House facing direction finder

Trace your building’s front wall on a map and get its exact facing direction — no compass, no magnetic interference. Ideal for apartments, where phone compasses struggle.

Why a map beats a compass for house facing

A phone compass measures the Earth’s magnetic field. Inside or right next to a building, that field is distorted by reinforced concrete, steel grills, lifts, cars and wiring. Even a well-calibrated phone can be 10–30° off — enough to turn a north-east facing flat into a north-facing one. Maps are drawn to true north, so a line traced along your building on a map has no magnetic error. That is why surveyors and architects use plans and maps, not handheld compasses, for orientation.

If your building isn’t clearly drawn on the map, use the online Vastu compass instead: stand outside, a few metres from the building and away from parked cars, and take readings from two or three spots.

Facing directions in Vastu

In mainstream Vastu literature, the facing directions are commonly rated as follows. Remember that the exact door position along the wall (the 32-pada system) matters as much as the facing.

FacingCommon ratingGuide
EastIdealEast facing house Vastu
NorthIdealNorth facing house Vastu
North-EastIdeal—
WestGoodWest facing house Vastu
North-WestGood—
SouthNeutral (depends on entrance pada)South facing house Vastu
South-EastNeutral—
South-WestAvoid (most texts)—

Frequently asked questions

How do I know which direction my house faces?

Your house faces the direction you look when you stand in the main doorway and step out. If you walk out of the main door and face east, it is an east-facing house. For a flat, use your flat’s own entrance door, not the building gate.

Why use a map instead of a phone compass?

Phone compasses are magnetometers, and buildings are full of steel reinforcement, wiring and appliances that bend the magnetic field. Readings indoors can be off by 10–30°. A map is drawn to true north, so tracing your wall on a map has no magnetic error at all. Map accuracy is limited only by how precisely the building outline is drawn.

Is the facing direction the same as the plot direction?

Usually, for independent houses: the plot faces the road. But the main door can be on a different side from the road. Vastu uses the side of the main entrance for the “facing” of the home.

What if my building is tilted (not exactly north, east, south or west)?

Most buildings are slightly tilted. Within about 5° it rarely matters. Beyond about 15–20°, rooms near zone boundaries can fall in a different zone, so read zones with the actual angle. Around 45° the building is “corner facing” (vidisha), e.g. north-east facing.

Is my address or location sent anywhere?

Map tiles are loaded from OpenStreetMap’s servers (they see which map area is loaded, like any map site). If you use the search box, your search text is sent to OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim service. Your location from “Use my location” is used only in your browser. We do not receive any of it. See the privacy policy.