How To Read Scaled Floor Plans

Part 1 adding room measurements to a rough sketch.

How to read scaled floor plans.

A floor plan is a scaled diagram of a room or building viewed from above. There will also be a symbol legend will depict the symbols used to indicate windows doors elevation etc. Review the plan index which provides a list of all plan sheets. For example 1 8 1 one eighth inch equals one foot.

Scale floor plans aid the design process and can really help you visualize things such as the ideal furniture layout. For example a floor plan of a building drawn using a metric scale of 1 100 pronounced one to a one hundred means that for each unit that is measured on the drawing the 1 the real world size of it is 100 times larger the 100 than it appears. The floor plan may depict an entire building one floor of a building or a single room. Floor plans normally feature a written ratio e g.

Measurements are almost always provided in millimetres the exception being that metres are sometimes used to give a general idea of room sizes. 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. While an overall floor plan is commonly at a scale of 1 4 inch equals 1 foot certain rooms are drawn at a larger scale say 1 2 inch equals 1 foot. Once you gain an understanding of scales it is easy to understand which scale is most suited to which type of drawing.

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. When construction plans are scaled it helps to put the part into a print size drawing that is easily read by the crew. Drawing scale construction plans blueprints are scaled down representations of the final project at a ratio of the actual size. Scale bar blocks courtesy of cad blocks co uk.

This is the case with kitchens and bathrooms as these rooms are often the most complex in a house. When reading a scaled drawing the scale is shown as the length in the drawing then a colon and then the matching length on the real object. It may also include measurements furniture appliances or anything else necessary to the purpose of the plan. For example it is common practice to produce floor plans at a scale of 1 100 dependent on size of project and paper.

Start with the site or plot plan. This lesson lloks at some basic calculations involved how to work out the position of objects such as a window. This provides an overhead view of the property and details about the boundaries and orientation of the building.