OWNER BUILDER RESOURCE

What Are "Elevations"?

Elevations are what the granny flat will actually look like from the outside — and the drawing the assessor uses to check its height, and to match every material to a real sample colour.

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The short version

Where a floor plan looks down from above and a section slices straight through the building, an elevation is what you'd see if you stood outside and looked straight at one wall of the granny flat — flat-on, with no perspective or angle. Because the assessor (and your neighbours) can see the building from more than one direction, you need an elevation for all four sides: front, rear, and both sides.

Each elevation shows dimensioned heights (so the overall height and wall height can be checked against the zone's limit) and the finished ground level the building sits on — the same ground line used in the section.

Elevations also have to show the real external materials — roof sheeting, wall cladding, window frames, doors — and match each one to a colour sample schedule: a small legend, usually lettered or numbered, that pairs each material called out on the drawing with an actual colour swatch. It's the same idea as a map legend — instead of guessing what "Colorbond Monument" looks like, the assessor can see the swatch itself, tied directly back to exactly where it's used on the building.

Who prepares this? Your drafting team draws all four elevations from the same design used for the floor plan and section, and works with you to choose the external colours that get listed on the schedule.

Reading an elevation

A B C Finished ground level Overall height Wall height
ARoof sheeting — Colorbond "Monument"
BWall cladding — "Whitehaven" weatherboard
CDoor & window frames — "Ironbark" powder coat

This is a single illustrative elevation (front view). A real submission needs the same drawing for all four sides of the building.

All sides

Front, rear, and both side elevations — the assessor needs the full exterior appearance, not just the street-facing view, to check impacts on neighbours.

Dimensioned heights

Overall height and wall height marked directly on the drawing, so they can be checked against your zone's height limit.

Finished ground level

The same ground line used on the section — shows the building's true height above the ground it actually sits on.

Colour sample schedule

A lettered legend matching every external material called out on the elevation (roof, walls, doors, windows) to a real colour swatch.

This is one of the core documents required for almost every granny flat DA. See the full DA Documentation Checklist for everything else you'll need.

Let your drafting team draw all four sides

Canberra Drafting manages our DA & BA paperwork end to end — call us and we'll walk you through exactly what your block needs.

Call: 0403 370 551