RapidSiteplan

Product

Site plansSite exposure checker

Who it’s for

All trades and audiencesFor professionalsCertifiers & engineersIndividual / DIYOrganisations

More

PricingBlogSite plans by councilContactTerms & Privacy

Draw the patio on the real block and print what the certifier asks for.

Attached or freestanding, posts where they actually go, roof cover counted into site coverage. The sheet leaves with you.

What it costs

Search the address and look at the block before you pay anything, and redraw the patio as often as the job changes. Unlocking the property is $75, once, with unlimited edits.

Site coverage counted as you dragSetbacks to every boundaryWind class read for the lot, on the sheet if you choose

What the sheet shows for a patio

The six things a patio application gets assessed on, drawn over your real lot.

6 things
  • Patio outline squared to the wallSnapped against the existing house line, with the attachment marked.
  • Post positions and spansSo the frame order matches the drawing instead of the other way round.
  • Roof cover added into site coverageA roofed patio counts, and that total is the first number checked.
  • Setback from the patio edgeNot from the house. Dimensioned to every boundary it faces.
  • Existing house, shed and drivewayTraced from the aerial so the sheet matches the ground.
  • Where the roof water goesDischarge direction shown wherever stormwater is part of the question.
Sample site plan for a patio on a made-up lot, showing the boundaries, the existing house, the new patio and its distance to each boundary
A sample site plan for a patio, on a made-up lot. We draw it for you: A$150, 5 free revisions within 14 days. Have us draw it, A$150 How it works

What the assessor looks at on a patio

Five things, and four of them are numbers that come straight off the sheet.

Site coverageRoofed area counts. A patio pushes a block over the coverage limit more often than people expect, so the running total sits on the sheet.
Boundary setbackMeasured from the patio edge, not the house wall. Corner blocks are assessed against both frontages.
Attachment to the dwellingWhether it fixes to the house changes how it is classified. The sheet says which, so nobody has to ask.
Wind classificationRead for the lot, in its own report and on the sheet if you choose. Patios are the structure suppliers ask about most, because the class drives beam and footing sizes, and the bushfire report comes with the sheet when the lot is mapped bushfire prone.
StormwaterYou have added a roof, so the water has to go somewhere. The discharge point is on the drawing.

Setback and coverage limits vary by council and by zone. The sheet shows the figures for your lot; your certifier confirms them against the current scheme.

What the certifier will ask you

The questions a patio application comes back with, and what the certifier looks for in each.

8 questions

The floor area and the height decide whether the patio needs building approval at all. A roofed patio also counts towards site cover, and the running total sits on the sheet.

More on this

Whether it fixes to the house changes how it is classified, and so what the certifier checks near the boundary. The sheet says which it is.

More on this

The distance to each boundary decides whether the work can stand where it is drawn or needs an application for a closer position, and close to a side or rear boundary the fire rules apply too. The sheet dimensions the distance from the patio edge to every boundary.

More on this

A flood, bushfire, heritage or character overlay can bring a planning approval on top of the building approval, and the zone decides which of the council's rules apply. The mapped overlays are read at the lot as the patio goes on the plan.

More on this

Footings near a sewer or water main go to the asset owner before the certifier can sign them off, on a timeline of their own. Mapped easements and mains show on the lot as it loads.

More on this

The certifier or the council gives the approval, and the site plan can come from the builder, the supplier, a drafter or the owner, as long as it is clear and to scale. A surveyor comes in where the position of a boundary on the ground has to be fixed.

More on this

The council and the zone set the rules the plan is checked against, and some councils step them with the lot's size. The address gives the council, and the sheet prints the lot's area.

More on this

An open pergola and a roofed patio are treated differently near the boundary, and louvres that shut to shed water count as a roof. Roofed, it also adds to the site cover total on the sheet.

More on this
The figures for your own lot are read in a minute, from its address.

Questions people ask about patios and carports

Answers from the blog, and the checks that read one address.

What should a patio quote include?Can I build a patio myself as an owner builder?Do I need council approval for a patio in Queensland?Can I enclose a patio or carport without council approval?What size deck needs council approval?Does it matter if a patio is attached to the house?Site plans for patio and carport approvalWhat needs council approval?Do I need a permit for a deck or a pergola?Do I need a planning permit and a building permit?Does a shed or carport need approval here?What wind region am I in?

Every patio question answered

The patio RFI that keeps coming back

Almost every patio request for information is one of two things: a setback missing on the side the patio encroaches, or a coverage figure that leaves out the new roof. Both are on the sheet before you leave the driveway.

Check the wind class for the block
What we cover in site plans

Patio / carport / louvered · Granny flat · Retaining · Pools · Concreting / driveways · Class 10a structures. All seven come out of the same editor, on the same sheet, at the same price.

Doing a different job?

Each page covers what that structure needs on the sheet.

Patios and carportsRoofingSheds and carportsGranny flatsRetaining wallsPoolsFencingConcreting and drivewaysClass 10a structuresCertifiers and engineers

Quote the patio and hand over the plan on the same visit.

The block, the house and the council rules load from the address. Drop the patio on and the numbers come with it.

Ask us a question

Search the address and check the property on the aerial before you pay anything. Unlocking it is $75, once, for that property.