Placing your build on the lot
Siting is where you place your structure on your actual lot. Because Draftly uses your real lot boundary, the placement reflects the true site rather than an approximate rectangle.
Placing your structure
Position your build on the map where you intend it to go. As you move it, Draftly relates it to your boundary and the controls that apply, so you can see how the placement affects your approval pathway.
If your build connects to the existing house, you pick the connection point first: tap the wall on the existing building where the structure attaches, and Draftly places the structure anchored right there — you can then drag it to fine-tune. Freestanding builds simply drop in the middle of the lot for you to position.
Connecting to the existing house
For a build that fixes to the house, use "Tap the wall you attach to" in the connection section: as you move over the map, the nearest existing wall highlights so you can see exactly what a tap will select. Tapping sets the attached side and the connection length, and snaps the structure flush to that wall. You can always adjust by dragging, or use the side buttons instead.
Marking what's already there
You can mark the features that matter for approval directly on the map:
- Easements — areas you can't build over. In Victoria these are looked up automatically from the state register; Draftly says plainly whether easements were found, the parcel was verified clear, or the check couldn't complete — a failed check is always flagged, never shown as "none".
- Underground services — power, gas, water, sewer, stormwater and phone/NBN running beneath the block. The "Know what's underground first" card can lodge a free Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) enquiry for you using your verified lot boundary: you confirm the details and the work window, and each utility with assets near your land sends its plans back. A tracker in the card shows which asset owners have responded. Where the integration isn't available (or your address isn't confirmed yet), the card points you to lodge directly at byda.com.au instead — it's free either way. Note that plans show a service is present, not its exact location, and some utilities deliver plans by email or their own portal rather than through BYDA.
- Stormwater — drainage that affects where and how you build. The design rainfall and the locality reference are derived from your site's coordinates and pre-filled for you to confirm, not asked for again.
- Existing buildings — structures already on the site.
Adding these makes the compliance check reflect the real conditions on your lot.
The aerial photo on the map
The photo under your lot is Esri World Imagery — a commercial satellite and aerial photo composite, credited on the map and on every plan it appears on. It's there for context: your lot boundary and every measurement come from the official government cadastre, not traced off the photo. If the photo service is having trouble you'll see a note on the map, and Draftly keeps retrying automatically rather than leaving it out quietly.
Lining up a plan (PDF or photo)
You can drop a real site or house plan (PDF or image) on the map as a guide and trace straight off it. The plan stays locked to the map as you zoom, and you adjust it with the small +/− buttons — transparency, rotation in 1° and 5° steps, and size in 2% and 10% steps — the same controls used elsewhere in the app. The plan itself isn't saved; what you trace over it is.
Setbacks and boundaries
Distance from the boundary is often what decides whether a project is exempt, complying or needs a development application. Draftly shows the distances as you place, so you can see what it takes to reach a compliant result. See Approval pathways.
Draftly tries to work out which boundary is your street frontage automatically. When it's sure, it's marked as matching your address. When it can only make a best guess — or can't tell at all, which happens on some rural lots — it says so clearly and asks you to confirm or mark the front boundary yourself, because setbacks depend on it. An unconfirmed frontage is always flagged rather than assumed silently.
When you're happy with the placement
Your siting flows into the compliance check and then into your submission package — nothing is re-drawn or re-entered. See The Draftly walkthrough.