Property types
Creating a floor plan for a warehouse or industrial unit
Industrial space is marketed on four facts: area, clear height, column grid, and the number and size of doors. Leave one out and you generate questions instead of enquiries — and in a fast-moving market those questions cost time you do not have.
The plan is not decoration here; it is the document where those facts come together. A warehouse plan with a correct grid and dimensioned doors answers more than three pages of prose.
Column grid and usable area
Draw the column grid to scale and dimension the axis spacings. A 12 by 24 metre grid allows completely different racking from a 6 by 12 metre one, even though both buildings may share the same gross area.
Separate warehouse floor, office space and welfare rooms. They carry different rents, different specifications and are quoted separately. A plan that shows everything as one area makes the tenant's calculation impossible.
- Dimension the axis spacings of the column grid
- Separate warehouse, office and welfare areas
- Note each door's width, height and type
- Show ramps, docks and yard access
Doors, ramps and access
For each door, record clear width and height and the type: level access sectional door, ramp door, dock leveller. For a logistics occupier the difference between level access and a dock is decisive and cannot be changed later without significant cost.
Show the yard as far as it belongs to the unit: manoeuvring space in front of the doors, access width and parking. Those areas are often more important to operations than ten per cent more building.
From drawing to marketing pack
For industrial space, a dimensionally correct and uncluttered drawing beats graphic effect. Export the plan as a PDF with a scale bar and a legend that explains doors, columns and area types.
Planners and racking suppliers continue in DXF. Because the export writes geometry in millimetres, a racking layout can be built directly on your plan without anyone re-measuring or redrawing.
Frequently asked questions
Which dimensions must appear on a warehouse plan?
Floor area, clear height under the truss and under any down-stand beam, the column grid spacings, and the width and height of every door. Those four decide whether a building makes a shortlist at all.
How do I handle different heights in one building?
Mark areas of differing clear height as separate zones and dimension each. A building with 4.5 metres in an annexe and 8 metres in the main bay must not be advertised as one height.
Is a PDF enough for prospects?
For the first enquiry, yes. As soon as an occupier plans seriously, their fit-out supplier needs a DXF to lay out racking and aisles to scale. Both formats come from the same drawing.