Weekend Cabin Retreat Project
Designing the Floor Plan
Sacramento City College
EDT 300
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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Objectives
 List
the information required on a
typical floor plan.
 Represent
typical materials using
standard architectural symbols.
 Design
and draw a residential floor plan
using accepted symbols and techniques.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Objectives
 Dimension
a floor plan in a clear and
precise manner.
 Recognize
the difference between a
good and poor drawing of a floor plan.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
The Floor Plan
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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The Floor Plan
 The
floor plan is the heart of a set of
construction drawings.
 It
is the one plan to which all
tradeworkers refer.
 When
designing a residence, the floor
plan is usually started first.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
The Floor Plan
 The
floor plan is actually a section
drawing.
 An
imaginary cutting plane is passed
through the structure about four feet
above the floor and parallel to it.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
The Floor Plan
 The
plane may be higher or lower as
necessary to "cut" through the required
details.
 In
some instances, the plane is offset
(changes levels) as in the case of a
split-level house.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
The Floor Plan
 The
purpose of the floor plan is to show
the location and dimensions of
 Exterior
and interior walls.
 Windows.
 Doors.
 Major appliances.
 Cabinets.
 Fireplace.
 Other fixed features of the house.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
The Floor Plan
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Floor Plan Required Information
 The
following features should be
included on the floor plan
 Exterior
and interior walls.
 Size and location of windows and doors.
 Built-in cabinets and appliances.
 Permanent fixtures; stairs and fireplaces.
 Walks, patios, and decks.
 Room names and material symbols.
 Location and size dimensions; and scale.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Linetypes on Architectural Plan
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Wall Thickness Chart
Wood Frame Walls
Exterior walls
(with sheathing and siding)
Interior walls
(with dry wall both sides)
6 in.
5 in.
Concrete Block Walls
Exterior Walls
Interior Walls
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8, 10, or 12 in.
4 or 8 in.
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Wall Thickness Chart
Brick Veneer Exterior
Veneer on frame
in.
Veneer on concrete block
in.
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Brick Exterior Walls
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Two courses of brick
Two courses with 2 inch air space
in.
Three courses of brick
in.
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
8 in.
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Drawing Walls
 Since
the floor plan is a section
drawing, use symbols to indicate
materials used.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Drawing Walls
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Location/Size of Windows and Doors
 Windows
and doors
 Indicate
location with a center line through
the middle of the opening.
 The sash opening is shown for windows
 The actual door width is used for doors.
 Sills
are indicated for windows and
exterior doors.
 The
door swing must be indicated on
the floor plan.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Location/Size of Windows and Doors
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Location/Size of Windows and Doors
 Archways:
 To
show an archway, use hidden lines to
show that the opening does not extend to
the ceiling.
 Hidden
lines
 Are
used on the floor plan to indicate that a
feature is above the cutting plane or hidden
by some other detail.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Location/Size of Windows and Doors
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Cabinets, Appliances, Permanent Fixtures
 The
location and size of
 Kitchen
cabinets.
 Bathroom vanities.
 Fixtures.
 Appliances
 must
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be indicated on the floor plan.
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Cabinets, Appliances, Permanent Fixtures
 These
features are drawn using
standard symbols.
 Obtain
sizes of appliances or fixtures from
class handouts.
 Use these dimensions when drawing
appliances or fixtures.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Stairs
 Include
only basic size and location
information on the floor plan.
 Details
would be included in the set of
drawings for specific information for these
features.
 Stairs
 The
direction of flight.
 The number of risers.
 The width of the stairs, is given on the floor
plan.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Stairs
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Fireplaces
 Fireplaces
 Basic
width.
 Length.
 Location.
 Shape of opening of the fireplace.
 A symbol may be used to identify the
fireplace.
 Other
flues that may be housed in the
chimney are frequently added to the
drawing.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Fireplaces - Simple Symbol
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Fireplaces - Detailed Symbol
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Walks, Patios, and Decks
 Outside
Features are included on the
floor plan.
 Walks,
patios, and decks are examples.
 Show sizes and materials on the plan.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Room Names and Material Symbols
 Room
names.
 Should
be lettered slightly larger (3/16 in.)
than surrounding lettering.
 Ideal
location for the room name
 Is
the center of the room.
 This may be shifted to one side or lowered
if center space is unavailable.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Room Names and Material Symbols
 Show
the approximate size of the room
immediately below the name.
 This
is helpful to those not too familiar with
construction drawings.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Material Symbols
 Material
symbols
 are
a type of shorthand for the drafter.
 Are used rather than try to describe each
material with words.
 Use
a material symbol whenever the
material should be identified.
 If
the symbol is not a standard one,
identify it in the drawing Legend.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Dimensions
 Show
the size of a feature or its location.
 The
importance of proper and
careful dimensioning cannot be
overemphasized.
 Placement
of dimensions requires good
judgment.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Dimension
lines in architectural drawing
are generally continuous lines with the
dimension figure placed above the line.
 Dimensions
are always parallel (never
perpendicular) to the dimension line.
 Use
the “tic” as the termination
symbol.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Move
dimension lines out from the
drawing at least 3/4 in.
 3/4”
placement makes the dimension,
as well as the object lines, easily seen.
 Spacing
in apart.
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dimension lines 1/4 in. or 3/8
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Dimensions
in architectural drawing are
recorded in feet and inches.
 When
the dimension is less than one
foot, one of two procedures may be
used.
 Either
 Place
a zero in the foot location followed
by the number of inches (0-6)
 Record the length as so many inches and
show the inch mark (6").
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Interior
walls are commonly
dimensioned to the center.
A
short line is drawn down the middle
of the wall at the termination point of
the dimension to show that the center
is indicated.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Framed
exterior walls are dimensioned
to the outside of the stud wall.
 This
usually includes the weather board
or sheathing but not the siding.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Solid
masonry walls are dimensioned to
the outside of the wall.
 Brick
veneer walls are dimensioned to
the outside of the stud wall.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Dimension
lines may be located within
the house area if that seems to be the
logical place for them.
 Refrain
from using long leaders.
 Maximum
length of leaders should be
two inches.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 Show
overall dimensions for the length
and width of the structure.
 Always
add all the dimensions which
together equal the overall dimension.
 Frequent
dimensioning error:
 Partial
dimensions do not add up to equal
the total distance.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Dimensioning
 The
overall length and width of major
wall segments should be lengths that
are multiples of 4 ft.
 Building
material sizes are made in 4
foot increments.
 Unnecessary
material waste will result if
this rule is not applied.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Notes
 Notes
are required to present
information that cannot be represented
by a conventional dimension or symbol.
 Notes
should be brief and located
where they will be easy to see.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Notes
 Notes
should include only information
that is required.
 Notes
should be lettered 1/8 in. high.
 They
should be read from bottom of
sheet-not from edge..
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Scale and Sheet Identification
 Residential
floor plans are usually drawn
to a scale of 1/4" = 1 '- O".
A
detail may be a larger scale.
 The
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plot plan may be a smaller scale.
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Scale and Sheet Identification
 The
size of paper selected for the plans
will be determined by the size of the
structure.
A
sheet of 18" x 24" paper is large
enough for most plans.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Scale and Sheet Identification
 The
scale must appear at the bottom of
each drawing.
 An
exception is the pictorial representation
of the total house.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Scale and Sheet Identification
 Number
the sheets so the reader may
determine if the set is complete is
important.
 A method that works well is to number
each sheet like this:
 Sheet
1 of 6
 Sheet 2 of 6, etc.
 The
sheet number should appear in the
lower right hand corner of each sheet.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 First
Step in designing a house
 Determine
the requirements of the
structure
 Record requirements as preliminary
sketches.
 These
rough sketches will provide
direction for drawing the plan to scale.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 1.
Lay out the exterior walls.
 Draw
the walls as light construction lines.
 Be sure that the over-all length and width
of the house is measured to the proper
place on the walls and that walls are the
correct thickness.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 2.
Locate the interior walls.
 Draw
these as light construction lines.
 Set your dividers to the desired wall
thickness and use them to transfer the
dimension.
 Use the center of the wall for locating its
position.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 3.
Determine the location of the
windows and doors.
Both of these features will be dimensioned
to the center line of the opening (in frame
wall construction), so locate it first.
 Indicate the swing of doors and type of
window used.
 Darken in lines used for windows and
doors.

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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 4.
Draw the stairs.
 If
the house has no stairs, skip this step.
 Measure the width of the stairs and lay out
the treads.
 Determine the finished floor-to-finished
floor height;
 Determine the tread and riser height.
 Draw equally spaced lines to represent the
stair treads.
 Show direction of travel and number of
risers.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 5.
Locate and draw the fireplace.
 Draw
the outline in lightly.
 Identify the type and size of fireplace that is
desired and record these dimensions for
further use.
 Darken in the fireplace outline and fire
chamber size.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 Darken
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in all exterior and interior walls.
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 Steps
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3, 4, and 5 shown
EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 6.
Locate and draw walks, patios, or
decks.
 Carefully
think through these elements of
the plan.
 Select materials and designs that will
complement the total structure.
 Lay out and draw these parts.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 7.
Draw the kitchen cabinets,
appliances, and bathroom fixtures.
Kitchen base cabinets are usually 24 in.
deep and wall cabinets 12 in. deep.
 Base cabinets are shown as solid lines.
 Wall cabinets are indicated using a hidden
line symbol.
 The refrigerator and range are usually
deeper than 24 in. and should be
represented as such.

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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 7.
Draw the kitchen cabinets,
appliances, and bathroom fixtures.
 Locate
and draw bathroom vanities and
fixtures in the same way as kitchen
cabinets and appliances.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 8.
Add dimensions, notes, and room
names.
 Keep
in mind the guidelines for
dimensioning.
 Make sure the dimensions are accurate
and complete.
 Letter the room name in the center of each
room and show the approximate room size
below the name if desired.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 8.
Add dimensions, notes, and room
names.
 Look
over the drawing
 Add any general or specific notes that
seem warranted.
 Note: It is important to show dimensions for
all exterior wall features on the wall where
they are located.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 9.
Add material and identification
symbols.
 Wait
until the drawing is nearly finished to
add material symbols so they do not
interfere with dimensions or notes.
 Add the necessary symbols and darken in
lines which are light.
 All object lines, hidden lines, center lines,
etc. on a drawing should be black and only
vary in width.
 Exceptions are guidelines and construction
lines.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 10.
Draw the title block and add the
scale.
 The
scale is important and should be
placed in a prominent location near the
bottom of the drawing.
 It may be located in the title block if all
drawings on the sheet are the same scale.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
Procedure for Drawing Floor Plan
 10.
Draw the title block and add the
scale.
 The title block should include:
 sheet
number
 name of drawing
 scale date
 who the drawing is for
 who made the drawing
 any other pertinent information.
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design
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EDT 300 - Floor Plan Design