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Building Drawings

Building drawings provide essential information for constructing buildings and come in various types. Working drawings include detailed site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections and component drawings to specify all construction elements at appropriate scales. A set of working drawings submitted for approval must include specific minimum details for sites, floors, elevations and sections to ensure proper interpretation for construction.

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317 views

Building Drawings

Building drawings provide essential information for constructing buildings and come in various types. Working drawings include detailed site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections and component drawings to specify all construction elements at appropriate scales. A set of working drawings submitted for approval must include specific minimum details for sites, floors, elevations and sections to ensure proper interpretation for construction.

Uploaded by

OFOSU ANIM
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BUILDING DRAWINGS

A.

Introduction
Plans which provide builders with the information needed to construct buildings in which people live,
work and play are called architectural drawings.
The ability to read and interpret architectural drawings is essential to those in the building industry
such as carpenters, bricklayers, electricians and plumbers. It is also useful for workers in timber yards,
hardware and building supply stores.
In this course we will use the term building drawings instead of architectural drawings.

B.

Classification of drawings (Extracted from SABS 0143 1994)


Information about a project is normally given both on drawings and on written or printed sheets. To
facilitate the presentation and to enable information to be found quickly, a drawing is classified
according to the particular type of information to be communicated, and generally contains only that
information which is appropriate to its category. Do not give information in a drawing that could be
better included in a schedule, specification, or information sheet.
Sketch drawings
These are preliminary drawings, sketches, or diagrams that show the general intentions of the
designer. These drawings may be done freehand.

Design drawings
These are amplified sketch drawings by the designer that are sufficiently dimensioned and coordinated to enable contract documents to be prepared if required, and to enable other members of
the professional team concerned to complete their similar drawings. These drawings may be done
freehand.
Working drawings
These are made up of locality plans, site plans, and layout drawings (which are unique), and
component ranges, component details, and assembly drawings (which could be standardized).
Locality plan (Fig. 1)
A locality plan is a plan that identifies the site and locates the outline of a building in
relation to a town plan or other wider context.

Fig. 1

Site plan (Fig. 2)


A site plan is a plan that indicates the size and features of a site and locates the positions of
buildings in relation to them. It also contains other information required by the authority
concerned, e.g. building lines, etc.
Usually drawn to a scale of 1:500.

Fig. 2
Layout drawing (Fig. 3)
A layout drawing is a drawing (including plans, elevation, and sections) that shows the
positions in a building occupied by the various spaces; the general construction of the
building; the location of principal elements; the components.

Fig. 3
2

Component drawings:
a) Component range (Fig. 4)
This is a drawing that shows the basic sizes and the system of reference for a set of
components, e.g. windows, doors, etc.

W1

W2

W3

TIMBER WINDOW FRAME UNITS

Fig. 4
b) Component detail (Fig. 5)
This is a drawing that shows all the information necessary for the manufacture of a
component.

WINDOW FRAME UNIT SECTION A-A

Fig. 5

c) Assembly drawings (Fig. 6)


These are drawings that show in detail the construction of building, junctions in and
between elements, between elements and components, and between components.

Fig. 6
C.

Building plans
Once a design has been settled upon, the designer may now commence with full working drawings. At
this stage, the client will assist the designer by specifying what types of finishes will be required and
these will be included on the working drawings. Itemising even the smallest and most insignificant
item will reduce the margin of error when construction begins.
Final working drawings are extremely detailed and show elevations of the building from the north,
south, east and west. Drawings will include sections and roof layouts, as well as a detailed floor plan
with electrical and plumbing layouts. A comprehensive set of working drawings should be provided to
ensure that the contractor does not misinterpret plans.
Before any structure can be built, the drawings or plans of the proposed structure with all relevant
details must be submitted to the local authority for their approval. Plans are to be submitted for:
Any wall 1,5 m or higher
Drainage
Swimming pools
Any structure with a roof
Any structure (when built) which deviates from the original plan must be re-submitted.

Floor plan (Fig. 7)


The floor plan shows the house as it would look from above, without the roof.
Usually drawn to a scale of 1:100.

Fig. 7
Vertical sections (Fig. 8)
Vertical sections are used to show constructional details such as, roof construction, ceilings,
walls, floors, foundations, fillings, etc. Sections also show the height from the floor to the
ceiling, doors and windows in section, foundation walls and damp proof courses. It is usually
drawn to a scale of 1:100 or 1:50.

SECTION A-A

Fig. 8
Elevations (Fig. 9)
An elevation is a drawing of one side of a house. A house usually has four sides. Thus there are
four elevations which can be shown on the plan the front, back and end elevations. This is
usually enough to show what the building will look like. Fig. 9 shows two elevations of a
dwelling. The one is the north elevation (that will be the side facing north) and the other view is
the west elevation.
Elevation drawings show all the detail on the outside of a dwelling, like wall-finishing, door and
window sizes, pitch of the roof, gutters, downpipes, ground level, steps, etc.
Usually drawn to a scale of 1:100.

NORTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

Fig. 9
D.

Scales for different types of drawings


NOTE: The table is based on ISO 1047.

Type of drawing

Sketch drawings
Design drawings

Working drawings

Locality plan
Site plan
Layout drawing:
(Plans; sections and elevations)
Component drawings:
(Ranges; details; assembly)

Scale
Scales will vary but it is
recommended that preference
be given to scales below
1 : 1 000 or smaller
1 : 500
1 : 200
1 : 200
1 : 100
1 : 50
1 : 50
1:5
1 : 20
1:2
1 : 10
1:1

E.

Minimum requirements to be included on a set of working drawings:


Site plan
Scale
Stand number and surrounding stand numbers
Stand dimensions
North point
Building lines and servitudes
Distance from structure to stand boundaries
Existing and/or new drainage
Access to stand and surrounding road names
New and existing structures
Floor plan

Scale

All dimensions

Designation of all rooms tf

Correct colouring used

Section lines

Window schedules

Drainage layout

Work to be demolished
Elevations
Elevations named
Ground lines indicated
Drainage layout
Colour code
Exterior and interior finishes
Window and door openings
Sections
Scale
Colour code
Roof pitch
Foundation measurement
Damp proof course
Vertical heights and levels of floors relative to one another

F.

Bibliography
Grussendorff, L.J.W. 1997. Building Drawing N1. Lexicon Publishers
Alexander, K. South African Homes & Plans. EWA Publishing
SABS 0143. 1994. Building Drawing Practice. SABS

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