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Setbacks and buildable area
The plot and its setbacks are the site frame around the house. Entering them early makes every later workspace — Plan, Facade — line up with the real site.
Why does Jodu ask for a setback before rooms?
It does not require one — walls and rooms work on an empty site. Jodu asks early because the plot and setback distances give everything else context:
- the Plan canvas draws the plot boundary and road side around your drawing;
- each entered setback produces the buildable guidance — a dashed guideline showing the area left for the building;
- the road side tells Facade which elevation is the front;
- review and diagnostics can see whether walls sit inside the intended area.
Enter them in Plans → Site setup → Plot and Site setup → Setbacks. See Plot and setbacks for the step-by-step setup.
What is the buildable guidance?
When a plot exists and setback distances are saved, Jodu draws the area inside them as a dashed guideline on the Plan canvas. It is a drawing aid: keep exterior walls inside it and the plan stays within the envelope you entered.
The numbers are yours. Jodu does not look up municipal bylaws and does not know your local rules — the setback distances you type are the distances it draws. Two projects on identical plots show different envelopes if different setbacks are entered.
Is the buildable area a bylaw verification?
No. The guideline is only as good as the numbers behind it:
- Not verification. A wall inside the guideline is inside your numbers, not certified compliant. Confirm the required front, rear, and side setbacks with your local authority before issuing a design.
- Not permission. A missing or suppressed envelope is not approval to build up to the plot edge — it usually means the plot or the setback distances have not been saved yet.
- Not a constraint. The guideline does not block walls drawn outside it. It makes the choice visible so you can decide deliberately.
Do I need the plot before I draw?
No. Native wall drawing and room placement work before a plot exists. Add the plot when the dimensions are known — the building does not move when the plot appears or changes size, because the guideline is context, not a cage. If a wall ends up outside the intended area, move it deliberately with Select or redraw it.
Related
- Plot and setbacks — the Site setup steps
- Site workspace — north angle and site evidence
- Sketches — sketching rooms on a plot before the plan
- Glossary — plot, road side, setback, buildable area