House Front Elevation Design: Single and Double Floor

A good house front elevation for a single or double floor on a 20 to 40 ft Indian plot comes from proportion, not decoration: one clean parapet line, windows whose heads line up, the few projections your bye-laws allow (chhajjas, a balcony, an entrance canopy), one feature material used once, and a gate that belongs to the house. Below: two to-scale elevations for a 30 ft frontage, the projection rules, how facade materials weather, and cheap moves that make a simple front look designed.

About the rules and numbers below: dimensions and limits come from the national Model Building Bye-Laws 2016, which states adapt; your city's rules decide. Rates are from the CPWD Delhi Schedule of Rates 2023 (April 2023 Delhi prices). Its item rates include GST at 18% and the contractor's margin; its basic material rates exclude both. Treat them as indicative, not quotes. Anything marked "our guidance" is design practice, not a rule.

What a front elevation is, and who draws it

A front elevation is a flat, scaled drawing of the face of the house as seen from the street: no perspective, every height and opening measurable. It is not the same as a 3D view. The Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 ask for "all elevations" with the building plans, at 1:50 for plots up to 250 sq m, and for the dimensions of anything projecting beyond the building line (clause 2.10.5). The plans are signed by the owner and a Council of Architecture registered architect, or an engineer for plots up to 500 sq m (clause 2.11.1).

Free apps and AI generators make pictures, not elevations: they do not know your setbacks, floor heights or structure, and no authority accepts a picture. Use them for mood, then have an architect draw the elevation with the plan and section. Our guide to the full drawing set lists what you should receive.

Proportions for a 20 to 40 ft frontage

After side setbacks, a 30 ft plot often leaves 25 to 27 ft of wall; a 20 ft plot leaves less. Narrow fronts look best organised by a few unbroken horizontal lines, and the bye-laws fix most of them:

Plinth: at least 450 mm above the surrounding ground (clause 4.2.1.1).
Floor height: habitable rooms at least 2.75 m clear to the underside of the slab (clause 4.3.1.1), so about 2.9 to 3.0 m floor to floor.
Parapet: 1.0 to 1.2 m on an accessible terrace (clause 4.12). Parapets and architectural features up to 1.5 m are left out of the building height, unless such structures cover more than a third of the roof (clause 4.29.3).

Our guidance on composition: keep door and window heads on one lintel line, make the parapet one continuous top edge, set the stair cabin and water tank back so the parapet reads first, and choose one feature (a stone strip, a frame, a jaali) rather than three. How much house the plot allows in the first place is covered in what you can build on a 30x40 or 30x50 plot.

Symmetrical two-storey house in Panchkula seen straight from the street: grey stone-clad walls, a tall recessed entrance portal, two deep cantilevered balconies with glass railings, and a stone wall with slatted metal gates in front — Urban Cave, Panchkula: one stone, a recessed central entrance and two deep balcony slabs that shade the glass below. The gate and boundary wall use the same stone and a slatted metal. Image: Varun Garg Architects on MOA

Single floor front elevation

A single-floor front is about 4.5 m to the parapet top, low against a 9 m frontage. To keep it from looking squat, run a vertical element to the full height (a stone-clad strip at the stair, for example), give the entrance a canopy, and keep the windows wide rather than tall. If you plan a first floor later, have the structure, the stair and the elevation designed for G+1 now, so the second storey looks intended rather than added.

To-scale front elevation of a single-floor house on a 30 ft plot: 0.45 m plinth, 3.0 m floor to floor, 1.0 m parapet, a stone-clad strip, entrance canopy, chhajjas over two windows, lit name plate, open-type gate and dashed compound wall — A single-floor front elevation drawn to scale on a 30 ft frontage, with the elements numbered. The house is illustrative; heights follow Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 minimums. Diagram: MOA

Double floor (G+1) front elevation

At G+1 the front is about 7.5 m to the parapet top and reads as a proper vertical face. Stack first-floor windows directly over ground-floor ones, let the first-floor balcony double as the porch roof, and put a jaali in front of the stair, which needs light and air but not a view. A box frame around one window gives a 2BHK front its focus without cladding the whole face.

To-scale front elevation of a G+1 house on a 30 ft plot: two 3.0 m floors on a 0.45 m plinth with a 1.0 m parapet, a stone-clad stair strip with a jaali, a first-floor balcony over the entrance, a box frame around one window, aligned windows with chhajjas, gate and name plate — The same 30 ft frontage as a double-floor (G+1) house, drawn to scale: windows stack above each other and the balcony doubles as the porch roof. Illustrative. Diagram: MOA

On a 17 to 20 ft plot, use fewer pieces: one window per floor, the stair strip and the balcony.

What can project over the setback

Projections give a front its depth and shade, but they sit over open space the rules protect. Under the model bye-laws (clause 4.29.1):

Chhajja, cornice or weather shade: up to 0.75 m wide over the open space, and not lower than 2.2 m above the floor it serves.
Entrance canopy: up to 4.5 m long and 2.4 m wide, with at least 2.2 m clear below; one per block on a single-storey house, two on a taller one. The definitions add that it stays inside the plot and open to the sky on top.
Balcony at slab level: up to 1.2 m wide over setbacks within your own land, as long as the required open space is not cut by more than 30%.
Cupboard projections: up to 0.75 m deep, none in the side setback at ground floor.

The compounding schedule in the same document says projections over a public street are not allowed at ground floor, and roof projections beyond the limits are counted in FAR. Building or rebuilding a sunshade up to 75 cm wide within your own land, not over a street, needs no permit (clause 2.12.1). Cities vary, so read how setbacks and FAR work and check your local rules.

To-scale section through a front setback showing a chhajja up to 0.75 m deep at least 2.2 m above the floor, a balcony up to 1.2 m deep, an entrance canopy up to 2.4 m deep with 2.2 m clear below, a 1.5 m boundary wall with an optional 0.9 m open top, a 1.0 to 1.2 m parapet and a 0.45 m plinth — What the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 let project into a front setback, drawn to scale. Your city's rules may differ. Diagram: MOA

Materials for the face, and how they weather

An Indian front has to survive sun, monsoon, dust and, near the coast, salt. CPWD rates are given where CPWD publishes one.

Material	Weathering and upkeep (our guidance)	CPWD DSR 2023 rate (Delhi, indicative)
Exterior paint	Cheapest to renew. CPWD's premium acrylic items call for silicone additives and dirt resistance.	Cement paint ₹116.90/sq m (13.44.1); premium acrylic ₹171.10/sq m (13.47.1)
Texture paint	Hides uneven plaster; the grain holds dust, so it greys faster on busy roads.	Textured paint ₹223.60/sq m (13.45.1); 1 to 1.5 mm sandstone-pattern texture with acrylic top coat ₹597/sq m (22.24A)
Stone cladding	Ages well. Needs stainless steel cramps or a dry-fix frame, and sealed joints.	30 mm red sandstone, wet-fixed, ₹3,119.20/sq m plus cramps at ₹714.40/kg (8.14.5.2, 8.15); dry cladding ₹2,902.65/sq m plus frame (8.20.1, 8.21)
Jaali	Shades and ventilates; dust settles in the holes.	Precast concrete jali, 25 mm, ₹1,539/sq m (5.18.3); red sandstone jali, 40 mm, ₹14,931.55/sq m (7.33.1)
ACP	Flat, sharp and light. Sealant joints need checking; panels dent.	4 mm ACP sheet ₹1,134/sq m, material only, excluding GST, frame and fixing (basic rate 2631)
Brick tiles, HPL, glass	See below.	No wall-cladding rate we could cite

Paint warranties have conditions. Asian Paints, for example, gives Apex Ultima Protek a 12-year performance warranty and 10 years on waterproofing, but only with registration, at least 40 litres of topcoat and its matching base coat, and the warranty is void if wall putty under the paint fails.

ACP: ask for the fire-rated core in writing. Aludecor's AL-45 page, for example, lists a PVDF coating and a 15-year warranty, with A2 fire-resistant variants offered as an option rather than as standard.

HPL: exterior compact laminate is a different product from interior laminate. Exterior panels such as Fundermax's are described as made to EN 438-6 type EDF and used on rear-ventilated facades. Ask for that classification on the invoice.

Brick tiles: these are either stuck on with adhesive or hung on dry clip systems, such as Wienerberger's T-Brick. Our guidance: in wet climates, expect algae on shaded faces and white salt bloom on new work, and ask how the product is sealed.

Glass: the model bye-laws' fire chapter asks for toughened (tempered) safety glass to IS 2553 on glass facades (clause 5.4.9). Our guidance: use toughened or laminated glass for any railing or full-height pane, and keep big glass off the west face. On the coast, salt changes the fixings you need; see building near the sea.

Front of a contemporary house in Panchkula at dusk: gold-toned perforated panels with a branch pattern, a white cantilevered terrace with glass railing and palms, dark textured stone below, and a matching perforated boundary wall along the street — Tree House, Panchkula: gold-toned perforated panels work as the facade's jaali, and the boundary wall repeats the same panel so the street reads one composition. Image: Varun Garg Architects on MOA

Design render of a compact two-storey house front in Dapoli: white walls inside a charcoal frame, a vertical strip of grey stone cladding, wood-look panels around the door and a first-floor balcony, deep white slab overhangs with recessed downlights — Design render, Contemporary Konkan, Dapoli: a white base, one grey stone strip and wood-look panels, with deep slab edges over the windows. Image: ARC STUDIO on MOA

Sun and rain: chhajjas and deep windows

A chhajja is not decoration. The BIS handbook SP 41 works through a 2.0 m wide, 1.2 m high window north of latitude 20°N. On a south face, one horizontal shade at the top needs to project about 69 cm to keep out the summer sun completely, which fits within the bye-laws' 0.75 m. On an east or west face, a single top shade would need about 143 cm, so SP 41 recommends horizontal and vertical fins together (an egg-crate) and works the example with two shelves of about 72 cm plus closely spaced fins. On a north face, vertical fins capped by a horizontal member are enough.

So a west-facing front needs fins, a jaali, a deep window reveal or smaller openings, not just a wider chhajja. The bye-laws still want window openings of at least a tenth of a room's floor area (clause 4.30.1.2), so shade the glass rather than shrinking it below that.

For rain, cut a drip groove under every slab edge, chhajja and sill. CPWD prices it at ₹78.40 per metre (item 5.30). Slope sills and parapet tops outward, and give the parapet a coping that overhangs.

The gate and boundary wall

The model bye-laws cap a compound wall at 1.5 m above the centre line of the front street. Up to 2.4 m is allowed if the top 0.9 m is open, of a design the authority approves. On a corner plot the solid wall drops to 0.75 m for 10 m from the junction, with any extra height in open railings (clause 4.14).

Our guidance: design the gate with the elevation, not after it. Repeat a material or line from the house, size the car gate for your car and the turn from the road, and line the pedestrian gate up with the front door.

Lighting and the name plate

Our guidance: light the front in three layers. A wall light by the door, lights on the gate pillars, and one grazing light along the feature wall or stone so its texture shows at night. Use outdoor-rated, warm white fittings aimed at the house, not the street, on a timer. The name plate and house number should be readable from a car, lit, and on the pillar by the pedestrian gate.

Narrow three-storey house in Panchkula at dusk, lit from within: a pitched roof with a timber soffit and two strip lights, full-height glazing showing a spiral stair, dark horizontal louvres at the balconies, and grey veined stone side walls washed by uplights, between two older neighbouring houses — Cascade House, Panchkula, at dusk: uplights graze the stone side walls, strip lights trace the roof soffit and the glow from inside does the rest. Image: Varun Garg Architects on MOA

Simple, low-cost front elevation ideas

For a small house, a 2BHK or a village home, the cheapest moves do the most:

Two paint colours at most, with the darker one on the plinth band, frame or stair strip.
One textured or stone panel instead of a whole clad front.
Chhajjas joined into one continuous band across the front.
A precast concrete jaali at the stair instead of a decorative grille.
Gate, grilles and window frames in one colour.
Drainage pipes, AC outdoor units and cables kept to the sides, not across the face.

To see the scale of the difference, take a 27 ft single-floor front: about 8.2 m wide and 4.0 m from plinth to parapet top, so roughly 26 sq m of wall after openings (our estimate). At the CPWD rates above, premium acrylic paint over all of it is about ₹4,450, a 6 sq m sandstone-pattern texture panel about ₹3,600, and the same 6 sq m in dry-clad sandstone about ₹17,400 before the steel frame. Those are Delhi 2023 rates, and there is no standard "elevation price per sq ft": the cost is whatever the chosen materials cost. To budget the whole house, try the MOA home cost calculator.

FAQ

What is the front elevation of a house?

A scaled, flat drawing of the street face showing heights, openings, projections and materials. Authorities ask for all elevations with a building plan application.

Can I design my house front elevation online for free?

You can make pictures for ideas. A buildable elevation has to match your plan, structure, floor heights and local setback rules, and the submission set is signed by a registered architect or, for plots up to 500 sq m, an engineer.

How much does a house front elevation cost?

It depends on the materials. At CPWD's Delhi 2023 rates, premium exterior acrylic paint is ₹171.10 per sq m, while 30 mm sandstone cladding is about ₹2,900 to ₹3,120 per sq m before fixings. Add your architect's design fee.

Is a balcony over the setback allowed?

Under the model bye-laws, a balcony at slab level may project up to 1.2 m over setbacks within your own land, if the required open space is not reduced by more than 30%. Your city may differ.

Tiles, texture or stone: which is best for an elevation?

Our guidance: paint or texture for most of the wall, and one natural material for a strip or panel. Stone needs mechanical fixing; tiles and panels need their joints checked every few years.

Want a front that is drawn, not downloaded? Find an architect on MOA and filter by your city.

Sources

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, TCPO: Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 (clauses 2.10.5, 2.11.1, 2.12.1, 4.2.1.1, 4.3.1.1, 4.12, 4.14, 4.29.1, 4.29.3, 4.30.1.2, 5.4.9 and the compounding schedule) (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
CPWD: Delhi Schedule of Rates 2023, Volume 1 (items 5.18, 5.30, 7.33, 8.14, 8.15, 8.20, 8.21; basic rate 2631) (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
CPWD: Delhi Schedule of Rates 2023, Volume 2 (items 13.44 to 13.47, 22.24A) (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
Bureau of Indian Standards: SP 41:1987, Handbook on Functional Requirements of Buildings, via Public.Resource.Org (section 3.5, shading devices) (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Apex Ultima Protek (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
Aludecor: AL-45 Series (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
MGS Architecture: Fundermax architectural products for exterior and interior (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
Wienerberger India: T-Brick (accessed 22 Oct 2026)