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For outdoor kitchen, patio and pergola builders

Outdoor Living, Drawn Where It Goes.

An outdoor kitchen project is three permits' worth of drawing on one sheet: the patio or hardscape, the pergola or pavilion roof over it, and the gas, electrical and plumbing to the island. The building department wants to see all of it on the lot with the distances to the property lines. PlotForge™ loads the recorded lot from the address, you draw the patio, drop the pergola at its size, and the setbacks and the hardscape totals write themselves.

What does a site plan for an outdoor kitchen or pergola permit need to show?

A site plan for an outdoor living project shows the property lines with dimensions, the house, the patio or hardscape with its square footage, the pergola, pavilion or gazebo drawn to scale at its size, the kitchen island or grill location, and the distances from any roofed structure to the property lines and the house. Utility runs are noted where the office asks for them.

What the plan reviewer looks for on an outdoor living site plan

Patios alone are often exempt; the pergola, pavilion or gazebo over them usually is not, and the gas line and the electrical to the island get their own trade permits. One site plan serves all of them:

The lot, dimensioned — the recorded property lines with every side's length, loaded from the address

The house — placed in one click from public footprint records; the patio attaches to the real wall

The patio or hardscape — trace it as hardscape; the square footage prints and counts toward impervious coverage

The roofed structure — the pergola, pavilion or gazebo at its real size, with its setbacks to the lot lines labeled

The kitchen island and grill — a small rectangle with a note for the gas and electrical the trade permits reference

Fire features and the fence — a fire pit or fireplace as a labeled feature, and the yard fence with its gates if the office asks

How an outdoor living builder draws the permit site plan

Type the address

The recorded lot loads to scale on the aerial with the owner and parcel number filled in.

Add the house

One click places the existing house and garage; nudge a corner onto the roof edge if it sits off.

Draw the patio and the roof

Trace the patio as hardscape, then drop the pergola or pavilion at its size on top of it. The setbacks label themselves.

Place the island and export

A rectangle for the kitchen island with a pointer note for gas and power, then export the to-scale PDF with the cover sheet.

The tools outdoor living builders use

Freeform zones & areasTrace the patio at any shape with a label, live square footage and a hatch fill, on its own CAD layer.How it works → Structure builderThe pergola, pavilion or gazebo as a rectangle at its size, or trace the outline; dimensions label themselves.How it works → Automatic setbacksThe roofed structure measures itself to the nearest lot lines as you move it, the number the permit is about.How it works → Live quantity takeoffHardscape in square feet and impervious coverage on the sheet, for offices with a lot-coverage limit.How it works → Drafter-style pointer notesDrafter-style pointers for the grill, the gas stub, the GFCI outlet and the fire feature.How it works → Fence, wall & pool toolsThe yard fence with its gates and a seat wall or retaining wall with live lengths, on the same sheet.How it works →

Which plan fits an outdoor living builder

Design-build, several projects a month

Contractor, $199/mo

Twenty permit-ready plans a month, plans saved for the design revision, and the DXF for your designer. See Contractor.

A few big projects a season

Job Pack, 12 plans for $144

Twelve clean exports, no subscription, credits that never expire. Draw the first one on the free 30-day trial. Compare plans.

Proposal drawings too

Studio, $29/mo

Save every design in your account, export the PNG for the proposal, and buy plan credits when the permit set is ready. See Studio.

▶ Watch the lessonSite Plan for a Deck, Shed or Addition Permit ▶ Watch the lessonZones and Revision Clouds on a Site Plan ▶ Watch the lessonAdd Notes and Pointer Arrows to a Site Plan

Outdoor kitchen and patio builders FAQ

Does a pergola need a permit?

Often, yes, once it is attached to the house, larger than a set footprint, or taller than a set height. Freestanding pergolas under the local threshold are sometimes exempt, but they still have to meet the setbacks. Check the building department's page for accessory structures; when a permit applies, the site plan shows the pergola's size and its distances to the property lines.

Does a patio need a permit?

A patio at grade is exempt in many jurisdictions, but a raised patio, a patio with a roof over it, or hardscape that pushes the lot past its impervious-coverage limit usually is not. The site plan shows the patio's area, which is the number those reviews turn on.

Does an outdoor kitchen need a permit?

The structure may or may not, but the gas line, the electrical and any plumbing to the island almost always need trade permits, and the roofed cover over it usually needs a building permit. One site plan with the island, the utility notes and the roofed structure serves all of them.

Does a gazebo need a permit?

Most jurisdictions treat a gazebo as an accessory structure: exempt below a set area, permitted above it, and always subject to the setbacks. Draw it at its real size and the distances to the lot lines label themselves.

Can I show the fire pit, the seat wall and the fence too?

Yes. A fire pit or fireplace is a small labeled feature with a pointer note, the seat wall draws with the wall tool with its length, and the yard fence with gates draws with the fence tool, all on the same sheet.

Is a PlotForge™ site plan a survey?

No. The property lines are the recorded parcel lines from public records, drawn to scale over an aerial photo. That is what most building departments accept for a permit site plan, and it is not a boundary survey or an engineered drawing. If your office requires a sealed survey for this project, PlotForge can trace that recorded survey as the boundary and the sheet prints a notice saying so.

Does it work where I am?

PlotForge™ covers all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; the only exceptions in the country are named on the coverage page. It is also expanding into Canada, starting with select counties in Ontario and Alberta. The most reliable check is free: sign up, type the address, and watch the lot load.

Draw the outdoor living site plan in minutes

Load the lot, trace the patio, drop the pergola, note the island, export. Free for 30 days, no credit card required; a clean, permit-ready export is $29.

Start an Outdoor Living Site Plan Free → See Every Drawing Tool