Starting a framing plan from a completely blank canvas is slow, and it's easy to forget a step. A good template gives you a sensible starting layout in seconds — the footprint already framed, joists running a reasonable direction, bearing walls set — so you spend your time adapting instead of setting up. This article covers what a good template includes and how to use one well.

If you're choosing a tool first, see free framing plan software.

What a good template includes

A useful framing plan template isn't just an empty rectangle. Look for one that comes with:

  • A footprint at a realistic size for the room or building type.
  • Joists already running a sensible direction (across the shorter span).
  • A typical on-centre spacing for the floor type.
  • Bearing walls set to match the joist direction.
  • A title block with project and date fields, and a "preliminary" note.

That way the template encodes good defaults, and you adjust from a working starting point rather than a blank page.

When to use a template (and when not to)

Use a template when:

  • You're starting a common layout — a single room, a rectangular floor, a typical house.
  • You want to learn the workflow by adapting a working example.
  • You need a fast preliminary drawing to discuss or hand off.

Start from scratch when:

  • The footprint is unusual enough that no template is close.
  • You're tracing over an imported plan or survey.

How to adapt a template

The fastest path from template to your project:

  1. Pick the closest template to your footprint and floor type.
  2. Resize the footprint — set the overall width and depth, or drag vertices to match.
  3. Set joist direction and spacing for your floor. (See floor joist spacing explained.)
  4. Confirm the bearing walls and override any that differ. (See load-bearing walls.)
  5. Add your openings — doors, windows, stair wells.
  6. Export to PDF for review or DXF for CAD. (See file formats compared.)

For the full sequence, see how to draft a preliminary floor framing plan.

Templates in Framing Plan

Framing Plan ships with a template gallery — rooms and a full house layout — that you can apply and adapt on the canvas. Each template comes pre-framed, so you get a complete preliminary plan and then change only what's specific to your project. Your work autosaves as you edit.

Keep it preliminary

A template is a head start, not a finished structural document. However good the defaults, the resulting plan is a preliminary layout that a qualified engineer must review, size, and detail before construction.

Try it

Start from a template and have a preliminary plan in minutes. Open the framing studio and pick one from the gallery.