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For shed, garage and carport builders

Accessory Buildings Live in the Setbacks. Show Them.

Sheds, detached garages, carports and workshops get reviewed on three numbers: distance to the side line, distance to the rear line, and distance to the house. PlotForge™ loads the recorded lot from the address, you drop the building at its real size, and those three numbers label themselves as you move it. Add the driveway or the slab and export the sheet.

What does a site plan for a shed or detached garage permit need to show?

A site plan for an accessory building permit shows the property lines with dimensions, the existing house, the shed, garage or carport drawn to scale at its real size, the distances from it to the side and rear property lines and to the house, and the driveway or slab that serves it. Most offices also want the north arrow, scale and a title block.

What the plan reviewer looks for on an accessory-building site plan

Accessory structures have their own setback table in most codes, usually tighter to the side and rear lines than the house, and a separation distance from the main building. The sheet has to make those distances obvious:

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

The existing house — placed from public footprint records in one click, so the building-to-house separation reads from the real wall

The building at its real size — type the width × depth of the shed, garage or carport; the dimensions label themselves

Side and rear setbacks — the distances to the nearest property lines label themselves and update as you drag the building

The driveway or slab — a hardscape piece from the street or the existing drive to the garage, with its square footage

Easements and the drainage path — a recorded easement at its width, so the shed is visibly out of it

How a shed or garage 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 any current outbuildings; delete the one being replaced.

Place the building

Drop a rectangle at the exact size in the corner of the yard. Slide it until the side and rear distances read what the code allows.

Add the drive and export

Trace the driveway or slab, add a note for the use ("storage shed, no plumbing"), and export the to-scale PDF.

The tools shed and garage builders use

Structure builderRectangles at the exact width × depth; an L-shaped garage merges from two pieces into one outline.How it works → Automatic setbacksSide and rear distances label themselves; hide the far ones on an acreage lot and keep the two that matter.How it works → Corner setback dimensionsClick the building corner for two perpendicular distances to the lot lines, the drafting-style answer reviewers ask for.How it works → Auto-add existing buildingsThe house, the old shed and the garage from public records in one click, every footprint editable.How it works → Driveway & sidewalk ribbonsTrace the drive centerline and it draws at full width to the garage door, fusing with the existing drive.How it works → Roads & road setbacksOn rural lots, the corner-to-road-centerline distance the county asks for, dimensioned automatically.How it works →

Which plan fits a shed or garage builder

A dealer permitting deliveries

Contractor, $199/mo

Twenty permit-ready plans a month for the buildings you deliver and set, with the plan saved per customer. Higher-volume plans include team seats; ask us.

A few buildings a month

Job Pack, 12 plans for $144

Twelve clean exports at $12 a plan, no subscription, credits that never expire. Compare plans.

The customer's own permit

Done-for-you, $149

Hand the homeowner the done-for-you order page: we draw the site plan from the address and the building size and deliver it in 48–72 hours.

▶ Watch the lessonSite Plan for a Deck, Shed or Addition Permit ▶ Watch the lessonHow to Show Building Setbacks on a Site Plan ▶ Watch the lessonHow to Draw a Driveway on a Site Plan

Shed and garage builders FAQ

Does a shed need a permit?

Most jurisdictions exempt small sheds below a set floor area (often around 100 to 200 square feet, sometimes larger) and permit everything above it, plus any shed with electrical or plumbing. Even an exempt shed usually still has to meet the setbacks. Check the building department's accessory-structure page for the threshold, and plan on a site plan whenever a permit is required.

Does a carport need a permit?

Usually yes, because a carport is a roofed structure, and many offices treat it the same as a detached garage for setbacks and permits. Some exempt small, open, freestanding carports below a set area. The site plan shows the carport at its size and its distance to the property lines and the house.

How close to the property line can a shed or garage be?

That is the accessory-structure setback in your zoning code, and it varies: some allow a few feet from the side and rear lines, some require more, and most require a separation from the house. PlotForge labels the distances from the building to the lines so you can slide it until the numbers match the code.

Can I show the driveway to a new garage?

Yes. Trace the driveway centerline at the width you set and it draws to full width with mitered corners, fusing into the existing drive. The hardscape area totals on the sheet for offices that ask about impervious coverage.

My customer's lot is five acres. Do I have to show the whole thing?

No. Use Print this view to print the part of the lot with the house and the new building at a set scale like 1"=30', and hide the setbacks that do not matter so the sheet shows the two distances the reviewer wants.

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 shed or garage permit site plan in minutes

Load the lot, drop the building at its size, slide it until the setbacks read right, export. Free for 30 days, no credit card required; a clean, permit-ready export is $29.

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