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If you’ve never bought garage plans before, opening a plan set for the first time can feel overwhelming. There are multiple sheets, a lot of lines and symbols, and terminology that seems designed for contractors rather than homeowners. But understanding what you’re looking at isn’t as complicated as it looks — you just need to know what each sheet is for and what it’s trying to tell you.
This guide walks you through every major component of a standard garage plan set so you know exactly what you’re getting before you buy, and exactly what to hand to your builder when you’re ready to break ground.
What Are Garage Plans, Exactly?
Garage plans are a visual and written description of a structure to be built. They communicate the design, dimensions, and structural requirements of a construction project in a standardized format that every trade involved in construction — framers, foundation crews, electricians — can interpret and work from.
You’ll hear them called several things: working drawings, blueprints, contract documents or plan sets. These terms all refer to the same thing. A full plan set is organized to present accurate drawings, figures, and specifications so that all construction trades can complete the project correctly and efficiently, without having to call the designer with every question.
At Behm Design, every plan set includes a free preliminary materials list, which is a significant time-saver when you’re getting bids from contractors or pricing out a self-build.
The Contents of a Garage Plan Set
Plot Plan – Site Plan (an Associated Document)
The plot plan is not included with a stock or pre-drawn plan set. If your local jurisdiction or municipality requires a plot plan it is usually provided by a third party such as the owner, a builder, contractor, drafting service, surveyor or engineer. It is a bird’s-eye view of your entire property at a small scale — commonly 1” = 20’-0” or 1/16” = 1’-0”. It shows property lines, locates existing structures, the proposed garage footprint, setbacks, easements and rights-of-way. If a topographic survey is required, a Plot Plan should include contour lines of the topography. And if drainage design and water detention is required it would also be shown. This is the sheet your local building department will look at first. It demonstrates that your garage placement complies with local zoning ordinances, land-use regulations, and any deed restrictions on your property.
A complete set of garage plans typically contains the following drawings. Here’s what each one does and why it matters:
1.Cover Sheet
The first sheet of a plan set presents a rendering of the proposed garage project, its plan number and overall size. There will be Project data such as building code compliance and design parameters. The Owner’s name and project street address are often added by the Owner if required. This identifies the plan set with the building permit application process. All of Behm Design plans include a preliminary Materials List on the Cover sheet that can help your materials suppliers and builders prepare their cost estimate and proposal.
2. Floor Plan
The floor plan is a horizontal, plan-view drawing of the garage — imagine the roof has been removed and you’re looking straight down into the structure. It’s typically drawn at 1/4” = 1’-0” and shows all walls, openings, and interior spaces.
The floor plan shows dimensioning for wall lengths, door and window locations, and the positions of structural elements like posts and beams. You’ll also see locations of electrical outlets, switches, lighting fixtures, exhaust fans, and plumbing fixtures shown with standard symbols (explained in an accompanying legend). This is the sheet your framer will reference most.
3. Foundation Plan
The foundation plan is another plan-view drawing, cut just above the concrete slab or foundation walls. Like the floor plan, it’s typically drawn at 1/4” = 1’-0”, but it contains only what the foundation crew needs: concrete dimensions, footing locations, wall thicknesses, and openings, as well as anchor bolts, embedded anchor-straps and blockouts if required. Dimensions reference foundation to faces of concrete, openings, and structural bearing centerlines — the usual measurements a concrete contractor needs to set forms correctly.
4. Floor Framing Plan (when applicable)
If your garage design includes a framed floor over a crawl space rather than a slab, you’ll have a floor framing plan.
This sheet shows joists, rim joists, headers, beams, and openings, with framing member sizes, spacing, and any required anchors, hangers, or steel connectors called out. Not all garage plans include this as a separate sheet — some incorporate this information into the floor or foundation plan.
5. Roof Framing Plan
The roof framing plan shows the structure above: trusses, rafters, ceiling joists, fascia boards, and rake boards. Roof edges, valleys, hips, and ridges are all identified and labeled. Roof framing plans are rarely dimensioned — repetitive members like trusses are represented by symbolic linework indicating their spacing and extent. Roof slopes are typically noted on the exterior elevations instead.
6. Exterior Elevations
Exterior elevation drawings are straight-on, two-dimensional views of each exterior wall — no perspective, just a flat representation of how each side of the building is configured. Scale is typically 1/4” = 1’-0”. They show the height and shape of the
building, exterior materials (siding, trim, masonry veneer, roofing), and window and door sizes. A grade line is shown as a heavy line indicating where the structure meets the ground. This is the sheet that helps you visualize what your finished garage will actually look like from the outside.
7. Wall Framing Elevations
Where exterior elevations show what the wall looks like from the outside, wall framing elevations show what’s inside the wall — studs, plates, headers, and framing around every opening. Drawn at approximately 1/4” = 1’-0”, these are especially useful for material takeoffs, cost estimating, and simplifying the framing process in the field.
8. Cross Sections
A cross section is created by imagining a vertical cut through the building from top to bottom, then looking at the exposed face. It reveals the internal construction of the building in profile: how the roof structure, wall framing, floor system (if applicable), and foundation all relate to one another. For garage plans specifically, the cross section demonstrates the load path — how structural loads travel from the roof framing, through the walls, through the foundation, and into the supporting soil.
9. Typical Wall Sections
A typical wall section is a zoomed-in portion of the cross section, drawn at a larger scale — often 3/4” = 1’-0” — so that construction details are clearly visible. Framing, sheathing, roofing materials, insulation, concrete components, and bearing soil are all shown. Separate wall sections may be provided for different roof overhang conditions such as eaves and gable ends.
10. Wall Framing Details
Wall framing details zoom in even further — typically at 1” = 1’-0” — on specific framing conditions around doors and windows. Headers, king studs, jack studs, and cripple studs are all identified, showing exactly how loads are transferred around openings and carried safely to the foundation.
11. Braced Wall Details
Braced wall details illustrate the framing, sheathing, nailing patterns, anchor bolts, hold-downs, and metal straps required for lateral-force resistance — the structure’s ability to resist wind and seismic forces without overturning or racking.
These assemblies are often referred to as Alternate Braced Wall Panels (ABWPs), which function similarly to shear walls. The specific method used depends on code requirements and site conditions.
12. General Notes and Specifications
This sheet covers everything that can’t be shown graphically: wood framing standards, structural connection requirements, concrete placement specifications, reinforcing steel details, soil preparation requirements, product specifications, and applicable building codes. It also summarizes design assumptions and code compliance documentation.
13. Fastening Schedule
The fastening schedule is a table — or set of tables — identifying required fasteners and fastening methods as prescribed by the applicable building code. It provides standardized connection requirements throughout the structure.
14. Braced Wall Calculations Summary
This section demonstrates that the garage design complies with the lateral-force resistance requirements of the International Residential Code (IRC). The calculations verify that the structure can resist wind and seismic forces using the IRC’s prescriptive design provisions.
This is significant because when a structure falls within the size, shape, and construction limitations the IRC establishes, it can qualify for permit approval without requiring calculations from a licensed structural engineer — which saves time and money on the permitting process.
What to Do With Your Plans Once You Have Them
Once you’ve purchased and downloaded your garage plans, here’s the typical workflow:
- Check with your local building department about what’s required for permit submission in your jurisdiction. Most will want the site plan, floor plan, foundation plan, and exterior elevations at minimum.
- Share the plan set with contractors when collecting bids. The more complete the plans, the more accurate your bids will be.
- Use the materials list (included free with every Behm Design plan set) to cross-check contractor bids and price out materials independently.
- Verify setbacks against your property survey before finalizing placement.
Ready to Find Your Plan?
Behm Design offers a full library of garage plans — from simple single-car designs to large garage-apartment combinations — all drawn to the standard described above and ready for permit submission.
Browse all garage plans: behmdesign.com
Have a question about what’s included in a specific plan set? Contact us — we’re happy to walk you through what you’ll receive before you buy.