Floor Plan Formats and Quality for Evacuation Diagrams

A common pre-order question: "What floor plan format do you need?" The honest answer is that almost any floor plan that shows the rooms, walls, doors, and approximate scale is enough to start. The question that actually matters is whether the plan reflects the building as it stands today, and whether the room boundaries, doors, and exits are legible.

This guide is the buyer-stage clarification: what formats AS 3745 evacuation diagram producers can work from, what counts as good enough, the quality issues that genuinely slow production, and what to do when no plan exists at all.

Formats that work

EvacPath accepts floor plans in any of the following formats. Each has tradeoffs but all are workable for AS 3745 diagram production.

• PDF. The most common format. Architectural sets, builder issued-for-construction sets, and even printed-and-scanned plans all arrive as PDF. Multi-page PDFs are fine; sheet sizes A0, A1, A2, A3, and A4 all work. Vector PDF (exported from CAD) is preferable to raster PDF (scanned paper) but both are usable.
• DWG (AutoCAD native). The cleanest source format. Layers can be turned on and off, line work is precise, and dimensions are present. If you can ask the architect or builder for the DWG, do it.
• DXF (AutoCAD interchange). A vendor-neutral CAD exchange format. Same advantages as DWG. Useful when the original was drawn in a non-AutoCAD tool (Vectorworks, ArchiCAD, Revit, BricsCAD) and the practice does not share native files.
• JPG or PNG. Image formats. Acceptable for simple buildings or single-tenancy plans. The image must be high enough resolution that room names, door swings, and dimensions are readable when zoomed in. Mobile phone photos of a wall-mounted plan or a paper plan also work if taken straight-on with even lighting.
• Photos of marked-up paper plans. Useful when the only available plan is a paper printout the building owner annotated by hand. Take the photo head-on, full sheet in frame, even lighting, no shadow from the photographer. Multiple photos with overlap are fine if a single shot cannot capture the whole sheet at readable resolution.

Less common but still workable: TIF, BMP, SVG, IFC (BIM exchange), or screenshots from a building management system. If you have a plan in a format not listed here, send it and ask. The format is rarely the blocker; legibility is.

What good enough looks like

A workable floor plan for evacuation diagram production has the following characteristics. None of them require professional draughting; they describe what a producer needs to see to lay out a compliant diagram.

• Walls are clearly distinguished from other line work. Solid walls and partition walls can be different line weights but both should be obvious.
• Door positions and swings are shown. A door symbol with the swing arc is ideal. A simple gap in the wall with a label is also workable.
• Room names or numbers are legible. The producer needs to know which space is the kitchen, which is the staff office, which is the storage room.
• Exits to the outside are indicated. Either a labelled exit door, a stair leading out, or a clear edge of the building.
• Approximate scale. A scale bar, a dimension on one wall, or a stated total floor area is enough. Exact scale is not required for evacuation diagrams; the diagram is a wayfinding aid, not an as-built drawing.
• Page or sheet identification. If the plan is multi-sheet, each sheet should be identifiable so the producer knows how the floors and tenancies fit together.

A plan that has all six is straightforward to produce diagrams from. A plan that has four of the six is still workable, with one or two clarifying questions during production.

Quality issues that slow production

A few patterns reliably surface delays during production. Each is fixable, but knowing them in advance saves a round trip.

• Heavy raster scans where the line work has bled. Old paper plans scanned at low resolution or high contrast can lose thin walls, door swings, and dimension lines. The producer ends up reconstructing wall positions by eye. Workaround: re-scan at 300 DPI minimum, grayscale not bitonal, with the original held flat.
• Inconsistent scale across sheets. A multi-sheet set where each sheet was scanned at a different scale or rotated differently. The producer cannot reliably tell that the kitchen on Sheet 2 is the same kitchen on Sheet 1. Workaround: include a site plan or key plan that shows how the sheets relate.
• Missing dimensions or scale bar. The plan shows the layout but no scale reference. Producer can still work from it but the diagram can be off-proportion. Workaround: state the floor area or one wall length so the producer can derive scale.
• Partial plans. Only the kitchen is shown, or only one floor of a multi-storey building. The diagram needs the whole building footprint to show exits and assembly area routes correctly. Workaround: send all sheets even if you think only one is relevant.
• Plans that no longer match the building. The plan shows the original 1995 layout, but the kitchen wall was removed in 2018 and never updated. The diagram will look wrong on day one. Workaround: mark up the plan with the actual current layout, or send a separate sketch of changes.
• Plans with only architectural intent, not as-built. Architects sometimes draw plans showing the design they wanted; the builder may have changed details during construction. Workaround: ask whoever maintains the building if the as-built differs.

When you do not have a floor plan at all

A surprising number of small businesses operate without any floor plan on file. The lease may not include one, the original architect documentation may have been lost, or the business may have moved into a converted space without formal as-builts. This is workable but adds steps.

Three options in order of preference:

• Ask the building owner or property manager. They almost always have a leasehold plan or strata plan on file. Even a basic outline plan is usable.
• Sketch the layout yourself. Walk the space with a tape measure (or laser distance measure) and a sheet of paper. Sketch each room with approximate dimensions, label each room, mark the doors and exits. A hand-drawn sketch with even rough scale is enough to start. Photograph the sketch and send it.
• Order a measure-and-draw service. Some draughting services will visit and produce a basic floor plan for a few hundred dollars. EvacPath does not currently offer this; ask for a referral if needed.

For tenancy diagrams in shopping centres or commercial buildings, the centre management or building owner usually holds the base building plans. A request to facilities management or property management almost always returns at least an outline plan within a few days.

How to mark up the plan effectively

A plan with no annotations is workable but slower. A plan with the right annotations is much faster. The most useful annotations a building owner can add before sending:

• Mark fire equipment locations. Where each extinguisher, hose reel, fire alarm panel, and manual call point is mounted. A simple letter (E for extinguisher, H for hose reel, P for panel, C for call point) on the plan is enough.
• Mark exit doors. Highlight the doors that are designated emergency exits. Distinguish from internal doors and customer-only doors.
• Mark assembly area location. If the assembly area is shown on the plan or just outside, indicate it. If it is offsite, describe the location (e.g. "footpath in front of #45 King Street").
• Mark locked doors. Doors that are normally locked or key-card-only need to be flagged so the diagram does not show them as exit options.
• Note any layout discrepancies. If a wall on the plan no longer exists, or a new wall has been added, mark it.
• Note tenancy boundaries. In multi-tenancy buildings, mark which area belongs to your tenancy if the plan shows the wider building.

CAD vs raster vs paper: tradeoffs

A short comparison of the three plan source types and what each affects in production.

• CAD (DWG/DXF/IFC). Cleanest. Producer can extract layers (walls only, doors only, fixtures only) and re-compose for the diagram. Dimensions are exact. Best when the building was recently renovated or is being designed.
• Raster (PDF scan, JPG, PNG). Workable. Producer traces the relevant features over the raster. Quality depends on scan resolution and contrast. Best when CAD is unavailable but printed plans exist.
• Paper (sketches, hand drawings, photos of marked-up plans). Slower but acceptable. Producer interprets the sketch. Works best for small simple buildings or as a supplement to a CAD/raster source for marking changes.

EvacPath does not require CAD. We routinely produce diagrams from raster scans and even from hand-drawn sketches when that is what the client has. The choice between formats is the client side; the producer side adapts.

Re-using fit-out architect plans vs building owner plans vs lease plans

Different parties hold different plans for the same space. Knowing which to source from saves a step.

• Fit-out architect plans. Most detailed; show internal walls, fixtures, and finishes. Best for individual tenancies. Available from the architect or the fitout contractor who built the space.
• Building owner plans. Show the full building outline, structural walls, common areas, and tenancy boundaries. Best for base-building diagrams or whole-building emergency plans. Available from facilities or property management.
• Lease plans. The plan attached to the commercial lease. Usually a simplified outline of the leased area. Useful as a quick start but often missing internal layout. Available from the leasing agent or the lease document.
• Strata plans. The plan registered with the state land titles office for strata-titled buildings. Shows the lot boundaries and common property. Useful for strata or body corporate diagram requirements. Available from the strata manager.

For tenancy and strata-specific obligations, see strata and body corporate evacuation diagrams and tenant fit-out evacuation diagram requirements.

Heritage and old buildings

Heritage-listed and pre-1990s buildings often have plans that are partial, hand-drawn, or genuinely lost. Production for these buildings tends to involve more reconstruction work, but they are still routine.

Three patterns for heritage buildings:

• Original architectural drawings exist (often hand-drawn, sometimes archived in state libraries or council records). Workable but requires careful interpretation.
• Recent renovation drawings exist for parts of the building only. Combine with hand-sketched updates for the un-drawn areas.
• No drawings exist. Start from a fresh hand-sketch with measurements. Slower but routine.

A pre-order checklist

Before sending a plan to commission diagrams, run through this short list. Each item saves a clarifying question during production.

• The plan reflects the current building layout, not the original design.
• All sheets are included if the building has multiple floors or wings.
• Room names, door positions, and exit doors are visible at the resolution sent.
• A scale bar, dimension, or floor area is included.
• Fire equipment locations are marked, even with simple letter annotations.
• Assembly area location is identified (on or off the plan).
• Tenancy boundaries are marked if the building has multiple tenancies.
• Any known discrepancies between the plan and the actual layout are flagged.

Send your plan and start production

EvacPath produces AS 3745-aligned evacuation diagrams from whatever floor plan you have, in any of the formats above. Send through the /get-started page or attach to an email to john.alpindo@evacpath.com. Print-ready PDFs delivered in 3 to 5 business days. Pricing starts at A$70 per diagram with package and volume options for larger sites.

Not sure if your plan is good enough? Download the free compliance checklist PDF for a self-assessment, or send the plan and ask. We will tell you what is workable, what needs clarification, and what the diagram will cost before any work starts.