How To Read Building Floor Plans

For others these sorts of drawings just make sense.

How to read building floor plans.

Ceiling plans are only used for structures that have significant ceiling fixtures so typically not residential projects. House plans are drawn to scale meaning that when you multiply the lengths of the lines in your plans by a previously determined number you wind up with their length in real life. Either way knowing how to read construction plans is a critical skill. Examine the floor plans represented in the blueprints.

The next blueprint view to understand is the floor plan. This drawing shows the house from what is called plan view looking at the house from above as though the viewer was in the sky looking directly down on the house with the roof removed. When we plan to build a new home the floor plan is a treasure map written in a symbolic language and promising the fulfillment of a dream. To donate to the tecmat.

For some reading floor plans and building blueprints is like reading an instruction manual for assembling a rocket. A floor plan is an important tool that helps to clarify and organize structural designs into a communicable language. Floor plans are 2d projections think maps that give a bird s eye view of a space including the presentation of details such as the location of windows doors appliances and plumbing fixtures. The floor plan also makes it easy to picture how foot traffic will flow and how people will use the space.

Learning how to read construction plans is an essential skill for building a career as a construction worker. When we read a floor plan with dimensions we imagine the simple lines and arc s stretching into walls doors and windows we imagine ourselves in a home and we wonder how the spaces will feel both empty and filled with life check out these. You ll probably never see the volume of a house plan listed on a house plan website but the number representing the area of a floor plan often depends on how the volume is counted. For those of you who need a little help i ll walk you through the basics point out some key elements and clear up some of the confusion to make you a plan reading pro.

One uncommon variation of the floor plan is the ceiling plan which is a view of the ceiling as seen from below. A floor plan gives an overhead view of the completed building. Look for parallel lines that show how wide walls are required to be and for dimensions in between those lines that indicate room sizes and wall lengths. Likewise stairs are only counted once.

There are no absolute scales used for all house plans but commonly the minimum scale for a site plan is 1 inch equals 20 feet.