📐 Floor Plans, Emergency Exit Plans, and Room Numbering

 

 

 

 

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📏 Preparing a Floor Plan for a Home

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Background

Preparing a floor plan for your recovery home is much easier than it sounds. With modern technology such as Cubi.Casa, creating a floor plan has never been more accessible and efficient. You will need a floor plan to prepare emergency exit plans (required for certification) along with preparing a room numbering plan. Why is this important?

• A floor plan will be used to produce a bed plan, required for all VSL Chartered Homes
• A floor plan will verify that rooms are adequately sized for the number of beds
• A basic floor plan will be used to produce emergency exit plans, required for certification

Floor plan guidelines:

• Tools for Creation: While there are numerous tools available for creating floor plans, Cubi.Casa stands out for its ability to produce accurate to-scale drawings. However, there are other free or low-cost alternatives like RoomSketcher, Floorplanner, and MagicPlan.

• Importance of Detail: Given the importance and varied uses of the floor plan (from safety considerations to regulatory compliance) it's important to pay attention to the details. Ensure that it accurately reflects room dimensions, especially bedrooms.

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Use Cubi.Casa to develop your floor plan

Cubi.Casa is an ultra low-cost floor planning tool which uses your smartphone to scan the floor area of the building and produce a floor plan. It can be free, but costs $15 for fixed furniture (cabinets, bathroom fixtures, etc.). It typically makes sense to spend this $15 for fixed furniture.

Cubi.Casa can be accessed by visiting www.cubi.casa. Using it requires that you download the application on your phone, sign up for an account, add a payment method, and start scanning.

 

 

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#️⃣ Room Numbering Standards

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A floor plan including the identification of bedrooms and beds should be provided to VSL. Alternatively for VSL-affiliate leased homes, these plans will be prepared for the home and provided to the Chartered Operator.

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How to number bedrooms (e.g. Bedroom 201)

This section outlines the standardized convention for numbering bedrooms and beds in our residences. This system ensures clarity and consistency, making it easier for guests, staff, and visitors to locate rooms and beds efficiently. Additionally, this numbering system was specifically requested by several local fire departments to facilitate the identification of rooms in case of emergencies.

What do each of the digits mean?

1. Floor Number: The first character represents the floor (e.g., B for the basement, 1 for the first floor, 2 for the second floor, etc.).

2. Room Number: The second two digits are the room number on that floor, starting with 01.

3. Bed Designation: Each bed within a room is assigned a letter, starting from A.

What is the process for selecting specific room numbers?

1. Begin at the front door closest to the street.

2. Go clockwise from the starting point, starting with the first bedroom: number 1. 

3. Continue assigning subsequent bedrooms the numbers 2, 3, and so on.

Example

• Room 101 [first floor]: Beds 101A and 101B [two beds in the room]
• Room 201 [second floor]: Beds 201A, 201B and 201C [three beds in the room]
• Room B01 [basement]: Bed B01A [private room]

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How to number other rooms (e.g. Kitchen 01)

Most other rooms should be numbered as well. Similar to The Way We number bedrooms above, other room types will be numbered with the first digit representing the floor number (if desired/needed), the next digit representing the room type, and the final digit representing the room number in the event there are multiple of the same type of room on that floor.

Numbering system

Room Type	Code	Example
Bathroom	B	B1, B2, etc. (starting with first floor, then moving to upper floors - use the same starting point and go clockwise.
Kitchen	K	K1, K2, etc. (include kitchenette areas)
Common Room	C	C1, C2, C3, etc.
Hallway	H	H1, H2, etc. (only number major hallway areas)
Laundry	L	L1, L2, etc.
Storage	S	S1, S2, etc.
Exterior Area	-	Label areas: Front Porch, Deck, etc.

 

 

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🚨 Preparing an Emergency Exit Plan [required]

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Preparing an emergency exit plan is essential for the safety and well-being of all guests, staff, and visitors. This plan is also a requirement for certification and compliance with local fire department regulations. An effective emergency exit plan ensures that everyone knows how to evacuate the building quickly and safely in the event of an emergency. Recommended options:

1. Use Adobe Acrobat or PDF-XChange to add exit plan detail into a PDF document
2. Use Microsoft Paint to add exit plan detail into an image fie

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Option 1: Use Adobe Acrobat or PDF-XChange

Step 1: Download the Floor Plan as a PDF

1. Create the Floor Plan: Use the Cubi.Casa app to scan and create your floor plan.

2. Download the Floor Plan: Go to the Cubi.Casa website and log in. Find your completed floor plan and download as a PDF.

Step 2: Edit the Floor Plan in Adobe Acrobat DC or PDF-XChange

1. Open your desired software

2. Open the PDF File [instructions for Adobe Acrobat]:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Open” and navigate to the downloaded floor plan PDF file.
   • Click “Open” to load the file into Adobe Acrobat DC.

3. Add Exits and Safety Equipment [instructions for Adobe Acrobat]:

   • Click on the “Comment” or "Annotate" tool in the right-hand pane.
   • Use the “Add Text Comment” tool to clearly mark "EXIT" where applicable.
   • Mark routes from each room to the nearest exit using a red line.
   • Indicate safety equipment locations (e.g., fire extinguishers, first aid kits).

4. Save the Annotated PDF [instructions for Adobe Acrobat]:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Save As” and choose a location to save the annotated floor plan.
   • Rename the file if necessary and click “Save.”

Step 3: Print and Post the Plan

1. Print the Annotated Floor Plan:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Print” and choose your printer.
   • Click “Print” to produce physical copies of the emergency exit plan.

2. Post the Plan:

   • Place the printed plans in prominent locations throughout the residence, such as near exits, in common areas, and inside each bedroom.

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Option 2: Use Microsoft Paint

Step 1: Download the Floor Plan as an Image

1. Create the Floor Plan:

   • Use the Cubi.Casa app to scan and create your floor plan.

2. Download the Floor Plan:

   • Go to the Cubi.Casa website.
   • Log in to your account.
   • Navigate to your completed floor plan.
   • Select the option to download the floor plan as an image file (e.g., JPEG or PNG).

Step 2: Edit the Floor Plan in Microsoft Paint

1. Open Microsoft Paint: Launch Microsoft Paint on your computer.

2. Open the Image File:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Open” and navigate to the downloaded floor plan image file.
   • Click “Open” to load the file into Microsoft Paint.

3. Add Exits and Safety Equipment:

   • Use the “Text" tool to clearly mark "EXIT" where applicable.
   • Use the "Line" tool to mark routes from each room to the nearest exit using a red line.
   • Indicate safety equipment locations (e.g., fire extinguishers, first aid kits).

1. Save the Annotated Image:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Save As” and choose the desired image format (e.g., PNG or JPEG).
   • Rename the file if necessary and click “Save.”

Step 3: Print and Post the Plan

1. Print the Annotated Floor Plan:

   • Click on “File” in the top menu.
   • Select “Print” and choose your printer.
   • Click “Print” to produce physical copies of the emergency exit plan.

2. Post the Plan:

   • Place the printed plans in prominent locations throughout the residence, such as near exits, in common areas, and inside each bedroom.

 

 

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Bedroom Numbers in the Software

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• Private bedrooms we do not need a bed number