HomePlanHQ Glossary
5 terms a homeowner will run into when they read a warranty contract or talk to a claims rep. Each entry is a short read.
General
- Elevation An architectural drawing showing the exterior face of a house from one direction (front, rear, left, right), depicting roof pitch, window placement, siding materials, and overall proportions.
- Floor plan A scaled, top-down architectural drawing showing the layout of rooms, walls, doors, windows, and key fixtures on each story of a house.
- Footprint The horizontal area a house occupies on its lot, measured at ground level and including all attached structures (garage, porches, decks).
- Square footage in house plans The total floor area of a house, typically measured between the inside faces of exterior walls and excluding garages, porches, and unfinished basements. Square footage in house plans is the single number every listing leads with, and it is also the single number that varies most by who is doing the measuring.
- Stock house plan A pre-designed house plan sold off-the-shelf by a plan publisher, in contrast to a custom plan drawn from scratch by an architect for a specific buyer.