How to visualise a granny flat in your backyard

Updated 16 October 2026 · Roomi, Brisbane

Most people find it hard to picture a 10 or 12 metre building from numbers on a page. Seeing a portable home on your property, even roughly, helps you decide whether a granny flat, studio or home office feels right in the space before you spend money on drawings or site visits. This guide covers how to do that well, using a tape measure, your phone and our free backyard photo preview.

Step 1: Measure the space you have

Before any photo, get real numbers. A tape measure or a measuring wheel is far more reliable than any picture.

• Measure the longest clear run where the building could sit, and the width available across it.
• Note fixed things nearby: fences, the house, trees, sheds, pools, clotheslines, water tanks and hot water units.
• Look for anything overhead or underground you know of, such as power lines, sewer access points or stormwater pits.
• Check the path a delivery would take. Transportable buildings arrive by truck and are usually lifted or rolled into place, so gates, driveways, slopes and overhanging branches all matter.

Roomi buildings come in set lengths and widths. Compare your measured space with the sizes on our products page and leave room around the building for access, maintenance and any required distances from boundaries.

Step 2: Take a photo that is actually useful

• Stand at eye level, roughly where you would view the building from day to day, such as the back deck or kitchen window.
• Hold the phone level. Tilting up or down distorts how big things look.
• Include something you know the size of near where the building would go: a fence panel, a car (around 4.5 m long), a garden shed or a door. You will use it to set the scale.
• Avoid ultra-wide lenses if you can. They stretch the edges of the frame and make distances misleading.
• Shoot in daylight so edges are clear.

Step 3: Place a footprint over the photo

Open the See a Roomi in your backyard tool, upload your photo (or try the demo backyard) and pick a Roomi layout or a standard size. The tool draws a simple placeholder block at the length and width you chose. You then:

1. Drag it to where the building might sit.
2. Adjust the scale until its front edge lines up with your known reference, for example a 4.5 m car.
3. Rotate it and adjust the viewing angle so it roughly matches the ground in the photo.
4. Download a PNG to share with family, a partner or a builder.

Your photo is processed in your browser and stays on your device. It is not uploaded to Roomi.

What a photo preview can and cannot tell you

It is also not augmented reality or a photorealistic 3D render. The building is shown as a simple shape so the size is the focus.

Step 4: Choose a layout to look at more closely

Once a size feels right, look at how the inside could work. Our floor plans include concept layouts for granny flats, guest stays, offices and clinics, some with interactive 3D previews. Concept layouts are illustrations and the final fit-out is confirmed with our team.

Step 5: Check the rules for your property

Whether you need approval, and what distances apply, depends on your council, zoning, lot and how the building will be used. Rules differ between councils and states and change over time, so check with your local council or a private certifier for your address. Our compliance page explains how Roomi buildings are classified, and our guide to council approval for granny flats in Queensland covers the common questions.

Common questions