First Floor Plan
The plan of the first floor is almost always the first plan to be drawn. With the conventional drawings to follow, it is a simple matter to draw any plan. Almost all residential drawings are made to the scale of one quarter inch equals one foot. The outside walls are drawn in first, scaling four to six inches for frame buildings, and then the interior partitions and details. It is then completely dimensioned even though it scales exactly to size because the dimensions are of greater importance. You wouldn’t expect the framer to have to use a scale to find where the walls are placed.
Second Floor Plan
The outside walls of this plan and the main partitions are derived from the first floor plan. If possible, run the second floor partitions over the first, or as near to them as practical to carry weight down to the foundation or basement.
Basement Plan
The plan of the basement is also derived from the first floor plan because its outside dimensions are the same. The main wall is made of masonry block or concrete that is eight to twelve inches thick, rests upon an twenty four inch wide footing, and runs up to and beyond the grade line (ground level). Through the center, to support the long span of the joists, a girder is run. This is then held up by posts resting on a concrete footing. You have to be very careful to dimension the basement plan exactly because it is the foundation of the structure and the first part of the building that is to be built. Some drafters will locate the heater, waste pipe, and sewer outlet on this plan.
Elevations
The exterior views called the elevations comes next. The floor plan is placed over the elevation that is being drawn, and all the points projected up to it. When one elevation is finished, its heights can be projected to the next view in the same manner.
Section or Sections
The section is where a horizontal line is cut through the building as if chopped with a knife to show how the building is constructed. A scaled section clears up a lot of confused detail. It shows all trim, stairs, and construction details in a way that there is very little room for confusion. The section is one of the most important drawings and it should not be neglected or omitted in any way.
About the Author
To learn more about Working Drawings along with creating an entire set of house plans, visit House Plan Drafting 101 at http://houseplandrafting101.com. My name is Tim Davis and I created that course.
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( 2.9 / 95 )Colonial architecture was and is the architecture of rectangles. On the floor plan, these rectangles intersected each other much the same as they would in a game of dominoes. In the elevations the parallelogram was used almost exclusively, with its looks enhanced by a great deal of horizontal lines. Arches, curves and oblique shapes were avoided like the plague.
Completely avoiding out of the normal geometry, these structures were well proportioned and their dignity was and is displayed with the utmost pride. These homes were so direct and straightforward that there were no obstacles to the work of builders and so well created with such good design that even though a great deal of design styles have come and gone, the old Colonial still remains a mainstay design even in the twenty first century..
The beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement of the exterior of the colonial should never be strayed from. At each end of the building you would see stately chimneys always equal in size, whether they were functional or not; and in order to avoid the use of windows of different size, it was common to see a stairway cross a window without any attempt whatsoever to hide it from view outside. You would almost suspect that the designers were lazy because it seemed like they traced one half of the exterior elevation, and then, flipping the paper over on its face, retrace it to balance the original.
Then, as now, the degree of formality and stateliness obtainable in a building depended upon how much money was in your pocket. Additional money available in the hands of capable designers made sure that the architectural composition was properly completed and enhanced the decorative effect. This is illustrated in walls. The simplest and cheapest were those of plain brickwork, or large brick or stone covering with a coarse plaster of lime, shells, and pebbles used for outside wall surfaces. Variations of these were the laying of brick in the Flemish bond or other ornamental methods of laying brick, and the forming of projecting pilasters, bands or string courses.
Even though these houses most often stood off by themselves in the open country, there was a definite effort to concentrate great thought and workmanship into their fronts. A larger degree of formality with a corresponding increase in the expenditure of money, effort, etc. was obtained by simple but large quoins or projecting brick courses at the corners of the building.
Finally the greatest example of stateliness was arrived at by cutting the stone of walls into regular shapes and sizes forming ashlar work which was a thin, dressed rectangles of stone oddly spaced, but with a recognizable pattern.
Most of these type homes can be found in the southeastern United States and especially in north and central Georgia and east Tennessee. Many of these have stood the test of centuries and still as beautiful today as they were when they were built well before the Civil War.
About the Author
To learn more about architectural styles, along with creating an entire set of house drawings, visit House Plan Drafting 101 at http://houseplandrafting101.com. My name is Tim Davis and I created that course.
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( 2.9 / 91 )An electrical plan is a plan view similar to the floor plan in that all the walls, doors, and windows are shown along with the electrical symbols that describe service to the house. It also includes what is known as a legend which defines what each symbol represents.
There are several considerations that have to be made when drawing an electrical plan for a house. They are as follows:
The Meter and Service Box
The electrical meter is always on the exterior of the home. This is the location where power enters the house into the circuit box. The circuit box is located no more than twelve feet away from where the power enters the homes. From this location electricity is distributed to the individual rooms. The circuit box is usually located in a service area of a home like the utility room or kitchen. If the home has a basement, this is usually the preferred location for it to be placed.
Light Fixtures, Light Switches, and Receptacles
Light fixtures are usually placed in the middle of a room to allow even lighting throughout. Sometimes these are included in special fixtures like ceiling fans. When a fixture is placed in a large closet, it is usually mounted so that it is at least three feet from where the clothing is hung to insure against a fire from its heat. Exterior lighting should be waterproof in some way to eliminate the possibility of electrical short.
The light switches almost always are mounted next to a room entrance for convenience. When switching an exterior light, these are usually located inside near the exterior lights location.
Receptacles, also known as outlets are usually spaced every six feet in a room. This is to make sure that electrical cords do not have to be stretched far from the appliance they are powering. Some times a homeowner requests that the top half of a receptacle be controlled by a light switch to make turning off lamps simpler. Exterior receptacles and those inside the house within six feet of a water source like a sink are ground fault interrupt. This is to eliminate possible shock if shorted by water.
All of these are one hundred and twenty volt with a few exceptions and the amperage varies.
Smoke Detectors
These are required by code for fire safety. The must be located in each individual bedroom and also near each exit from the home. These are usually battery powered so that even if the power is out, they will still function.
Wiring Connections
These are usually drawn using a arched dashed line showing which switch controls what light or receptacle.
There are many more considerations like two twenty volt power for appliances such as the stove or electrical clothes dryer. You may also place special fixtures like phone jacks and cable tv connections on this plan.
About the Author
To learn more about drawing an electrical plan along with creating an entire set of house drawings, visit House Plan Drafting 101 at http://houseplandrafting101.com. My name is Tim Davis and I created that course.
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( 3 / 79 )The field of technical illustration known as architectural draftsmen or drafters are the specialists who draw the architectural and structural features of a building for new construction. These professionals may specialize in various types of building, like residential, structural, or commercial.
A major part of these people use a tool called a CAD or Computer Aided Drafting program to draw complete technical drawings of structures. In times past, before the advent of computers, a drafting board and its related equipment were used. Some still use these today.
The drafter usually starts creating a drawing from a sketch and lays out the floor plan with all walls, windows, and doors. The Floor Plan is the template for your entire set of drawings. From this plan they show where the owner or builder wants the electrical, show how big the rooms are, place dimensions to define the house, note the window and door sizes, etc. They could start with the exterior views but that would limit the interior of the home to the shape of the outside.
The next drawing to be created is the foundation or basement plan. In standard construction, houses are built on masonry foundations or basements. A foundation is the part of the home that anchors it to or keeps it from settling into the ground. Usually noted on the foundation or basement are the thickness of the walls, the locations of the joists or floor trusses, the locations of the piers or posts to hold up the floor along with the dimensions.
And then the exterior views or elevations are drawn which depict how the home will look from the outside once completed. This drawing includes the front, left, rear, and right views and sometimes a roof plan.
About the Author
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw house plans at http://houseplandrafting101.com. If you want to learn other types of drafting in a virtual classroom on the internet go to http://101info.org where House Plan Drafting 101 is included along with how to draw site plans, blueprint reading, mechanical drafting, and a whole lot more.
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( 3 / 80 )Learning to draw your own house plans is an idea that actually has merit. It can also save you a bunch money and eliminates the middle man. An architect or designers can get expensive. I've heard that some of these folks can charge up to ten dollars a square foot for basic drawings that contain nothing more than a floor plan, foundation, exterior elevations, and a few notes. Now that is a bunch of money. If you want to do it for yourself, you will need to know how. I have listed a few things that you will need to know to draw a simple home.
To start with, you need to understand how a Floor Plan is layed out. The floor plan is actually the basis for your entire set of drawings. It is from this plan where we define how large the over all house is, how large our rooms are, note our window and door sizes, and so on, and this is where we begin. You could start with the outside views, but that would limit the interior of the house to what the outside looks like. That is not a good idea! The house needs to be functional first and the we can deal with how the home looks on the outside after we have a layout.
Anyway, the home builder would probably appreciate knowing the dimensional locations of the walls, windows, & doors. They would also need to know what door and window sizes are, not to mention locations of anything else special that is on the plan. That's where the dimensions and notes come in handy. You will need to know how to create a dimensional string and group your notes where they are not confusing.
When you design the kitchen. you need to understand the mechanics of a well designed and workable cooking area. The kitchen is a place where the homemaker spends a great deal of their time. It needs to be easy to move around in and functional. The most desired layout for a kitchen is one where the least steps are taken to reach each appliance. They call this the working triangle. A comfortable working triangle is limited to 12 to 14 feet all the way around.
When creating an electrical plan, it is very important to you as this part of your drawings gives you the opportunity to customize the home with your electrical power and comfort needs! Sometimes however, it is not always needed. What I mean to say is that any professional electrician who has taken the test for his or her license knows what is required electrical service by code. It is possible that they have already wired quite a few residences and besides any special needs or preferences, can do the job without this particular plan. Always be careful though! Certain municipalities require that the one designing the electrical be a licensed architect or electrical engineer. Make sure that you check with your local building official to see what you are allowed or not allowed to do. It is better to know up front than to have extra headaches down the road.
In standard construction in the south eastern United States, houses are built on Masonry foundations or basements. A foundation is the part of the home that anchors or keeps the house from settling into the ground. You will need to know what the minimum wall thickness is and how to span your joists or trusses for the floor that sits on the basement of foundation.
What about how the exterior is going to look? It is a big deal if you are wanting to get the idea across of how the finished house is going to look when construction is complete. You will need to determine where the grade (ground) level is on the house so that you do not design a window or door where it would be underground. Dirt does not make a pretty view from a window. You will also have to determine the best roof pitch, do we use brick, siding or rock, and things like that.
Then, to keep the contractor from having to guess, if there is anything special you are wanting to place into your house, how will the builder know unless you show them? You can make all the notes you please on your plans and elevations, but the idea of how you want the house constructed may not always be crystal clear. That is why you need to know how to draw special details.
Then there is the job of finishing your drawings properly and not letting mistakes and slip-ups make it to the construction site. You will need to learn the most common mistakes made by drafters who draw house plans so you can look out for them! And then you will need to figure out how to print your drawings and in what format and size.
About the Author
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw house plans at http://houseplandrafting101.com. If you want to learn other types of drafting in a virtual classroom on the internet go to http://101info.org where House Plan Drafting 101 is included along with how to draw site plans, blueprint reading, mechanical drafting, and a whole lot more.
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