Learning branch

Structures and site

Scope homes, ADUs, garages, sheds, decks, patios, pools, and landscape zones in their site context.

Start here

Begin with the parcel, setbacks, access, drainage, utilities, and hazards. The building footprint comes after those constraints are visible.

Each draft provides a direct answer, worked example, decision logic, limitations, primary sources, and a route into a relevant tool or starter plan.

Coordinate local permission, access, privacy, utilities, parking, fire response, and a compact room program.

Fit vehicles, benches, storage, doors, equipment, ventilation, and safe circulation as operating envelopes.

Plan an accessory structure around what moves through it and what the site allows.

Treat outdoor features as a connected site plan with drainage, access, fall, water, utility, and barrier risks.

Size a garage from the vehicles, the doors that have to open, and the storage you will inevitably add - not from a familiar round number.

Lay out joists, beams, and posts for a rectangular deck, then convert the surface into board rows and linear length.