Short answer. Use the sharpest copy you can get: a PDF or screenshot beats a photo of paper. If you must photograph paper, lay it flat, shoot straight down in even light and keep the whole plan in the frame. An app that reads plans finds the walls, doors, windows and rooms in about a minute. Then check one wall against a size you know and fix any it misread. Several apps give the first reading free.
How to turn a floor plan into 3DHow to read a floor planFlatwalk vs Planner 5D
The best copy beats the best photo
Ask for a PDF from the agent, developer or landlord (most plan readers let you pick the page), or take a screenshot of the plan from the listing, zoomed so it fills the screen. Photograph paper only if neither exists: a photo always loses some straightness, contrast and sharp numbers.
How to photograph a paper plan
- Lay it flat and weigh down the corners.
- Even light, from a window to the side. No flash: it leaves a bright spot.
- Straight down, the phone parallel to the paper, over the middle.
- The whole plan in the frame, with a margin, one floor per photo.
- Sharp: tap to focus, then zoom in to check the numbers read.
What helps the app read it
Sizes written on the plan set the scale; without them the app has to estimate. Thick, dark walls read best; faint lines, hatching, drawn furniture, coloured floors and logos read worst.
What happens after you upload
A good reader first checks that it found a plan and warns you if part is cut off, hard to read or on more than one floor. Then it reads the walls, doors, windows and rooms in about a minute and builds the flat in 3D. In Flatwalk, a plan with no sizes gets its scale from a standard 80 cm (31½ in) door; tap a wall you know, type its real length, and the rest follows.
Fixing what it gets wrong
- The scale is off, every room slightly too big or small: correct one wall.
- One wall is wrong: tap it and type the inside length, wall to wall.
- A door is missing or is a window: add it or change its type.
- Two rooms became one, common with open plans and arches: split it where the wall really is.
- A small hall or cupboard is missing: draw it in.
If the reading is a mess, start again with a better copy, or choose "Draw it myself" in Flatwalk and type the walls in.
What it costs
Drawing a flat yourself is free in most apps and takes 20 to 60 minutes. AI readings usually give a few free tries, then cost money: RoomSketcher's pricing page (read on 19 October 2026) lists one free conversion, then $20 a floor. Flatwalk gives one free reading of a plan picture, and everything after it is free for one flat.
Common mistakes
- Photographing a screen. Take a screenshot instead.
- A slanted photo. The far end comes out narrow.
- Skipping the scale check, or trusting room areas, which do not give a room's shape.
- Two floors in one picture.
What Flatwalk does that older planners skip
Lights
Add ceiling lights, lamps and LED strips to the flat the photo became and see it lit.
Your flat in its city
Give the address and the street and buildings around you appear in 3D where the map has them.
Sun for your address
Real sunlight through the windows the reader found, by date and hour.
One piece, in your own room
Through the live camera or in a photo of the room, stand a sofa on your own floor at its true size before you buy.
Detail
Dozens of door and window types, and kitchens, wardrobes and bathrooms built piece by piece.
Made for a thumb
Tap a wall the reader got wrong and type its real length.
Swipe for more. Every picture is the app itself.
One flat, free
Most people plan one home. For that, Flatwalk costs nothing: no trial clock and no card. The first reading of your floor plan picture is free, like one free try of each AI tool, and drawing, exact wall sizes, furniture, lights, sun and walking are all part of planning one flat for nothing. A membership is for people who want more flats or more AI.
Questions people ask
Can I turn a floor plan photo into 3D for free? Yes. Several apps give the first reading free, Flatwalk and RoomSketcher among them, and drawing over the photo by hand is free in most planners.
What makes a floor plan photo easy to read? A sharp, straight-on image of the whole plan, in even light, with room sizes written on it. A screenshot or PDF is better than a photo of paper.
What if my floor plan has no measurements? The app estimates the scale, for example from a standard door. Measure one real wall and correct it, and the rest follows.
Can I use a PDF floor plan? In many apps, yes. In Flatwalk you upload the PDF and tap the page that holds the plan.
What if the app misreads a wall? Tap the wall and type its real length, or add the missing door or wall. If the whole reading is poor, try a sharper copy or draw the plan yourself.
Flatwalk turns a photo of your floor plan into a flat you can walk through, light and furnish, with the first reading free and everything after it free for one flat. It is launching on Google Play; join the waiting list at flatwalk.app.
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