Drawing Extension and Dimension Lines

1. Use construction lines to lay out all exterior dimensions, including:
• Overall dimensions for each side of the house. These are placed the farthest away from the floorplan drawing.
• Dimensions from the exterior face of the house corner to the exterior face of walls which form major jogs in the floorplan. Note on the drawing in Fig. 16-9 that dimensions are place between the side of the house and major interior walls which run through the house.
• Dimension the exterior face of walls between the garage and the residence. This is done because the foundation walls for the house and those for the garage are often done separately. If there is no basement under the garage, the foundation does not have to go as deep.
• Dimension from the outside of an exterior wall or the center of an interior wall to the center of each door and window. The only exception is the garage door which is usually dimensioned on the foundation plan.

Adding Dimension Numerals to Dimension Lines

1. Dimensions on architectural drawings are placed above the dimension lines. There are no gaps for numerals as there are on mechanical drawings.
2. Dimension numerals should read from the bottom of the page for horizontal dimensions. Dimension numerals should read from the right side of the page for vertical dimensions.
3. All dimension numerals should be placed between guidelines 1/8" apart. The bottom of the numerals should be 1/16" above the dimension line. Letter all numerals within the guidelines as neatly as possible.
4. As you letter, place a clean sheet of paper under your hand to prevent smudging of the drawing.
5. Add arrowheads or slashes at the ends of dimension lines. This is your choice. Slashes are more often used than arrowheads. Only one style should be used on a drawing.
6. Add geometric shapes for identifying each window and door. In the sample drawings, a hexagon is used for doors and a circle is used for each window. See Fig. 16-7. Numbers and letters will be added after the door and window schedules are completed.

Notes

1. Draw 1/8" guidelines for lettering all notes. An 1/8" space should be left between each line of lettering.
2. Letter the notes. See Fig. 16-8.

Room Sizes

1. Draw 3/16" guidelines for labeling rooms and 1/8" guidelines for placing room sizes. Leave a 1/8" space between the room label and the size label
2. Letter the room names and sizes.
3. At the bottom of the drawing, and centered, place 1/4" guidelines and letter the label "MAIN FLOOR PLAN." Beneath this label, use 3/16" guidelines and label the scale of the drawing, i.e., "Scale: 1/4" = 1'-0"". See Figure 16-9.
4. Draw a symbol for NORTH in a location similar to that of Figure 16-9.

Material Symbols

1. Add any material symbols such as tile or stone using the rubbing templates. Wood grain may be used to represent hand rails, guard rails, and partial walls.
2. ON THE BACK OF THE DRAWING sheet, shade the exterior and interior walls. Make the shading uniformly dense. Do not shade without scratch paper under the drawing.