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Typesofdrawingsforbuildingdesign
Seealso:Designdrawingsforadescriptionofthedevelopmentofdrawingsthroughproject
stages.
Contents
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1Locationdrawingsandgeneralarrangementdrawings
1.1Blockplans
1.2Siteplans
1.3Floorplans
1.3.1Basicfloorplan
1.3.2Generalarrangementplans
1.4Elevations
1.5Estateroadlayout
2Assemblydrawings
3Componentdrawings
4Projections
4.1Orthographicprojection
4.2Axonometricprojection
4.3Isometricprojection
4.4Obliqueprojection
5Preliminarydrawings
6Sketchdrawings
7Workingdrawings
7.1Specification
7.2Billofquantities
8Findoutmore
8.1RelatedarticlesonDesigningBuildingsWiki
Locationdrawingsandgeneralarrangementdrawings
Theinformationshownonalocatingdrawingwillbeoverallsizes,levelsandreferences
toassemblydrawings.Theyareintendedtoshowthelocationoftheworks,notdetail(a
commonmistake).Thelocationdrawings,whichcanbeplans,elevationorsections,are
numberedconsecutivelywiththeprefixL.
Typically,locationdrawingswillinclude:
Blockplans.
Siteplans.
Floorplans.
Foundationsplans.
Roofplans.
Sectionthroughtheentirebuilding.
Elevations.
BritishStandardSpecification1192includesrecommendedorpreferredscalesfor
locationdrawings.
Blockplans
BlockplansusuallyshowthesitingoftheprojectinrelationtoOrdnanceSurveyMaps.
Conventionsareusedtodepictboundaries,roadsandotherdetails.Recommendedscalesare:
1:2500
1:1250
1:500
Siteplans
Siteplansusuallyshowtheextentofthesitebutnosurroundingdetail.Recommendedscales
are:
1:500
1:200
Thefunctionofthesiteplanistoshow:
Thelocationofthebuildingorbuildingsinrelationtotheirsurroundings.
Thetopographyofthesite,withbothexistingandfinishedlevels.
Buildingstobedemolishedorremoved.
Theextentofearthworks,included,cuttingandfilling,andtheprovisionofbankandretaining
walls.
Roads,footpaths,hardstandingsandpavedareas.
Planting.
Thelayoutofexternalserviceruns,includingdrainage,water,gas,electricity,telephone,etc.
Thelayoutofexternallighting.
Fencing,wallsandgates.
Thelocationofmiscellaneousexternalcomponentsbollards,litterbins,etc.
Floorplans
Floorplansusuallyshowthelayoutofrooms,keydimensionsandlevels,andmayalsouse
conventionsandsymbolstoshowmaterialsandlocationsoffittingsandappliances.
Recommendedscalesare:
1:200
1:100
1:50
Linetypesareusedtodifferentiateinformationinfloorplans.Hatchingorconventionsareused
toillustratematerials,whilesymbolsareusedtoshowfittingsandappliances,oftenwith
standardabbreviations.
Therearethreesituationsthatmustbeconsidered:
Generalarrangement(location)drawingsdesignedtoshowasinglebuildingelementand
whatitshouldcontain.
Generalarrangementdrawingsdesignedtobecompleteinthemselves(clearlythistypeof
drawingwouldonlyariseonthesmallestandsimplestofprojects.)
Basicfloorplandrawingsthedrawingswhichprovidethefundamentalandminimal
informationwhichwillappearastheframeworkforeachindividualelementalplan.Thebasic
drawing,infact,fromwhichfuturedrawingcontainingelementalinformationwillbetaken.
Basicfloorplan
Ifasetofworkingdrawingsforaprojectisprepared,thefloorplansmaybedividedintofive
elementsinthefollowingmanner:
(2)Primaryelements
(3)Secondaryelements(5)Services(pipedandducted)(6)Services(electrical)(7)Fittings
Generalarrangementplans
WheretheelementalplansaretobedrawnbyCADormanually,youmustfistconsiderwhat
commonfeaturesoftheplanswillneedtoappearinallfiveelementalisedplansgiveninthe
exampleabove.Itisclearlyimportantthattheinformationcarriedbythebasenegative,(manual)
orlayerscommontoalldrawingsinaCADsetshallbe,nottoolittle,andnottoomuch.Belowis
achecklistofwhatthebasicplanshouldcontainandalistofthoseitemswhichmoreoftenthan
notgetaddedtotheoriginalneedlesslyandsuperfluouslytothesubsequentinconvenienceof
everyone.
Tobeincluded:
Walls
Mainopeningsinwalls(i.e.doorsandwindows)
Partitions
Mainopeningsinpartitions(doors)
Doorswing
Roomnamesandnumbers
Gridreferences(whenapplicable)
Stairs(inoutline)
Fixedfurniture(includingloosefurniturewhereitsdispositioninaroomispredetermined
e.g.deskssetoutonamodulargird,etc.)
Sanitaryfittings
Cupboards
Northpoint
Itemswhichtendtobeincluded,butshouldnotbe:
Dimensions
Annotations
Detailsofconstructione.g.cavitywallconstruction
Hatchingandshading
Loosefurniturewhereitsdispositionisnotpredetermined
Sectionindications
Elevations
Elevationsusuallyshowtheoutlineofthebuilding,openingdetailsandsizes,leveldatums
andfloorposition.Anelevationshouldgiveanimpressionofhowonefaceofthebuildingwill
lookfromtheoutside.
Estateroadlayout
Shouldbeateither1:1250or1:500scales.Linetypeswillfulfilanimportantroleinthistypeof
locationdrawing.Theidentityofburieditemswillbeindicatedbydifferentlinetypes.
Conventionsandsymbolswillindicatehardandsoftlandscapedetailsandstreetfurnitureshould
beindicatedbysymbols.
Assemblydrawings
Thepurposeofassemblydrawingsistoshowhowthebuildingiserectedonsite.Informationwill
includecomponentidentificationandreference,assemblydimensionsandtoleranceswith
referencetocomponentdrawings.
Theassemblydrawingscanbe:
Plans
Elevations
Section
TheassemblydrawingnumberisprefixedbytheletterA.Standarddetailsneedanefficient
librarycodingsystemtoaidretrievalandsorting,andtheCommonArrangementofWorkSection
(CAWS)referencesystemfoundinthestandardoldMethodofMeasurement(SMM7now
replacedbytheNMR2andUniclass).Someassemblydrawingswillshow:
Substructuresection
Externalwalldetails
Wallopeningssuchashead,sillandjambsections,plans
Eavesdetails
Internalwalls
Stairdetails
Thestructuringofdrawninformationintospecificsheetshelpsthesearchpatternsoftheend
user.Someunenlighteneddesignerswillfillthedrawingsheetwithamixtureof
plans,elevationsand,ifthereisroom,detailedsections.Thetitledchosenforthedrawingsheet
isthefirstindicationofthecontentofthesheet.Searchproceduresbytheendusersfollowa
patternandthedrawingsshouldbestructuredandtitledtomaximisethisprocedure.
Recommendedscalesforeassemblydrawingsare:1:501:201:10.
Thedrawingswillcompriseplanviewandsections,andthethicknessoflineswilldependonthe
informationhierarchy.Outlinesanddifferentcomponentsdrawnwiththickerlinesalerttheuserto
keyinformationastheeyescanstheentiredrawing.Theplacingofthesectiononthedrawing
sheetshouldbecarefullylaidouttominimisesearchtimefortheenduser.
Identificationofmaterialsusingstandardconventionswillcomplementtheannotationand
conveytheextentofthematerialsusedintheassemblydetail.
Theamountoftextanddimensionsincludedonthesheetshouldbejustenoughtoachievethe
purposeofthedrawing.Forexample,adrawingofasubstructuredetailshouldnotincludetext
orspecificationrelatingtotheroof.Whenplacingtextanddimensionsontothesheet,itisbest
toassisttheenduserbyleavingthedrawingareauncluttered.Thefocalpointisthedrawn
detail.Oncethediagramhasbeenassimilated,furtherinformationissought,withtheeye
radiatingoutformthefocusdiagram.Thediagramshouldthereforebeencircledwithdimensions
andtext,andthetextshouldbelegible,conciseandaccurate.
Codereferencesdirecttheusertofurtherdrawninformationsuchascomponentdrawingsorto
thebillofquantities.Thespecificationorthemeasuredsectionofthebillofquantitiesshould
explainthequalityofthematerialorworkmanship.Thiswillavoidexpensiveduplication
ofspecificationsonthedrawings,reducingthepossibilityofdiscrepancies
betweentenderandcontractdocuments.
Componentdrawings
Thistypeofdrawingshowsindividualcomponentsintheunfixedstate.Informationwillinclude
componentsizes,toleranceandspecificationwithreferencetothebillofquantity.
ThecomponentdrawingnumberisprefixedbytheletterC,andtypicalcomponentdetailsare:
Woodwindowheaddetail
Specialdoorconstruction
Sill
Copingstone
Componentdrawingsareoftenlargescale,sometimefullsizeddrawingsshowingindividual
components.Assemblydrawingswillcontainseveralcomponents,showinghowtheindividual
componentsfittogethertomakeabuildingelement.
Recommendedscalesare:
1:10
1:5
1:2
1:1
Thecomponentdrawingswillcontaindimensionsandsometext,butthe
materialspecificationandtheminimumacceptablequalitywillbedefinedin
thespecificationsectionofthebillofquantities.TheCAWSreferencecodewilldirecttheend
usertothecorrectpartofthebillofquantities.
Projections
Orthographicprojection
Orthographicprojectionisawayofillustratingthreedimensionalobjectsinatwodimensional
drawing.Thebasicdrawinglayoutsareshownbelow.
DrawingprojectionsmustcomplywiththerelevantBritishStandardtopreventmisunderstanding
andavoiderrorsininterpretingthedrawing.TheorthographicprojectioncommonlyusedinBritain
iscalledthefirstangleprojection,butthereareotherlesscommonprojectionsthatcanbeused
toillustrateathreedimensionalobject.
Axonometricprojection
Theadvantageofanaxonometricprojectionisthetrueplansetat45degrees.Itissuitablefor
interiorandkitchenlayout.Planningdrawingsareeffectiveasaxonometricprojectiontoshowthe
relationshipofexistingbuildings,topographyandtheproposedbuilding.
Isometricprojection
Unliketheaxonometricprojection,theisometricplanviewisslightlydistortedandcanbeusedto
showthenatureofthedesignmoreclearlythananorthographicprojection.Itissometimesused
duringtheconceptualisationofthedesigntohelptheclientgraspthemassoftheproposal.
Obliqueprojection
Whenprimaryinformationisdrawninelevation,theinterpretationcanbeenhancedbyanoblique
projection.
Preliminarydrawings
Thesedrawingsareoftenrefereedtoasthinkingdrawings,andillustrateelementsofthedesign.
Thefreehandsketchesarebroadstrokeswithlittledetailandillustratemass,proportionorother
aestheticprinciples.Softpencilorafinelinerpenondetailpaperisthepreferredmedium.To
avoiddeceptionthedetailpaperisoftengridpapertoensureacorrectproportionofimages.The
focalpointofthebuildingcanbequicklyillustratedbyapreliminarysketch.Simplicityand
avoidanceofdetailarethemainaspectsofagoodpreliminarydrawing.
Sketchdrawings
Theentirerangeofdrawingscanbeillustratedassketchdrawings.Alocationdrawingcanbe
'key'orcontroldrawing,showingcontroldimensionsorlevels.Asketchedassemblydrawingcan
beusedbythearchitecttoinstructthetechnicianpreparingtheinknegative.Toavoid
misinterpretationofsize,itisadvantageoustouseamodular,gridruledplan,inwhichthemain
gridis300mm,withasecondarygridof100mm.
Workingdrawings
Thesearethefinaldrawninstructionswhichthebuilderwilluseonsitetoconvertthedesign
ideasintoarealbuilding,andcaremustbetakentoensureaccuracyofdimensions
andspecification.Inpreparingthelocationplanitisbesttouseacontrolboxwhenhanddrawing
aworkingdrawingthatis,maximumdesignlengthandwidtharedrawnonthetracingfilm.All
detailsshouldfitwithinthiscontrolbox,andifyoufindyouaredrawingoutsidethecontrolbox
youshouldstopimmediatelyasthisindicatesanerrorinthedetailedmeasurements.Oncethe
drawinghasbeencompletedinink,cleanupthedrawinganderasethecontrolbox.
Whenadrawingisbeingproduced,thoughtmustbegiventothestructuringofinformation.A
drawingcontainscertaininformationthatmustbeobserved.Thisisprimaryinformation,shown
bythickerlinesand/orhighintensity.Secondaryinformationwillbeshownbylinesofmedium
thickness,whiletertiaryinformationwillbeindicatedbythinlines.Withinkdrawingsonfilmor
tracingpaper,differentpenthicknesswillachievethenecessaryinformationhierarchy.
Specification
Alldrawingsrequireannotationdescribingtheelementsoridentifyingthecomponents.Asthese
descriptivenotesandwordsmustbeclearlyunderstood,itisessentialtoaimforlegibilityifthey
arehandwritten,whichmeanstakingtimeto:
Formandshapeeachindividualletter.
Spacelettersandwordscorrectly.
Arrangethetexttohelptheenduser.
Arrangethetextinhierarchicalcontext.
Tohelpachieveclarityofspecification,stencilsanddrylettertransfersareavailable.When
usingCAD,takethetimetoselectaclearandsuitablefont.FontslikeComicSansshouldnever
beusedonanyformaldocuments,signage,publicationsordrawings.
Billofquantities
Thebillofquantitieswhichis,first,avitaltenderdocument,thenacontractdocumentshould
beanaccuratedescriptionandquantificationoftheproject.Thereshouldthereforebeacross
referencetothetenderdrawingandarchitect'snotesorspecifications.