building corners or other vertical surfaces using masking tape. Don't let the reflector tape adhesive stick to anything as it is next to impossible to get off.

You can test a unit for increased range by using a light reflective speed limit sign compared with a standard material.

Very good info. Sounds like it might be worth purchasing. I wonder how those um... you know those reflector rounds on stakes? Like for driveways or something? Those might be good. I guess I'd just have to play with it. :))) IF I got one. :)))) Which I surely must. :))))

I just use the rolling wheel. If the plan is important enough or there is a lot of grade change, I will get the lot dimensions and angles from the recorded subdivision plat on file with the City. Once I have those dimensions, I'll just measure the corners of the house, deck etc. to the edge of the yard to site the house. THEN I measure the walls of the house.

It's not engineering perfect but it doesn't need to be for a landscape plan. Plus or minus a few inches doesn't really matter that much MOST of the time.

But bindersbee, wouldn't it be so much more FUN to use a laser??? I *want* one.

I would not call using a "laser" fun (OK, that brought back a flashback to Austin Powers that I did not need), but it is really fast and does not require you to move yourself from target to reference for each measurement.

Measuring wheels don't go over fences or other obstacles very easily, but they are great for measuring big open areas and lengths of paths or driveways. I don't have the need for measuring either of those very often, so I have never owned a wheel.

I have the "laser" that slips behind my pocket protector with assorted writing implements and 4" scale in my shirt pocket, a newer 30' typical metal tape that clips to my belt (I keep an older one for use when it rains as these rust pretty easily), a cheap 100' plastic tape with a big crank handle on it (that I slip under my belt in the small of my back), one of those vinyl folding clipboard book thingies with the pocket on the inside left and the clip on the right where I keep my graph paper pad, and my 6 year old point and shoot digital camera in my back pocket. That gets the job done for me.

Of course I do have to get out and pick up some reflectors and reflective tape now that I got that great advice from PLx. I'm liking that suggestion for the snow plow marker reflectors as well from Prairiepb.

What is the 911 dispatcher going to think when he gets the call: "There's this guy in my neighbor's bushes shining a laser beam and taking pictures and he already stole some snow plow markers, oh, and he is a nerd because I saw his pocket protector"?