The document discusses key information that should be included on floor plans, such as walls, windows, doors, dimensions, and notes. It provides examples of how to represent different architectural elements like stairs, fireplaces, and plumbing fixtures using symbols. Dimensioning guidelines are covered, including how to measure walls, openings, and overall room sizes. The purpose of other floor plan components like title blocks, section marks, and north arrows is also explained.

1. Floor Plan Dimensioning

2.  Thefloor plan is the heart of a set of
construction drawings.
• All trade workers refer to the floor plan.
• The floor plan is the basis for many other
plans.
• Actually a section drawing.
4

3.  Information that should be included on the floor
plan includes:
• Exterior and interior walls.
• Size and location of windows and doors.
• Built-in cabinets and appliances.
• Permanent fixtures.
• Stairs.
• Fireplaces.
(continued)
5

4. • Walks, patios, and decks.
• Room names.
• Material symbols.
• Location and size dimensions.
• Drawing scale.
• Related structures are frequently
included.
6

5.  Many common
features found on
a floor plan are
identified in this
drawing.
(Sater Design Collection, Inc.)
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6. Materialsymbols or material
hatch patterns are used to
denote each material.
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7. 9

8. 10

9. 11

10. Only information about the basic
size and location of stairs and
fireplaces will usually be recorded
on the floor plan.
Stairs will show direction of
flight, number of risers, and width of
stairs.
Fireplaces will show basic depth
and width, opening design, and
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11. A fireplace may be
represented using
a simplified or
detailed symbol.
The detailed
symbol is usually
preferred.
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12.  Note Information about a set of stairs that is typically
included on the floor plan. The note shown “UP 14 R”
tells the reader that the set of stairs has 14 risers. The
width of the stairs shown is given as 4’ from the
center of the walls on each side of the stairs.
14

13.  Centerlines are used to locate the
openings for windows and doors in
frame walls.
 Dimensions are given to the side of the
openings in a masonry wall.
 Openings for windows are sash width.
 Openings for doors are actual width.
 Sills are drawn for windows and exterior
doors.
 Door swing is usually indicated.
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14.  Windows and doors should be located in a
frame wall using a centerline. Door swing is
also shown. Notice that the dimension from the
outside wall to the center of the door is 4’-6”
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15.  Hidden (dashed) lines are used to
show that an opening does not extend
to the ceiling.
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16.  Alphabet of lines: commonly used
architectural drawings
 Phantom line – alternate
positions, repeated details, and paths of
motion
 Visible lines – outline of buildings and
walls
 Hidden lines – edges of surface that are
not visible

17.  Center lines – center of an arc or circle
 Dimension and extensions lines – extent
and direction for measurements
• Dimension – size and location
• Extension – termination point of dimension
 Break lines – object continues on, but the
complete view is not shown
 Section lines – feature that has been
sectioned, crosshatch lines

18.  Symbols: represent plumbing, electrical
fixtures, doors, windows, and other objects
in a house

19. Kitchen cabinets, bath
vanities, fixtures, and appliances
are also shown on the floor plan.
We must learn to recognize
standard symbols which are used
for these features.
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20. Several outside features are usually
included on the floor plan.
Walks, patios, and decks are
examples.
The size and materials are typically
noted on the plan.
Consider these elements as part of
the total plan.
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21.  Standards are different in different career
areas.
 Civil, Electrical, Construction and other
areas follow similar practices, but
sometimes with less need for precision in
measurements.
 Dimensioned drawings are a part of a
contractual document.

22.  Dimensions on a floor plan show size
and location of the features.
 In architectural drafting, dimension lines
are continuous lines with the dimension
figure placed above the line.
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23.  Recommended method of dimensioning
frame wall construction.
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24.  Various means to terminating ends
• arrow head
• dot
• tick
 Normally,dimensions are shown ABOVE
dimension line
 Ifdimension is needed for construction, it
should be on drawing

25.  Dimension figures are always parallel to
the dimension line.
 There is consistency with the type of
termination symbol used for dimension
 lines. (arrow head, tic mark or dots)
 The following slide shows the different
methods of ending the dimension lines
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27.  Dimensions are recorded in feet and
inches.
 Feet and inch marks may be omitted.
 Dimensions less than 1' are usually
indicated as 1/2", 2", 6", etc.
 Dimensions for interior frame walls are
to the center of the wall.
 Dimensions for exterior frame walls are
to the outside of the stud wall.
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28.  Solid
masonry walls (cast
concrete, block, brick, or stone) are
usually dimensioned as shown.
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29.  Brick veneer walls are dimensioned to the
outside of the stud wall.
 Solid masonry walls are dimensioned to
the outside of the wall.
 Overall dimensions are needed to provide
the total length and width of the structure
or major parts of the structure.
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30.  Notes are often necessary to present
information that cannot be represented by
dimensions or symbols.
 Notes are usually placed so as to be read
from the bottom of the sheet.
 There are two types of notes used:
 General Notes and Specific Notes
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31.  Frame Construction
• dimensions usually start at the exterior surface
of the stud wall
• interior walls usually dimensioned to the center
of partitions

32.  Frame Construction
• Located by their center lines

33.  Masonry Construction
• Openings are dimensioned to the edges of the
masonry surface openings

34. (Donald F. Sowa, A.R.A.)
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35. 37

36. 38

37. 39

38.  Using CADD speeds up the process of
drawing and designing a floor plan.
 Automatic wall generation, repetitive use of
symbols, dimensioning features, and
elimination of hand lettering reduce
drafting time.
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39.  Residential floor plans are usually drawn at
1/4" = 1'-0".
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40. (SoftPlan Systems, Inc.)
42

41.  Shows an object like you would see in a
photograph
 Give a three dimensional view of a room or
structure
 Three common types
• Isometric
• Oblique
• Perspective

43. North Arrows
The purpose of a north
arrow is to indicate the
north direction and
therefore the orientation
of the building in relation
to the sun.

44. Section Marks
Section marks are used to indicate where sections are being taken or cut.
Architectural practices are very similar to that used in engineering drawing.
Because of the complexity of architectural drawings cutting plane lines are
generally omitted and only the arrow indicating the direction of sight of the section
view is shown. The section call-out consists of a 1/2" diameter circle, an arrow
indication the direction of sight, and two numbers. The upper number/letter
indicates the name of the section on the sheet and the lower number refers to the
sheet where the section view is drawn.
The lettering in the section call-out circle is always horizontal regardless of the
direction of the arrow. The arrow is a 45 degree line, tangent to the circle.
Name of the section view
B
A-5 B B
A-5 A-5
Sheet reference

45. Section Marks
The arrow can be left open or colored in. The short line segments extending from
the circle represent the cutting plane line. They can be single lines, double lines, or
alternating thick and thin lines to conform to the overall drawing style.
B B B B B
A-5 A-5 A-5 A-5 A-5
B
A-5
Generally a section call-out consists of two circles, one on each end of
the cutting plane line. It is permissible to omit one of the circles and
replace it with a simple arrow. These arrows are simple and can be left
open or colored in.

46. Title Blocks
Title blocks are a very important part of the
overall drawing. They contain information
not given directly on the drawing with
dimensions or notes. The following
information is generally provided in the title
block:
Title of the project/name of the drawing
Name and address of the client.
Name and address of the architectural
company.
Date of the completion of the drawing
package.
Scale of the drawing.
Drawing Number.
Architect's professional stamp.

47. Sheet Layout
Title blocks are added and placed along
the bottom and/or the right side of the
drawing paper.
A north arrow (if applicable) is placed in
the upper left corner of the sheet.
In general all of the drawing area
should be filled.
The main drawing should be the
dominate picture on the sheet with
detail drawings and general notes
related to the main drawing placed
around it.
All drawings, details, and notes should
be titled. Titles are placed beneath the
picture.

48. Architectural Drafting Line Work
Lines used in architectural drafting will conform to the recommended ANSI drafting
standards.
Visible Object lines are the most important lines on the drawing, therefore they are
made thick and dense black.
Border lines are made thicker than visible object lines to contrast strongly with all
other lines on the drawing.
Hidden lines are dashed lines with 1/8" dashes and 1/16" spaces. Hidden lines will
represent an item(s) not able to be seen in a particular view.
Center lines are thin, dense black lines. A center line is traditionally a long line-
dash-long line center line. This type of line is used wherever possible. Center lines
are used to indicate the center of an object or feature.
Lines used for dimensioning, crosshatching lines. match lines, and conventional
break lines are drawn as thin, dense black lines.

49. Architectural Drafting Line Work
Arrowheads can be either open, closed, solid, or the
traditional slash as shown.
Other types of symbols can be used in place of the
arrowhead or slash. These include
triangles, perpendicular lines, and dots.
In all cases, the style of arrowheads should not be
mixed on a drawing. OPEN
CLOSED
SOLID
SLASH

50. Dimensioning
The dimension line is a continuous, unbroken line with
the dimension figure placed above the line.
The Aligned system is used as opposed to the
unidirectional system of dimensioning.
16'-0"

51. Buildings in Plan
The plan view of a building should emphasize the horizontal dimensions of
the structure and therefore the edges should be drawn bold, sharp, and
accurately

52. Buildings in Plan
A building with a pitched roof should be
textured to increase the
three-dimensional quality. The
direction of the lines can emphasize
the actual building materials and the
direction in which they were laid or
emphasize the slop of pitched
surfaces. The sun side of the roof
should have a lighter texture than the
shaded side or simply left white.
The simplest way to highlight a
structure is to crosshatch the entire
building area or hatch around the
perimeter of the structure. The overall
representation of the structure should
conform to the overall style of the
drawing and the other symbols used.