Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Construction
Drawing
Practices
IC PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SERIES
Objectives:
Page 1
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction
3. Drawing to Scale
5. Graphic Conventions
6. Orthographic Projection
8. Construction Drawings
Page 2
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
1 Introduction
It should be borne in mind that the contractor’s staff using the drawings on a
construction site often work under difficult circumstances, and the quality and
clarity of the drawings should reflect this fact.
Page 3
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
GETTING STARTED
At this stage you should have the following equipment to assist you.
A0
A1
A2
A3
A4
1180 x 840
840 x 590
590 x 420
420 x 295
295 x 210
Page 4
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
You can use a tee-square to draw horizontal lines; press the stock of the tee-
square against the left hand edge of the board and allow it to slide up and down
until the blade is in the required position. The pencil should be held against the
ruling edge of the tee-square blade (Fig. 2.2).
A2
Head Working edge
Blade
Fig. 2.2 Check contact of T-square head with drawing board edge.
You will need to use your set-squares for drawing vertical and sloping lines.
Move the straight edge/tee-square to the required position. Place the set-square
on the tee-square with its base on the top edge of the blade, and the vertical
edge in the required position (Fig. 2.3).
All construction lines should be drawn first, followed by all final lines.
Page 5
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
Now that the drawing paper is fixed to the board and you have some general
information about drawing lines, the first operation is to draw the border and
title panel.
The border should be drawn around the four edges of the paper 10mm wide.
Initially just draw the construction lines for the border.
Form the title block by drawing a construction line 40mm up from the bottom
border line. Add the short vertical and horizontal lines.
DRAWING RECTANGLES
Begin by drawing the construction lines for the 4 rectangles on the bottom left
hand corner of the sheet. For each rectangle first draw two horizontal lines about
30mm apart and about 75mm long. Join the ends of the horizontal lines by
drawing two vertical lines about 60 mm apart forming a rectangle 60x30 mm.
Draw the construction lines for the 3 circles & 3 quadrants in the top right hand
corner of the drawing. First draw the horizontal and vertical axes lines for each
circle. Then draw the circle. If you are using a compass to draw the circles, the
compass point should be carefully placed on the precise spot where the
horizontal and vertical axes cross. Then draw the circle as a curved construction
line. If you are using a circle template, you will need to relate the axes marks on
the template with the axes drawn on your drawing sheet.
Page 6
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
Lines vary in thickness and form according to their purpose and importance.
Construction lines have already been mentioned. They are setting-out or guide
lines, and they should be drawn as light as possible. They are generally covered
over by stronger final lines.
Thick active lines are continuous, and used to indicate important parts of
structures such as the outside and inside faces of walls; the faces of reinforced
concrete members and ground levels.
Thin active lines are continuous, and used to show items drawn as plan views (as
opposed to sectional plans) and as elevations; also to define less important items
shown in section.
Hidden lines are broken lines, and can be either thick or thin depending on their
important. They show work which is not visible - e.g. the position of beams on a
floor plan.
Centre lines are thin chain dotted lines and are used as the name implies, to
show the centre of things - e.g. the centre of a beam.
Break lines are thin continuous lines with a zig zag in them to show a break in the
continuity of the line or view.
Drain and other underground pipe lines may be shown by a thick chain line or a
thick continuous or broken line. In the case of underground drains, arrowheads
are often added to show the direction of flow.
Dimension lines and projectors may be shown in thin lines with arrows heads.
Page 7
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
TH IC K A C TIV E LIN ES
defining m ain outlines of stru ctures
in section
TH IN A C TIV E LIN ES
defining ou tlin es in p lan
and elevation
H ID D EN LIN ES-TH IC K O R TH IN
show in g w ork not visible or
w ork to be rem oved
32
33
34
14
30
1 : 10
up
21
28
20
19
18
17
16
22
15
27
26
24
25
23
Page 8
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
3 Drawing to Scale
A 1:50 and 1:100 scale can be used for the floor plan of a building, both in
architectural and structural layouts.
A 1:200 scale can be used for the floor plan of a large building, or the site plan of
a small building project.
Page 9
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
The two main groups of letters are ‘CAPITAL LETTERS’ and ‘lower-case letters’.
The use of lower-case letters is generally restricted to notes, but capital letters
can be used for both notes and titles. It is easier to produce legible capital letters
than lower-case letters, it is suggested that initially you use only capital letters on
your drawings. It is important that all letters be formed between guide lines. A
lower and upper guide line should be drawn as lightly as possible so that you can
just see them. Drawing them takes a little extra effort but is worth the trouble.
Top guideline
Bottom guideline
0.7 H
GH I J K LM
N OP QR S T
U V WX Y Z
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 0
Fig. 4.1 Sample of Lettering
Page 10
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
DIMENSIONING
It is important that all drawings are fully dimensioned, so that the builder and
others know the required size of every part of the building. It is sensible however
not to duplicate dimensions, as this makes the drawing unnecessarily crowded.
Dimension lines should be unbroken lines. They can be terminated at their ends
by open arrowheads, solid arrowheads, oblique strokes, dots or circles.
Thin lines called projection lines, or projectors, should extend from about 2 mm
away from the part of the object being dimensioned to just beyond the
dimension line termination.
If any dimension is not drawn to scale, the letters “NTS” (not to scale) should be
written after the dimension.
HORIZONTAL DIMENSIONS
D IM E N S IO N
L IN E S
200
O pen
A rro w h e a d
200
S o lid
A rro w h e a d
200
O b liq u e
S tro k e
200
70 65 65
D im e n s io n s
70 135 200
R u n n in g
D im e n s io n s
Page 11
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
VERTICAL DIMENSIONS
DIMENSIONING BY LEVELS
ORIENTATION OF PLANS
North points are generally shown on key plans, site plans, block plans and
sometimes floor plans, to indicate the position of north relative to the site or
building. The point of the arrow should be drawn to face north.
N orth point
SSL FFL
FFL
123
Level on sections
Ceiling height on plans and elevations
Page 12
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
5 Graphic Conventions
REPRESENTATION OF MATERIALS
In sectional views of a building, the parts of the structure which are cut by
section plane may be hatched to indicate the nature of the materials used.
Brickwork Blockwork
Concrete Plaster/Render
Timber-planed Subsoil
Page 13
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
DOORS
There are standard ways of indicating on plans the opening methods for doors-
i.e. whether they are swing doors or sliding doors-and the direction in which they
open.
DO O R SY M BO LS
S i n g le le a v e s S i n g le le a v e s
o p en in g 9 0 o p e n in g 1 8 0
T w o le a v e s e a c h S tr a ig h t s lid i n g
o p e n in g 9 0
WINDOWS
The opening methods for windows are generally indicated on the elevations.
Page 14
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
SYMBOLS
There are wide range of standard graphic symbols available to indicate the
position of various components, and related information. Some common
examples are given below, but reference needs to be made to BS 1192 for full
details of the recommendations for symbols and other graphic conventions.
Switched Circuit
Socket outlet
socket outlet on plan
Non-reture
Pipe valve Meter
pipe valve
Page 15
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
6 Orthographic Projection
Buildings, and the materials and components of which buildings are constructed,
are three dimensional. That is to say they have length, width and height. It is
possible to draw a picture of a building or object to show these three
dimensions. Generally however in construction drawing the method used to
describe buildings or objects pictorially is called orthographic projection. This
method uses views termed plans, elevations and sections, which have only two
dimensions.
To explain why they are so called, you may place the two boxes together as
shown. It can be seen that one system falls neatly in the first quadrant and the
other in the third quadrant (Fig. 6.1).
VERTICAL PLANE
END VIEW
HORIZONTAL PLANE
W
VIE
ION
VAT
LE
TE
RN
FO
Page 16
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
PROJECTION SYMBOLS
d 1.25d d
Projection Symbol
30
First angle
Third angle
Projection symbol proportions
Plan
Page 17
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
SECTIONAL VIEWS
Section plan
Page 18
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
The example below shows the offset cutting plane of the staircase, this practice
should be continued to the top landing; each step should be drawn but once.
The top landing will look much as it would with a normal cutting plane. The view
down the stairwell would show the down flight as it would normally appear in
the stairwell. The limit line shows where the stairs break between floor plans in
the same location on the plans of each floor. Double limit lines are used to
separate the up half from the down half where they meet in plan.
4 FOURTH FLOOR
3
2ND & 3RD FLOOR
2
2
1
1
FIRST FLOOR
Page 19
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
20
20 120
10 0 60
20 20
44 0 120
20
1 20
215
20
o
120
o
120
120
o
30° 30°
Page 20
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
50
82% OF THE 40
ORIGINAL SIZE Natural scale
x
30
x
50 45
x
20 40
x
Isometric scale
30
10
20
x
30
x
10
x
R R R
C C
R
Fig. 7.2 Comparison of Isometric Projection and Isometric Drawing & Construction of
Isometric Circle
Page 21
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
A perspective is a view that is normally seen by the eye or camera, and is the
most realistic form of pictorial. All parallel lines converge at infinite vanishing
points as they receded from the observe. There are three basis types of
perspectives are: one-point, two-point, three-point, depending on the number of
vanishing points used in their construction (see Fig. 7.3).
One-point perspective: The one-point perspective has one surface of the object
that is parallel to the picture plane: therefore it is true shape. The other sides
vanish to a single point on the horizon called a vanishing point.
VP VP VP VP
Hor Hor Hor
VP
THREE POINTS
Abbreviation:
Page 22
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
SP= Station Point is the location of the observer’s eye in the plan view.
The front view of the station point will always lie on the horizon.
CV= Center of Vision is a point that lies on the picture plane in the top
view and on the horizon in the front view. In both cases, it is on the line
from the station point that is perpendicular to the picture plane.
VP= Vanishing Point is all vanish line (VL) Converge at infinite vanishing
points as they recede from the observer.
Hor.= Horizon or Eye level is a horizontal line in the front view that
represents an infinite horizontal, such as the surface of the ocean.
GL= Ground Level is an infinite horizontal line in the front view that
passes through the base of the object being drawn.
VP VP
VP VP
GL GL
Page 23
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
FULL SCALE
LE
LL
CA
FU
L FS
HA
0 0 0 0
TRUE SIZE
CABINET PROJECTION
CAVALIER PROJECTION
LE
CA
L LS
FU
TO
LF
HA
0 0
0 VARIES 0--90
30
TRUE SIZE
GENERAL OBLIQUE
Page 24
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
8 Construction Drawings
A site plan is a location drawing, and like most plans is a view looking
downwards. It supplies a bird’s eye view of the shape, size and layout of the
entire site.
GRIDS
The use of grids to which sizes and locations of building components may be
related, is helpful in preparation of all types of drawings and particularly so when
modular coordination is applied to design and construction. Grid rotations
should be used as appropriate for each form of grid. Most common grid rotation
is using letters to define the lines on axis and numerals to define the lines on the
other axis.
Floor plans are generally the most useful, and the most used of the location
drawings. They are really sectional plans because they show the view obtained by
cutting horizontally through a building at some point above the floor level. It is
assumed that you move away the top part of the building and look down at the
plan of the remaining bottom part. This plan view will not only illustrate the
arrangement of the rooms and spaces and their shapes, but will also show the
thickness of all the external and internal walls.
The level at which you cut horizontally through a building is commonly assumed
to be 1metre above the floor level. This has the advantage of passing through
most of the windows and doors, which means that dimensions giving the
positions of all openings can be given. An example of a floor plan is shown on
Fig. 8.1.
Page 25
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
6600 N
800 2100 1450 900 1350
W4 W3
A D2
800
16 Risers
1200
up
KITCHEN
W2
900
S.F.L.
+5.650
1100
4100
D5
DINING
1350
All ext. walls
200 thick
BATHROOM
1900
900
W1
A LIVING D4
A
750
9100
9100
W5
900
4100 2100
1300
950
D1
100
D6 D3
900
All int. walls
100 thick
W9
900
4100
BEDROOM 2 BEDROOM 1
3100
2300 3800
1650
B W6 W7 W8
1350 900 600 900 600 900 1350
6600
1 ELEVN 2
• Thick lines should be used to define the inside and outside faces of external
walls, and both faces of the internal partitions.
• Where cavity walls form part of the construction the cavity may be indicated
by thin lines, but it is suggested you omit this detail on the 1:50 floor plan.
• Hatching is often used, particularly on larger scale plans. Where floor plans
show existing walls, they are often filled in solid.
Page 26
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
WINDOWS
• Windows will be positioned laterally on the floor plans. Their positions within
the wall thickness will be shown on the assembly drawings if these are
provided. However, where the scale of the floor plan is 1:50 or larger, it is
sensible to locate the windows in approximately their correct positions
relative to the wall faces.
DOORS
• At each door position it should be made clear which way the door is hung.
OTHER ITEMS
• The most important thing is that the lettering should be easy to read.
Page 27
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
8.3 Sections
A vertical section through a building will show details of the construction of the
foundations, walls, floors, roof and other parts. The number of sections required
of a building will depend on its size and complexity. Generally there will be at
least two sections - one of these will be a cross section, across the width of the
building. The other will be a longitudinal section, along the length of the
building. Sections are intended to help the builder construct the building, so the
exact position of the section should be chosen to show as much construction as
possible.
The purpose of a location section is to (a) give a vertical view of the building; and
(b) provide overall vertical dimensions and levels.
• Thick lines should be used to define the inside and outside faces of external
walls, and both faces of the internal partitions.
• Where cavity walls form part of the construction the cavity is often indicated
by thin lines.
Page 28
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
• Thick lines should be used to define both faces of concrete floor and roof
slabs.
• Thick lines should also be used to define the faces of other structural
elements, such as foundations and beams, when these are viewed in section.
U.Roof
200
2835
ROOFING
(detail ref. to
100-110
other dwg.)
1200
45 FALL
R/F
125
2675
125
250
25 THICK 1:3
C/S SCREED 1/F
100
1250
2675
1050
150
S.F.L.
150
+5.650 G/F
Earth
D.P.C. ON 150
750
THICK HARDCORE
400
BLINDING
1000 1000
50
Page 29
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
8.4 Elevations
An elevation is a view you get if you look in a horizontal direction at the vertical
side, or face, of a building or object. When drawing an elevation you need to
take the horizontal dimensions from the plans and the vertical dimensions from
the sections. An example of a elevation is shown in Fig. 8.3.
The purpose of a location elevation is to (a) show the external faces of the
building; and (b) locate the door and window openings and other features of the
building.
Dia. 25 PVC
Drain Pipe U.Roof
2835
1445
R/F
75-80
2675
50x230 CERAMIC
WALL TILE
1/F
100
2675
25-30
150
S.F.L.
+5.650 G/F
Elevation of House
Page 30
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
200
125
min.150
2 0 x 2 0 re c e s s 3 8 th .c o n c .r o o f tile
FA LL 2 5 th .1 :3 c /s s c re e d
w / g .i.m e s h r e in f.
5 0 th .th e rm a l
in s u la tio n b o a rd
2 5 x 2 5 1 :3 c /s
c o r n e r fille t 2 0 th .a s p h a lt c o a t
a s p h a lt m a t
125
m in .2 5 th .1 :3 c /s s c r e e d
la id in fa lls
d ia .2 5 g r o o v e
100
R o o fin g D e ta i l
Page 31
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
The purpose of a component drawing is to (a) show the nature, shape, assembly
method and further details of components, required by the manufacturer and
others; and (b) provide additional information which cannot be conveniently
given on location or assembly drawings.
45dp.timber core
4x45dp.lock
blocking
3th.plywood facing
to both sides
12th.teak lipping
to all edges
DOOR D1,D2&D5
Page 32
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
STRUCTURAL DETAILING
STRUCTURAL STEELWORKS
The three main groups of drawings for illustrating steelwork structures are
general arrangement drawings, fixing details, and details of individual members.
A common system is to mark the horizontal grid lines on the steel framing plans
with numbers-1, 2, 3 etc. -and the vertical grid lines with letters- A, B, C etc.
Page 33
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
This system enables each member to be identified. Columns are given a mark
related to the grid intersections on the plans. Thus the top left hand column is
given the mark of A1 because it is located where grid lines A and 1 intersect. The
marks for the beams are a combination of the floor reference and the grid line
letter and number. For example in Fig. 8.6 the horizontal beam in the top left
hand corner is marked as C-1A. The letter C indicates it is a second floor beam;
the figure 1 denotes that the beam is located at grid line 1; and the letter A
denotes that it begins at grid line A.
1 2 3 4
4000 4000 4000
(C-1A)
(C-2A)
(C-3A)
(C-4A)
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
5000
(C-1B)
(C-2B)
(C-3B)
(C-4B)
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
5000
(C-1C)
(C-2C)
(C-3C)
(C-4C)
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
5000
(C-1D)
(C-2D)
(C-3D)
(C-4D)
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
5000
Page 34
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
FIXING DETAILS
3 0 5 x 3 0 5 U n iv e rs a l c o lu m n
150mm concrete
encasting shown
by broken line
fillet weld
s te e l le v e llin g w e d g e s
grout
removable bolt
bores of plastic R .C . fo u n d a tio n
form, p.v.c. tube,
etc.
h o ld in g d o w n b o lts g ro u te d
afte r fin a l le v e llin g
1 0 0 x 1 0 0 p la te w a s h e rs
R e in fo rce m e n t b a r
The various steel members -universal beams, universal columns, rolled joists,
rolled channels, tees and angles- are fixed together by welding or bolting, either
in the workshop (shop connections) or on the construction site (site
connections). Fig. 8.8 is an example of details of connections.
2/100X75X10
grade 50
2/100X75X10
grade 50
Page 35
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
The two main groups of drawings for illustrating reinforced concrete structures
are general arrangement drawings, reinforcement drawings. General
arrangement drawings are floor plans, roof plans, sections and elevations, drawn
to a small scale and providing an overall view of the work. They supply the
setting out dimensions, the positions and sometimes the sizes of all the
members. Fig. 8.9 is an example of a small plan of a typical floor showing slab
thickness and reinforcement, beam serial numbers and sizes. A reference grid is
provided similar to that previously described for a structural steel building.
Reinforcement drawings of structural elements are drawn to a larger scale and
give detailed information about the reinforcement (Fig. 8.10). There is no excuse
for ambiguity, and it is essential that all drawings are easy to read, and cannot be
misunderstood.
N
A B C
1/A-B 1/B-C
50x300 450x300
150 150
450x300
450x300
450x300
B/1-2
C/1-2
4000
A/1-2
2/A-B 2/B-C
450x300 450x300
2
150
450x300
450x300
1500
A/2-3
C/2-3
3/A-B 3/B-C
450x300 450x300
4000 3500
A B C
1
21T10-10-200T1 18T10-11-200T1
A A
21T10-1-200B1
21T10-1-200B1
21T10-3-200B2 18T10-4-200B2
21T10-12-200T1 18T10-13-200T1
2
21T10-5-200B2 18T10-6-200B2
10 7 8 7 11
3 4
1 1
Page 36
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
1 2 2T20-8
3
4000 3500
1 2 3
150
150
5 5 6 6 7 7
450
450
450
9 9 10
1 1 11 2 2 22 33 3
REINFORCEMENT IDENTIFICATION
The meaning of the notations given to the reinforcement (Fig. 8.9 and Fig. 8.10).
• 21T10-10-200T1, this means that there are 21 bars, which are of high tensile
steel, with a diameter of 10 mm, and an bar mark of 10. The bars are spaced
200 mm apart and placed near the top face of the concrete.
• Links 18T10-9-200, this means that there are 18 stirrups, which are high yield
bars, of diameter 10 mm and bar marked as 9.
Page 37
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
Building services are generally assumed to include hot and cold water supplies,
above and below ground drainage, including sanitary appliances, refuse disposal,
heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical installations including lighting,
telecommunications, gas installations, fire protection, mechanical conveyors and
security systems. Drawings are required for all of these services.
The three main groups of drawings for illustrating services work are general
layouts locating the arrangement of pipes, cables and ducts; details of plant
areas; and details of specific items. In addition there are schedules for items such
as manholes, radiators, valves etc., but these are beyond the scope of this
reading material.
USE OF GRIDS
Page 38
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
GENERAL LAYOUTS
Copy negatives (transparent copies) of the architect's 1:100 location drawings are
often used by the building services engineers and technicians to show the
general layout of the pipe work, ductwork, trunking, cables etc. It is advisable to
obtain these copy negatives from the architect at an early stage before too much
detail is added. However, where this procedure is adopted, it is important that
later revisions to the architect's drawings are taken into account on the copy
negative. A simple example of a general layout is shown on Fig. 8.11 which is a
wiring layout for lighting in a bungalow.
As the scales of general layouts and plant room area drawings are comparatively
small, additional detailed information on individual items is also required. This
additional information is given on details of specific services items.
KITCHEN
DINNING
BATHROOM
LIVING
BEDROOM 2 BEDROOM 1
Page 39
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
Freehand or sketch drawings are used for a variety of purposes. They may record
or explain the appearance and construction of an existing building, or sketch in
outline a designer's ideas for a proposed structure. Often freehand drawings will
be used as preliminary constructional details, or to clarify on-site details which
have not been made clear by the production drawings issued to the contractor.
Freehand drawings may also be used as presentation drawings. This type will
need to be of a high standard and will often incorporate advanced drawing
techniques, including perspective drawing, shadow projection and rendering.
DRAWING TECHNIQUES
Sometimes architects and other design team members will need to produce
immediate information. The information must be precise and accurate, but can
conveniently be provided in the form of freehand sketch drawings.
1. Draw everything first as fight construction lines, and only firm in the lines
when you are satisfied that everything is drawn accurately and in
proportion.
2. Where feasible, divide what you are drawing into a number of simple
geometrical shapes.
4. Draw in the main geometrical shapes first. Then add the detail.
5. Draw horizontal lines from left to right, unless you are left handed, in which
case you will probably find it easier to draw them from right to left. If the
line to be drawn is a long one, you can draw it as a continuous line made
up of a series of shorter fines about 50 mm long.
Page 40
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
7. Ensure that lines which are at right angles to each other are drawn as exact
right angles.
8. In the case of circles first draw the axes, and mark the points on the axes
where the circle is meant to cross.
9.500 9.300
13000
7000 5500 2000
9.700 9.700
EXISTING PROPOSED
HEDGE HOUSE
9000
F.F.L. 10.000
9.850 9.850
COSSLES
8000
PROPSED TREE
10.300 10.400
1000
Page 41
IC Professional Training
Construction Drawing Practices
References :
3. Dennis Neeley (1996), CAD and the Practice of Architecture, New York, N.Y.:
J. Wiley
6. Jude D.V., (1983), Civil Engineering Drawing London ; New York : Granada
Page 42
IC Professional Training