Architectural

Architectural Office
Office Practices
Practices and
and Standards
Standards

A Practical Guide to Documentation

and Project Management

VOLUME
VOLUME 33
Working Drawings Handbook

JNX Group, LLC • 165 South Hudson Street • Denver, Colorado 80246 • 720.231.0634 • info@[Link]
© Copyright 2003-2008
All Rights Reserved
AOPS
Architectural Office Practices and Standards

WORKING
DRAWINGS
HANDBOOK

Principal Author

Larry D. Jenks
JNX Group, LLC
Denver, Colorado

Working Drawings Handbook -- A primer for students and recent graduates to provide a crash
course in creating working drawings and in time management.

There are approximately 17,000 architectural firms across the U.S. and considerably more
world-wide; and approximately 86% of these firms have less than 10 employees. The Working
Drawings Handbook was written with these firms in mind. Our experience suggests that firms
like these may be the least likely to have the financial, human, or technical resources necessary
to produce an in-house guide to producing working drawings. Our goal was to make a ready-to-
use manual available to firms like these to enable them to focus their energies on creating
architecture.
ISBN 0-9754830-1-3 (print)
ISBN 0-9754830-3-X (CD-ROM)
Copyright © 2003-2007 by JNX Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of
America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data
base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of JNX Group, LLC.

This electronic manuscript was set in Arial by Larry Jenks.

Cover art by Meredith Bradford and Larry Jenks.
Published by the JNX Group, LLC, Denver, Colorado

Information contained in this work has been obtained by JNX Group, LLC from sources
believed to be reliable. However, neither JNX Group, LLC nor its authors guarantee the
accuracy or completeness of any information published herein and neither JNX Group,
LLC nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising
out of use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that JNX
Group, LLC and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render
engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance
of the appropriate professional should be sought.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................I
Table of Figures .................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... IV
FOREWORD ............................................................................................................ V
PREFACE ............................................................................................................... VII
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... VIII
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... X
CHAPTER 1 -- WORKING DRAWINGS................................................................15
Contract Documents............................................................................................15
Drawing, Checking, and Management Responsibilities ...................................19
Record Keeping ...................................................................................................19
Manual Drawing versus Computer Aided Drafting ............................................21
Drafting Quality ....................................................................................................21
Sheet Composition and Organization ................................................................21
Lineweight Hierarchy ...........................................................................................22
Model or Object-Based Computer Aided Design/Drafting ................................23
Revisions..............................................................................................................24
Spelling.................................................................................................................24
Managing Your Time ...........................................................................................25
Cross-Referencing...............................................................................................28
Schedules ............................................................................................................29
Finish Schedules .................................................................................................30
Details...................................................................................................................30
Detail Libraries .....................................................................................................31
Starting Point Drawings.......................................................................................33
Field Verification Guidelines ...............................................................................33
Photo-Drafting......................................................................................................36
Drawing Organization — Cartooning .................................................................38
Drawing Organization — Sheet Design .............................................................40
Drawing Organization — Drawing Identification................................................41
CHAPTER 3 -- INTERIORS DRAWING SHEET STANDARDS ..........................46
CHAPTER 4 -- SPECIFYING TECHNIQUES .......................................................48
Descriptive Specifications ...................................................................................48
Performance Specifications ................................................................................48
Reference Standards ..........................................................................................48
Proprietary Specifications ...................................................................................49
CHAPTER 5 -- ABBREVIATIONS..........................................................................50
CHAPTER 6 -- TERMINOLOGY ............................................................................52
CHAPTER 7 -- STANDARD SYMBOLS ................................................................54
Reference Symbols .............................................................................................55
Materials Symbols ...............................................................................................58
Identity Symbols ..................................................................................................60
Line Symbols .......................................................................................................61
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 Text & Template Symbols ...................................................................................62
CHAPTER 8 -- STANDARD PRACTICE ...............................................................63
Redundancy .........................................................................................................63
Dimensioning .......................................................................................................64
Masonry and Coursing Dimensions ...................................................................68
Drawing Hierarchies ............................................................................................70
Hierarchical Organization....................................................................................71
CHAPTER 9 -- NOTATION & KEYED NOTATION ..............................................74
CHAPTER 10 -- STANDARD MOUNTING HEIGHTS..........................................78
CHAPTER 11 -- GENERAL NOTES......................................................................80
Floor Plans ...........................................................................................................80
Wall Sections .......................................................................................................82
Reflected Ceiling Plans .......................................................................................83
Roof Plans............................................................................................................84
CHAPTER 12 -- REMODEL PROJECTS ..............................................................85
General Notes for Renovation Construction......................................................86
CHAPTER 13 -- COORDINATING NOTES WITH YOUR DRAWINGS AND
SPECS .....................................................................................................................90
General Rules and Requirements ......................................................................90
Types of Notes.....................................................................................................90
Steps in Writing Notes.........................................................................................90
Proper Terminology .............................................................................................91
Using Keyed Notation..........................................................................................91
System Notation ..................................................................................................92
Abbreviations .......................................................................................................92
Drawing Composition ..........................................................................................92
CHAPTER 14 -- CREATING THE REDLINE/CHECK SET..................................94
CHAPTER 15 -- WORKING DRAWINGS DOS AND DON’TS ............................97
CHAPTER 16 – WORK PLANS AND CHECKLISTS FOR TYPICAL DRAWING
TYPES....................................................................................................................105
Hyperlinks to Drafting Conventions, Work Plans and Drawing Checklists for
Various Drawing Types .....................................................................................105
INDEX ....................................................................................................................107

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Table of Figures
CSI Specification Divisions .....................................................................................15
MasterFormat 2004 .................................................................................................16
Facilities Services Subgroup...........................................................................16
Site and Infrastructure Subgroup....................................................................17
Process Equipment Subgroup ........................................................................17
Traditional Design and Documentation Sequence ...............................................18
Schematic Design ...................................................................................................18
Sample Table of Contents for the Typical Project Notebook ...............................20
Approximate Percentages of Net Architectural Fee Required For Working
Drawings Activities...........................................................................................25
Estimated Allocation of Fees for Working Drawings.............................................26
Estimated Breakdown of Drawing Tasks ...............................................................27
Detail Libraries.........................................................................................................31
Suggested Detail Library Categories .....................................................................32
Example of the Use of Photo-Drafting ...................................................................37
Discipline Designations ...........................................................................................42
Sheet Type Designation..........................................................................................43
Small Project Organization .....................................................................................44
Standard Mounting Heights ....................................................................................78
Standard Toilet Room Fixture Mounting Heights: .................................................79
Typical Hollow Metal Frame Installation ..............................................................102
Typical Furring Channel Installation.....................................................................103
Bars, Tubes, Rods and Pipe.................................................................................103

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This manual was created as a supplement to the Architectural Office

Practices and Standards (A O P S) Manual published by the JNX Group,
LLC. The original chapters of both manuals were published by McGraw-Hill
in 1995 under the name Architectural Office Standards and Practices: A
Practical Users Guide. During that period, the working title for the manual
was Office Practices and User Standards ( O P U S). It was produced as a
result of the efforts of the Office Practice Committee of the Denver Chapter
of the American Institute of Architects. The Committee met regularly during
the period from 1989 through 1994.

Parts of many sections of this manual were authored during the 20 years I
spent with Klipp Colussy Jenks DuBois Architects, P.C., in Denver,
Colorado. I want to acknowledge their support of these efforts.

The following individuals made contributions to the original Architectural

Office Standards and Practices: A Practical User’s Guide that was
published by McGraw-Hill:

Editor, AIA /Denver Office Practice Committee Chairman and Principal

Author
Larry D. Jenks

Contributing Authors
Bruce Bollenbach Laurie Jessen
Mark McClelland Ben Wilking
Eric Bartczak Curt Dale
Cornelius R. (Kin) DuBois L. Brand Gould
David Lay Joe Levi
Jeff von Breitenfeld

Creative and Technical Consultants

Marianne Garehime Warren Lange
John Maus Elizabeth Rehfeld
Lance Sherwood Maureen Troy

Graphics and Drawings

Bill Campbell Mark Carvalho
Mark McClelland Lance Sherwood
Ben Wilking

AOPS Logo Design -- Meredith Bradford

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Acknowledgements
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FOREWORD
by Fred Stitt

Production of working drawings is the most time-consuming part of

architectural design services.
 It’s the most expensive part of design service.
 It requires the most office space, resources, labor, and supervisory time.
 And it’s the phase of design most fraught with liability risks.
From that perspective, you would expect the subject to receive lots of
respectful attention by professionals and educators. And, as everybody
knows, it doesn’t.
Last year I reviewed a list of the skills that the National Architectural
Accrediting Board expected schools to convey to students. I could not find the
words “drafting,” “production,” or “working drawings” anywhere. No surprise:
You won’t find such subjects taught in most institutions of higher architectural
education.
So how are people supposed to learn it?
On the job.

From whom?
From bosses and supervisors who are too busy getting their own work done to
offer anything resembling systematic training or formal education.
So employees just have to sort of “pick it up.” And they do. Pretty much.
With this piecemeal approach to technical education, it’s a wonder that things
aren’t much worse.
How bad is it?
The average sheet of working drawings has from four to six major coordination
errors. Almost every year, one out of four insured design firms suffers claims
for errors or omissions. Contractors are now trained how to seek out and
charge extra costs from errors in working drawings — a profit center for them.
Building failures, big and small, are epidemic across the United States, and
most of those building failures are traceable to flawed documents.

The seeds for all this were planted in the 50s and 60s with a movement to
“professionalize” architectural education. That meant middle-class and upper-
class kids would go to the university and become designers, managers, and
licensed professionals. Working-class kids would go to technical schools and
become drafters, spec writers, and construction contract administrators. That
meant the end of any vestige of prestige or respect for the “technical” side of
practice. It was not to be something that “better” people did or thought about.
It was a dumb idea and Fascist to boot, but it became the unwritten law of the
land. Now we pay the price.

The price is too high and the profession must change.

How does change start? What do we do first?

What will be done about it is that the nation’s most concerned professionals will
start to pull together to make up for the deficiencies of the schools. They’ll
create reference manuals like this one — Architectural Office Standards and
Practices — which is a major effort towards creating a ready-made production
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Foreword
A O P S
© 2003 - 2008
management manual that most offices can use as is. They’ll set new
standards for enlightened education and ongoing training of design
professionals.
Larry Jenks and the fine professionals he has brought together have
assembled solid, practical, much needed information on production standards.
And more important, they’ve provided great information on how to cut drudgery
and eliminate some of the more absurd timewasters in working drawing
production.

You’ll find this Architectural Office Standards and Practices manual to be

enormously beneficial to your office and I endorse it wholeheartedly. I see it as
an important step toward larger, long-overdue reform throughout the
profession.

Fred Stitt, Editor/Publisher, Guidelines. Director, San Francisco Institute of Architecture.

Author of Production Systems for Architects and Designers, The Architect’s Detail Library,
Architect’s Room Design Data Handbook, Design Office Handbook, and other related books,
manuals, and newsletters.

This foreword is from the original edition of “Architectural Office Standards and Practices: A
Practical Users Guide”.

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PREFACE
Our objective in issuing this revised addition of the OPUS Manual is twofold.
First, we are building on experience gained in project management, design
documentation, and construction document production. Over the last eight
years we have moved almost exclusively into the realm of computer aided
drafting and we have come to understand the pitfalls and benefits of relying on
this technology. We have a better understanding of the limits of the computer
and the limits of the draftsperson using it. The procedures and processes that
follow utilize the computer realistically in a document production mode.
Secondly we are providing many new subject areas of document production
that need explanation and definition. Much of what was written in the original
OPUS manual is still valid today and is expanded upon in this updated version.
We have had to adapt to changing economic conditions, which have led to
developing methods of producing documentation that reflect periodic labor
shortages and the experience levels of recent graduates. We feel that the
production concepts that follow reflect a better understanding of the process of
communicating our designs to a contractor, in good times or bad.
Concepts
 Procedures must be easy to check. Errors must stand out vividly and in
so doing they can be caught more readily. The use of mental crutches and
rules of thumb are encouraged so that the “out of the ordinary” becomes
questioned. We accept that errors will occur and are trying to make them
easy to spot and correct before the document is issued for construction.
 Know your audience. The people that will use your documents, your
audience, are for the most part graduates of short night school courses on
“How to Read Blueprints”. They are not trained in sophisticated graphic
design or three-dimensional thinking. You will have to be specific as to
exactly what it is you want them to build using procedures that they are
familiar with and can recognize, in order to avoid change orders and
compromising your design.
 Procedures must be simple and easy to use. Complicated systems of
explaining your design invite muddled interpretations, errors, laziness, and a
pass the buck mentality. Complicated systems that are hard to read and
understand without a concentrated effort, will lead to ignoring the
documents, assumptions, and change orders.
 Procedures should be standardized. You won’t get very far speaking
English while traveling in France. The French prefer that you use their
language if you wish to communicate with them. The same holds true for
Construction Documents. If you want a contractor to build your design, you
will need to communicate your ideas to him in a language that he
understands. The Uniform Drawing System, developed by the Construction
Specifications Institute is one such standard language, having been created
in part by input from Contractors.

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REFERENCES
 A Manual of Construction Documentation, Glenn Wiggins, 1989, Whitney
Library of Design.
th
 Architectural Graphic Standards 9 Edition, John Ray Hoke, 1994, Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
 Architectural Office Standards and Practices: A Practical Users Guide,
Larry Jenks, 1995, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
 ASHRAE Handbook – Fundamentals, American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), 1997, Atlanta, GA
 AutoCAD Conventions For Architects, Frederick Jules, 1997, Autodesk
Press.
 ConDoc, The New System for Formatting and Integrating Construction
Documentation, Onkal K. Guzey and James Freehof, 1990, The American
Institute of Architects.
 Guide to Production Procedures, Honolulu Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects, 1990.
 NAWIC Construction Dictionary, the National Association of Women in
Construction, 1989, Phoenix, AZ.
 Production Systems For Architects and Designers, Fred A. Stitt, 1994,
Van Nostrand Reinhold.
 Reading Construction Drawings, Paul I. Wallach, 1981, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
 Recommended Standards on Production Procedures, Committee on
Production Office Procedures, 1974, Northern California Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects (The POP Manual).
 Systems Drafting, Fred A. Stitt, 1980, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
 The Professional Handbook of Architectural Working Drawings,
Richard M. Linde/Osamu A. Wakita, 1984, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 The Professional Practice of Architectural Working Drawings, Richard
M. Linde/Osamu A. Wakita, 1984, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 The Uniform Drawing System, Construction Specifications Institute, 1999,
Alexandria, VA.
 Time-Saving Techniques for Architectural Construction Drawings, Fred
Nashed, 1993, Van Nostrand Reinhold.
 Tri-services: Part Two – A/E/C CADD Standards, Tri-Service CADD/GIS
Technology Center, 1995, U.S. Army Engineers.
 Uniform Drawing Format Manual, Fred Stitt, 1999, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
 Working Drawing Manual, Fred Stitt, 1998, McGraw-Hill, Inc.

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Methodology
 Read through these Guidelines and understand why, out of the many ways of
doing things that we had to choose from, these processes were included in
the AOPS Manual.
 Evaluate these Guidelines based upon the concepts of:
 Being able to spot errors.
 Being a familiar system to the contractor.
 Simplicity and ease of use.
 An accepted, industry wide recognized way of doing things.
Your input is welcome. These Guidelines should be questioned and evaluated
over the years. A form is provided for suggesting change.

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INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The purpose of this manual is several-fold. We conceived it to serve as:

 A reference for the preparation and development of working drawings in a

1
typical size and type of architectural practice
There are approximately 17,000 architectural firms nation-wide, and
approximately 86% of these firms have less than 10 employees. The
AOPS Manual was written with these firms specifically in mind. It has
been our feeling (corroborated through our individual experience) that
these are the firms least likely to have the financial or human resources
necessary to produce an in-house manual of standard practices,
procedures, and conventions. Indeed, we have found it to be uncommon
for the individuals in these firms to even think about many of the issues
our manual was conceived to address. We wanted to make a ready-to-
use manual available to these firms so they could focus their energy on
creating architecture.
There are many procedures, functions, and activities that are routinely
performed in architectural offices. Some of these procedures are
performed in the course of creating a set of working drawings, and others
are performed as part of the routine tasks associated with managing and
administrating an architectural office. Yet, the technical and
administrative aspects of practice have not been addressed
comprehensively in the technical literature. Historically, that has meant
that firms which were interested in organizing these aspects of their
practices had to scour the scattered sources for this kind of information,
or reinvent it themselves. Most architects are not trained to do this sort of
thing, and may not have the skills to do it well. A typical architectural firm
probably has less than 10 employees. These firms do not typically have
the human or financial resources to put standard production,
management, or administrative procedures into place in their offices,
although most would agree that it would be a valuable thing to do.
Moreover, these kinds of issues are not seriously addressed in the
college education that architects receive. Neither are they the kinds of
issues that architects typically feel compelled to convey to younger
members of their firms. Folks who are new to the profession are left to
their own devices to acquire the information; and they usually end up
acquiring it in an unstructured way, without really understanding what
certain procedures are for, or why they are performed in the manner and
sequence that they are.
The A O P S Manual – Workings Drawings Student Edition was written
with those people in mind.

1
The policies, information, procedures and forms that appear in this manual were prepared for an
imaginary office. Hopefully, your office will bear enough resemblance to this imaginary office that you
will be able to use many of them just as they are. If you do not already have a policy or procedure for
something included here, consider adopting the one shown. Where necessary, modify the language
so that it reflects the actual conditions or methodology of your office.

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 2
 A drafting room manual
We believe there is an ever-widening gap between the theoretical
education most architecture students receive, and the practical
knowledge they need to be productive, contributing members of the
architectural profession. College and university curricula seem to be
slanted heavily toward design, and have not provided a balance in the
3
technical areas. The AOPS Manual can be used as a reference in any
office that seeks to introduce new staff to the manner in which things are
done in the real world, and is (hopefully) a step towards standardizing the
way architects perform those things which can and should be
standardized.
 An advanced guide and textbook for architecture and interior design students
In the Foreword to the AOPS Manual, Fred Stitt cites a shift in
architectural education away from the technical and towards the
conceptual. He says a rift has developed since the late 1950s and early
‘60s between the professional class of student, who become designers,
and the working class of student, who become drafters. To associate with
those technical aspects of architectural practice was to denigrate one’s
self in the eyes of family and peers. Because of this, architecture schools
have drifted away from emphasizing technical matters. Nevertheless,
students must become educated in these kinds of issues. The result is
that students must learn on the job, yet the resources available to
accomplish this are extremely limited. We have created the AOPS
Manual to fill this niche.
Typical Project Team
The project design team in the imaginary office we have conjured up is fairly
typical of the sort of team that might be required for a small to medium-sized
project. Our experience lies primarily in non-residential building types, but
there is no reason why the standards proposed here could not be effectively
integrated into a practice that focuses on residential projects.

Our imaginary design team consists of the following:

Architect
 Principal-in-Charge
 Project Manager or Project Architect
 Job Captain or Project Captain
 Two or more drafters
 One or more support staff

The roles of each of these team members is described fully in the Job
Descriptions included in the Appendix.

2
I dislike the terms “production” and “drafting” because I believe they marginalize the design work
still required at the working drawings phase of documentation. There is a great deal of design
required for every detail of a building if the overall design is to be successful. My goal is to
emphasize the importance of design at all levels of the project team, and for no member of the team
to consider what he or she does to be “merely drafting.”

3
We’re not saying that this is a bad thing. Obviously, there is no other practical way for students to
learn design theory and philosophy. However, there is a major part of typical architectural practice
(technical documentation) that is not generally addressed effectively in the academic arena.

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 Civil engineering consultant (due to pressure from liability insurance
carriers, the civil engineers may actually be under contract with the owner,
rather than the architect; nevertheless, the working relationship between
the two remains essentially that of architect/consultant, as if the
contractual relationship was between those two entities).
Landscape Architect
Structural engineering consultant
Mechanical engineering consultant
Electrical engineering consultant

The importance of an accepted, industry-wide recognized way of doing

things

This book is about communication.

Its premise is that all completed architectural works, whether “good” or “bad”
in terms of design, whether socially responsible or irresponsible, whether
complex or simple in their content — each and every one must first be
effectively communicated to contractors, masons, steel erectors, plasterers,
painters, and suppliers before they can ever begin to communicate on a
more significant, philosophical level. If we ever hope to see our designs
realized, we must clearly, completely, competently and consistently explain
precisely what it is we want done.

The original A O P S Manual makes certain assumptions about the level of

experience of its readers and users. It is comprehensive and extensive, and
much of its contents seem to be beyond the scope of what architectural
students and interns/apprentices can be expected to learn in a semester of
office practice or working drawings studies. This manual was conceived as
an introduction to working drawings for architectural students and
interns/apprentices who have a basic understanding of the elements of
orthographic projection, and the types of drawings architects use to convey
ideas using two-dimensional media. It is my fantasy that this manual will
become a standard drafting room manual throughout the country.

One of the reasons why I wrote this manual was my belief in a movement
towards national standards. The CSI has made major strides forward in this
regard (in its CSI Uniform Drawing System -- UDS) by consolidating and
publishing many standards that have widely used historically throughout
architectural practices everywhere. Many of these standards have been
provided in Architectural Graphic Standards for many years, as well as a
number of other industry-related publications. The UDS is an excellent
resource for a comprehensive listing of many architectural and engineering
office drawing standards; however, it is very expensive, and not generally
accessible by the typical student. Yet this information must be available if a
national standard is to be achieved. What we are attempting to do is to make
architectural drawing standards which have become commonplace over time,
and are in the public domain in disparate locations, available to students and
interns/apprentices. The focus of this manual is architects, and for that

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 reason, it does not include many of the UDS symbols (pages upon pages)
which are used primarily, if not exclusively, by engineering offices.

This book is about how we can prepare our construction contract documents
in a manner that will facilitate both communication and construction. It is
about how we can improve, even streamline, the way we prepare
construction drawings, and the ways in which others use them.
Standardization of working drawing methodologies and processes
What we hope to achieve through this book is a standardized, consistent
method or language for communicating. Each chapter focuses on a specific
area of communication. Some chapters are very, very specific in their scope
and very literal in their application. Others are more broad and address
matters of overall drawing organization. While assisting our fellow
professionals in attaining a higher level of consistency within any given set of
construction documents or within a particular firm was clearly one of our
initial goals, our broader goal is to establish an expanded level of consistency
among design firms everywhere.

After all, we rely on the same universe of contractors to execute designs.

There is simply no rational explanation for why these contractors should have
to figure out each architect’s unique way of communicating the same kinds of
information, done under the guise of improving upon the ways of our
predecessors, or (worse yet) to demonstrate the creative spirit that drives us
all. Further, given the up and down nature of business and the seeming
propensity for major projects to go on “hold,” or conversely spring up
overnight, there is a great deal of fluidity in terms of staff flowing from one
excellent design firm to another. There is no rational explanation for why
each new staff member should have to learn two or ten different ways of
accomplishing the same things in different offices. So, there are many good
reasons to seek standardization.
Coordination with the CSI Uniform Drawing System
As I mentioned above, we are absolutely committed to a standardized
national system of preparing and developing a set of working drawings. For
that reason, we have embraced whole-heartedly the CSI Uniform Drawing
System (UDS), copyright 1999. Wherever we disagree with the UDS but there
was no studied or considered reason to depart, we have proposed whatever
standard the UDS has shown. On a few rare instances, we have discovered
some places where we believe the UDS should have given more
consideration to something. In those cases, we have provided both the UDS
standard, a proposed AOPS standard, and the reason why we think a
departure from the UDS standard should be considered. That way, you can
decide for yourself whether you prefer the UDS standard or a different one.

Disclaimer
“Standard of Care” is a legal concept used to help determine the outcomes of
lawsuits in local jurisdictions all over the country. The practice of architecture
is going to look different in Manhattan, New York than it does in Manhattan,
Louisiana. That is as it should be. It is not the intent of this manual to present
its ideas as representing a standard of care that should be used in all
practices in all parts of the country. On the contrary, our intention is to present
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our ideas as a point of departure so that interested firms do not have to start
at ground zero to prepare a manual that ser4ves its particular needs. Of
course, we would not be disappointed if some firms elected to use it verbatim.

The drawings and other information contained in this manual were obtained
from a variety of sources, including professional architects, architectural firms,
construction general contractors or firms, and the like. The author and the
publisher have made every reasonable effort to assure that this reference
work is accurate and authoritative, but do not warrant, and assume no liability
for, the accuracy or completeness of the text or ideas contained herein, and
cannot warrant its fitness for any particular purpose. It is the responsibility of
the users to apply their professional knowledge in the use of the information
contained in this manual, to consult other sources for additional information
when appropriate, and (if they themselves are not professional architects) to
consult an architect when appropriate.

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CHAPTER 1 -- WORKING DRAWINGS
Our objective in preparing a set of working drawings is to effectively
communicate our virtual design to someone who can convert it into something
real. To do this, we have to be able to effectively communicate our ideas to
contractors, masons, steel erectors, plasterers, painters, suppliers, and more.
Over the years, a graphic language and documentation systems have evolved to
4
help us communicate three-dimensional designs using two-dimensional media.
It is our goal with this manual to share some of these systems and graphic
language to those who wish to learn them in as quick and as succinct a manner
as possible.

Contract Documents
The Working Drawings are part of the Contract Documents, which consist of the
agreement between the owner and the contractor, the conditions of the contract,
drawings, specifications, addenda, other documents listed in the agreement,
and modifications (change orders, construction change directives, and written
orders for minor changes in the work issued by the architect). The invitation to
bid, instructions to bidders, and bid forms are not part of the contract
documents.
In preparing a set of working drawings, it is imperative to understand the
relationship between the drawings and the specifications, and for that
understanding to be evident in your work.
In the simplest terms, the drawings are quantitative (they show sizes,
dimensions, shapes, relationships, dimensions, etc.) and the specifications are
qualitative (they indicate the required qualities of each product, material, and
installation).
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) has developed a 16-Division
specifications system (called the MasterFormat) to govern where each
construction system, assembly, product and material is to be described. Those
16 Divisions are as follows:
5
CSI Specification Divisions
Division 0 – Bidding Requirements, Contract Forms, and Conditions of the
Contract
Division 1 – General Requirements
Division 2 – Sitework
Division 3 – Concrete
Division 4 – Masonry
Division 5 – Metals
Division 6 – Wood and Plastics
Division 7 – Thermal and Moisture Protection
Division 8 – Doors and Windows
Division 9 – Finishes
Division 10 – Specialties

4
See the later section in this Manual about object or model-based design versus traditional 2D CAD
5
CSI MasterFormat, © 1983, Fourth Printing, March 1986, The Construction Specifications
Institute, 601 Madison Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

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Division 11 – Equipment
Division 12 – Furnishings
Division 13 – Special Construction
Division 14 – Conveying Systems
Division 15 – Mechanical
Division 16 -- Electrical

Each of these divisions is further sub-divided into what the CSI refers to as
Level 2 categories, and again into Level 3 categories. You should acquire a
copy of the CSI MasterFormat and become familiar with the Divisions, Level 2
and Level 3 categories, and the nomenclature used for describing various
systems, materials, and products. It is beyond the scope of this manual to re-
state that information here.
6
MasterFormat 2004
The CSI developed a new MasterFormat, which was released in 2004, and
which now supersedes the previous editions. The first 14 divisions remain
essentially the same; the major changes occur in Divisions 15 thru 48. A quick
reference of these divisions is as follows:

Division 00 – Procurement and Contracting Requirements

Division 01 – General Requirements
Division 02 – Existing Conditions
Division 03 – Concrete
Division 04 – Masonry
Division 05 – Metals
Division 06 – Wood, Plastics, and Composites
Division 07 – Thermal and Moisture Protection
Division 08 – Openings
Division 09 – Finishes
Division 10 – Specialties
Division 11 – Equipment
Division 12 – Furnishings
Division 13 – Special Construction
Division 14 – Conveying Equipment

Division 15 – Reserved; Mechanical Division 15 has been reserved for future

expansion and material has been relocated to Division 22 – Plumbing and
Division 23 – Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning in the Facility Services
Subgroup.

Division 16 – Reserved; Electrical Division 16 has been reserved for future

expansion and material has been relocated to Divisions 26 – Electrical and 27 –
Communications in the Facility Services Subgroup.

Facilities Services Subgroup

Division 21 – Fire Suppression
Division 22 – Plumbing

6
The Construction Specifications Institute web site

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Division 23 – Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning
Division 25 – Integrated Automation
Division 26 – Electrical
Division 27 – Communications
Division 28 – Electronic Safety and Security

Site and Infrastructure Subgroup

Division 31 – Earthwork
Division 32 – Exterior Improvements
Division 33 – Utilities
Division 34 – Transportation
Division 35 – Waterway and Marine

Process Equipment Subgroup

Division 40 -- Process Integration
Division 41 – Material Processing and Handling Equipment
Division 42 – Process Heating, Cooling, and Drying Equipment
Division 43 – Process Gas and Liquid Handling, Purification and Storage
Equipment
Division 44 – Pollution Control Equipment
Division 45 – Industry-Specific Manufacturing Equipment
Division 46 – Solid Waste Equipment
Division 48 – Electrical Power Generation

It is, regrettably, fairly common in architectural offices for the drawings and
specifications to be poorly coordinated. Moreover, it is inevitable that something
will change during the process of drawing the drawings or writing the
specifications. If your drawing notes duplicate something that is more
appropriately covered in the specs, you are more than likely to have a
coordination issue when it changes one place and not the other.

An example of how drawing notes should be written so as not to duplicate or

contradict the specifications is as follows:

09250 – GYPSUM BOARD; 5/8” Type X

Not…

09250 – GYPSUM BOARD; 5/8” Type X. Screw to metal stud backup

using metal drywall screws at 8” O.C. Max. Mud and tape. Sand
smooth.

See the section on Notation later in this manual for an explanation of the use of
the new 6-digit CSI section number.

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Traditional Design and Documentation Sequence
The traditional design and documentation sequence usually looks something like
this:
1. Pre-Design (includes Programming)
2. Concept Design
3. Schematic Design
4. Design Development
5. Working Drawings and Specifications

If the work of each step in the progression of the drawings is done properly, the
design will be fairly well developed by the time you begin your working drawings.
It is important to understand this progression because key decisions you have to
make in the working drawings stage are dependent upon what you know about
the building at that time, all of which is generally established during the earlier
stages.

Pre-Design
The drawings required for this stage would include bubble diagrams, and
blocking and stacking diagrams.

Concept Design
This stage translates the blocking and stacking diagrams into rudimentary floor
plans, a typical building section or two, and exterior building elevations to show
what the building will look like.

Schematic Design
Schematic level reflected ceiling plans are typically added at this stage, and the
concept drawings are further developed to include preliminary drawings (or
perhaps narratives describing the design) from each of the consultants. Each
consultant should be given a budget for his/her discipline, and then should be
required to provide a design that can be built within the budget.

Click here for a link to the

Schematic Design Checklist

Design Development
Many firms begin the working drawings for any given project at this stage. Since
improper use of the Design Development (DD) stage can result in considerable
redrawing, this is a decision that should be made based on the complexity of the
project, the preferences of the office you are in, and a host of other criteria. You
should become familiar with the following Design Development Guidelines to
make sure your time is spent primarily developing the DESIGN, as opposed to
developing the DRAWINGS (a very common foible).

In addition to all of the drawings created for the Schematic Design stage, the
Design Development drawings will also typically include wall section studies,

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possibly composed from detail studies done freehand, in pencil. It is important at
the DD stage to do pencil sketch studies to understand the design thoroughly
before spending too much time drawing parts of the building that may have to
change.

Click here for a link to

Design Development Guidelines

Working Drawings
This is the stage where every aspect of the design is documented. Every
condition must be considered and drawn. If you are careful and thoughtful
enough, you can simplify the building while you do this. It would not be
uncommon to see a SD design that had perhaps 45 different wall construction
conditions, or 250 doors. If you can simplify the design without losing its
essential character by reducing the number of wall sections to 20, you will have
a great deal more time to spend working out essential details.

Drawing, Checking, and Management Responsibilities

The project design team is very much like a football team or a baseball team.
Each member of the team has specific responsibilities that go along with the
position. These responsibilities are described in a general way in the Job
Descriptions presented earlier. In order to organize these responsibilities and
minimize the danger of something being overlooked, the following
Responsibilities Matrix may be helpful.

Click here for a link to

Responsibilities Matrix

Record Keeping
Project Notebook and Project Files

It really is imperative to keep all project information organized in a manner that

allows you or other members of our imaginary team to find and retrieve
whatever piece of information you may need. Most files created in the architect’s
office are created electronically and should be filed in an electronic project
directory. However, the “paperless office” is further from reality now than it was
in the last days of the typewriter. So, a corresponding paper filing system is also
a necessity. For a suggested filing system (both electronic and paper), see the
following project file tree structure.

Click here for a link to

Project File Tree Structure

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If you look carefully at this file tree structure, you will see that it is organized
hierarchically. It is set up this way to allow maximum flexibility to be adapted for
most project sizes. For smaller or less complex projects, perhaps only the first or
second levels of the structure will be necessary. Perhaps some categories
require more levels and others don’t. and if you find you need more of a
breakdown after you get into a project, the system lends itself very well to that.
But don’t feel compelled to use all categories from the very beginning; keep the
filing system as simple and as straightforward as the project will allow.

Different offices handle record keeping differently, so make sure you understand
the preferences of the office you are in. Some offices allow Project Managers to
keep project files in a notebook at their desks. Others insist on having all original
files in the firm’s central filing cabinets, and this is what we would recommend.
Copies of any files the team needs can easily be made and placed in a Project
Notebook for ready reference. Often, other members of the team will also need
copies of certain kinds of information at their desks. To facilitate routing and
distribution of this information, you can use the following Routing and
Distribution matrix.

Click here for a link to

Routing and Distribution Matrix

Sample Table of Contents for the Typical Project Notebook

A sample Table of Contents for the typical Project Notebook might be as follows:

Telephone Log
Project Communications and Transmittals
a Owner
b Consultants
• Civil
• Landscape
• Structural
• HVAC
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• (others as required, such as Acoustical, Elevator, Food Service, etc.)
c Contractor
d Authorities Having Jurisdiction (Governing Agencies)
• Zoning/Planning
• Building
• Fire
Project Management
e Fee
f Budget and Cost Estimates
g Schedule
h Production organization
Meeting Minutes
i Owner

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 j Consultants
k Contractor
l Authorities Having Jurisdiction
Architectural Design Data
Program Requirements
Specifications

Separate notebooks should be set up for Bidding/Negotiation and for Contract

Administration.

Manual Drawing versus Computer Aided Drafting

There are many tools available to you today to help you communicate your
ideas to others. Some are manual and some computerized. The list of manual
tools includes:

 Pencils (mechanical and wooden)

 Pens and ink
 Colored markers
 Colored pencils
 Watercolor paints

The list of computer software includes programs such as:

 FormZ
 AutoCAD, ArchiCAD and a host of others
 3D Studio
 Sketchup
 PhotoShop
 The list goes on…

It is incumbent upon you as you pursue a career path in architecture, to learn

these tools and become facile with them. Your choice of tools should be based
on what is appropriate for the task at hand, rather than what tools you know how
to use.

For example, in the creation of working drawings, technical design studies need
to be made for all aspects of the building, particularly at the detail level. These
studies should be executed in pencil for several reasons. First, it should be fast
for you to sketch in pencil. If you can sketch faster on the computer than you can
in pencil, it is only because you haven’t honed your manual skills with a pencil.
You should be able to do pencil sketches at least twice as fast (if not three times
as fast) as a computer sketch. Also, pencil sketches can be erased and revised,
and revisions are an inevitability. There is a time and a place for each of the
other tools… make sure you know what they are.
Drafting Quality
Sheet Composition and Organization
It is often said (because it is true) that our drawings are not ends in themselves,
but only a means to an end (the “end” being the constructed building). Our

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working drawings don’t need to be works of art. But too many times, this
becomes an excuse for not organizing our drawings well, or not drawing them in
a manner that reveals an underlying aesthetic sense. The same rules of
composition that apply to the printed page also apply to a sheet of working
drawings. Your drawings should be laid out according to an unseen grid, just like
a page from your brochure. Where the opportunities exist to do so, you should
make things line up. You should consider the judicious use of white space. Your
sheet should be organized to communicate on several different levels by using a
hierarchy of type styles and line weights.

Type Styles
You can create different levels of emphasis using the variables available to
us in choosing the lettering for our drawings. We can vary the height and
width of the letters, and the boldness or lightness of the pen stroke used to
make those letters. We can also vary the kerning (the space between the
letters) to make the words condensed or expanded. And the computer now
allows us to use various combinations of upper and lower case lettering very
easily.

A good type style hierarchy would be as follows:

DRAWING TITLES
(1/4” high, bold, ALL CAPS, s l i g h t l y e x p a n d e d )

DRAWING SCALE
(1/8” high, bold, ALL CAPS)

04200 – BRICK MASONRY

Standard CSI notation (3/32” high, bold, ALL CAPS)

04200 – BRICK MASONRY; soldier course

Standard CSI notation qualifiers (3/32” high, not bold, lower case)

ROOM NAMES
(3/32” high, bold, ALL CAPS)

48’-4 DIMENSIONS
Dimensions (3/32” high, not bold)

Lineweight Hierarchy
Lineweights can be dictated in a set of CAD standards, but this is a poor
substitute for skillful use of lineweights. The same rules apply for lineweights
on working drawings as for any artistic drawing – varying lineweights make
a drawing easier to read, and it becomes more interesting. For ease of
communication, rather than actual penweights, I’d like to suggest a 5
penweight hierarchy where 5 is the boldest and 1 is the finest (1 being a
hairline).

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 Some general guidelines for selecting line weights:
 Anything that meets the cutting plane (plan or section) should be drawn
with a bold line (5); it is sometimes helpful to draw a bold outline around
the profile of the portion of the drawing that is actually cut in section
 Steel should generally be drawn with a bold line (a single solid line for
drawings at 1”=1’-0 or smaller)
 Anything not intersecting the cutting plane will be shown in elevation;
anything shown in elevation should be shown with lightweight lines to
make those elements “recede” visually (2 and 1).
 Planes in elevation closer to the viewer should be outlined with a bolder
line than those planes further from the viewer (3). With multiple planes
gradually receding from the viewer, the lineweights should also
gradually become lighter (thinner) to make them appear to recede
visually in order of proximity to the viewer (2 and 1)
 Layers of waterproofing, dampproofing, membrane roofing and the like
should be shown with a distinct, bold line, separated slightly from the
lines around it (3)
 More important information should be shown with a bolder line than less
important information. For example, in a plan drawing, the walls (which
intersect the cutting plane) will be drawn using the boldest lines (5).
Plumbing fixtures should be drawn with a considerably thinner line (3).
Same with countertops (2). Dashed lines need to be bold enough to be
visible among all of the other lines on the drawing (3). Dashed lines
should have a ratio of about 12:1 between the lines and the spaces.
Floor patterns should be the lightest lines (1, a hairline).
 Column grid lines need to be visible amongst all the other information
shown on the drawing (3).
 Dimension lines should be just bold enough to see without disappearing
(2).
 Poché should be drawn very light (1). It may be helpful at times to give
the poché a halftone pattern so that it recedes from the drawing as
much as possible without disappearing altogether.

Click here for a link to a sample plan showing

Lineweight and Lettering Hierarchies

Model or Object-Based Computer Aided Design/Drafting

As I write this, object-based design is beginning to emerge as an invaluable tool
for designing and documenting building designs. It appears to be what we all
thought CAD should have been at the beginning. It allows a designer/drafter to
create a complete virtual model of a building in three dimensions, complete with
all the necessary support systems. Interferences and conflicts are readily
apparent. It is a major paradigm shift, and it will require all of us to change the
way we think about design and documentation. For some, that reality may

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already be here. For most, it is still a way off in the distance. But it is coming,
and it is the future of architecture. So be ready for it.

Revisions
Changes to your working drawings are as much of the process as drawing the
drawings in the first place. You may not always know when or where, but you
know (or should know) that the drawings are going to change. Accept it. Prepare
for it. Deal with it. You can help to minimize the changing you will have to do by
following a systematic process for developing the design and the drawings. That
is one of the goals of this manual.

The computer makes erasing (I use the term metaphorically) much easier now
than it used to be in the manual days of yesteryear, and changing the drawings
is usually not difficult either. But we all have our sights set on a goal, and that
goal is to finish the drawings. Revisions seem to derail us from our path towards
that goal. Try not to look at changes that way. In fact, it may be more
appropriate to look at drawing certain things prematurely as the real villain. So
be disciplined about what you draw and when you draw it. Don’t be fooled into
drawing what you think you know, because you are likely to find out later that
what you thought you knew was wrong. Do the homework first.

The computer allows us to do things now that we would never have considered
doing in the days of pencil and drafting vellum or film. It seems to be a
manifestation of the “excess perfection” syndrome. I’ve been guilty of it many
times. Time and again, I have seen project teams wait to do any cross-
referencing until 99% of the details were drawn. You see, they always want the
details to be perfectly organized, and placed next to whatever other details they
relate to. This is a noble objective. But it is not necessary. Chances are that you
know 60-70% of the details near the beginning of the project. Give them a home
and an address. Leave some space around them for new details you hadn’t
thought about. But get the cross-referencing started. Checking is exceedingly
difficult without cross-references, and adding cross references at the end
invariably breeds mistakes. It really doesn’t make that much difference to the
contractor if every detail is placed in the perfect spot in the drawing set anyway.
And besides, you’ll probably be able to achieve 85% of perfection; try not to let
that 15% bother you so much that you don’t follow a natural sequence in doing
your work.

Spelling
Spelling mistakes are one of my major pet peeves. It drives me nuts. And I say
that with the full admission that there are some words that I just can’t remember
how to spell correctly (eradicate, elucidate, and many others). And it bothers me
that the spelling of some words has been changed for architectural practice, for
reasons that are not all that clear to me (gage versus gauge, for example). But I
have accepted that, and have moved on.

A “spell check” feature is available as part of just about every tool we use today.
Yet I see misspellings all the time. To me, it betrays a lazy mind. Bad spellers
know that they are bad spellers, and even if you are a good speller, you
generally know what words are problem words for you. In the worst case

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scenario, where you are on your own without computer assistance, keep a
dictionary handy. Poor spelling is unprofessional, and it has no place in a set of
working drawings.

Managing Your Time

Most commonly, the fees architects receive are calculated as a percentage of a
building’s construction cost. The percentage varies as a function of the size and
complexity of the project. There are variables regarding the scope of work and
what is included and what isn’t, so each fee is the result of a negotiation… some
give and take.

The gross fee is then divided up, and some portion is given to the consultants
(usually around 30-33% for structural, mechanical, and electrical consultants; if
other consultants are involved, their fees are typically negotiated as additional).
The remaining fee is the net architectural fee, and this is what your project team
has to work with to do all your work. Let’s say, for convenient purposes of
discussion, the gross fee is $100,000. In this scenario, the net architectural fee
would then be $70,000.

The net fee is further allocated for various phases of the project, leaving
approximately 40% of the net fee for the working drawings phase (or about
$28,000). The other 60% is allocated for schematic design, design development,
bidding or negotiation, and construction contract administration.

As you prepare your cartoon set (see the section on Cartooning later in this
manual), you begin to get your arms around the number of drawings you will
need in the working drawings set. But there are many other activities that need
to happen during the working drawings phase, and some fee needs to be
allocated for them. You can use the following breakdown as a guide (keep in
mind that contract requirements differ, and your project may or may not look like
the one below).

Approximate Percentages of Net Architectural Fee Required For Working

Drawings Activities
Net Architectural Fee Available for Working Drawings Phase: $28,000
Technical Design 5% $1,400
Documentation 47.5% $13,300
Specifications 15% $4,200
Coordination 10% $1,400
Admin/Management 5% $2,800
Meetings 10% $2,800
Checking and Review 5% $1,400
Reimbursables* 2.5% $700
100% $28,000

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 * Reimbursable expenses include items such as air fare, lodging, long
distance telephone calls, facsimile reproductions, and reproduction
costs. The manner in which these costs of reproduction (plotting,
bluelines, xeroxes, etc.) are handled varies from office to office. A
common standard would be that reproductions used in-house (by the
architectural team and the consultants) would be part of the net
architectural fee, while progress sets distributed to the owner and
contractor would be considered true reimbursable expenses (meaning
that extra dollars would be available from the owner to cover those
costs).
As you can see. There isn’t really a lot of money left from the $100,000 fee to do
the actual working drawings. Only $13,300 in this example. This $13,300 now
has to be allocated for each of the architectural drawings in the set. Let’s say
your cartooning exercise leads you to the conclusion that you need the following
architectural drawings:

Estimated Allocation of Fees for Working Drawings

General information, index, definitions, legends 2% $266

Site Plan & Site Details 5% $665
Level 1 Floor Plan 12% $1,596
Level 2 Floor Plan 12% $1,596
Roof Plan 5% $665
Level 1 Reflected Ceiling Plan 5% $665
Level 2 Reflected Ceiling Plan 5% $665
Exterior Building Elevations 10% $1,330
Building Sections 4% $532
Wall Sections 8% $1,064
Stairs & Elevators 5% $665
Interior Elevations 5% $665
Door Types, Frame types, Door Schedule 5% $665
Partition Types, Casework types 5% $665
Details 12% $1,596
100% $13,300

The %s shown are educated guesses about how much of the fee should be
allocated to each drawing sheet; your educated guesses are probably going to
be different. But you begin to get some idea of how much fee is available for
each drawing.

For further elaboration on this idea, and a working spreadsheet to help you with
these calculations, see the following example of Budgeting for Working
Drawings:

Click here for a link to

Fee Budgeting Example

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To take this thought process one step further, let’s say you have been assigned
to do the Level 1 Floor Plan. You know from the above illustration that you have
$1596 to spend to get it done. But how many hours is that?
Let’s say you negotiated an hourly wage when you accepted your current
position with your employer of $15/hour. But that is not the cost to the firm of
employing you, nor is it the rate that the firm charges for your time. The firm’s
rate includes a multiplier to provide a source of income to pay for overhead
(taxes, vacations, holidays, computers, cost of facilities, and the like). A typical
multiplier to cover those kinds of things would be around 3.0. So the firm
charges your time at a rate of $$45/hour accordingly. This may not actually be
billed to the client in this way, but it is usually tracked as a cost to the job in this
way. Therefore, at your hourly rate, you will have about 35 hours to complete
this sheet. If more than one person is working on the sheet, a similar calculation
must be done for each person, and then added together to find out what the total
projected cost is for that sheet. 35 hours seems reasonable, doesn’t it? Well,
let’s look at all of the things you have to do to complete the drawing.

Estimated Breakdown of Drawing Tasks

 Initial drawing layout and linework 27%
 Dimensioning 10%
 Cross-referencing 10%
 Notation 10%
 Materials indications 3%
 Consultant coordination 15%
 Final checking 15%
 Picking up final redlines 10%
Total 100%

Each of these tasks is going to require a percentage of the available dollars or

hours allocated for the Level 1 Floor Plan, as shown on the illustration above.
The following Drawing Progress Report (DPR) form gives you a worksheet to
track your hours and your drawing progress to make sure you stay on track. This
DPR is not 100% accurate, but it is a good way to put your finger on the pulse of
how complete your drawing is. The real danger is not believing it. I have seen
team after team go through the exercise of determining how complete each
sheet in the set is, and calculating an overall % complete – and not believing it!
You have to trust this information. Keep in mind the old 80/20 rule… the first
80% of the work takes 20% of the time and the last 20% of the work takes 80%
of the time (or, as architects practice it… the first 80% of the work takes 20% of
the time and the last 20% of the work takes the other 80% of the time). You‘d be
amazed at close this axiom can be.

Click here for a link to an electronic spreadsheet of the

Drawing Progress Report form

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You should accept the responsibility for managing your time so you can get the
work done within the allocated time and fee. We have provided you with some
tools to facilitate this, but these tools are no substitute for being proactive. Make
a daily to-do list of the things that you need to complete each day. Be
reasonable. Tie it to the worksheets that show how much time you have to
accomplish various tasks. You should know how much of your time has been
budgeted for each sheet, so if you don’t know, go find out. If the worksheets tell
you that you have 8 hours to do all of the cross-referencing on a given sheet,
then do your best to get it done in 8 hours. If you find that you have been
distracted or less productive than you should have been, then make the
commitment to stay as long as it takes to finish that task. If you wait until
tomorrow, you will then have whatever you don’t get done tomorrow to do as
well. And the next day, and the day after that. Pretty soon, you’ll be approaching
the deadline, and still have a couple of weeks worth of accumulated work left to
do. Don’t let that happen. Deal with the work on a daily basis and keep yourself
on schedule. If you feel like you are falling behind, discuss this with your project
architect/manager at your weekly team meetings.

Click here for a link to a typical

Weekly Project Team Meeting Agenda

Cross-Referencing
Before technology enabled us to draw complete virtual models of our designs,
architects developed a sophisticated 2-dimensional system that consists
essentially of plans (horizontal cross-section cuts), sections (vertical cross-
section cuts), and elevations. Each of these 2-dimensional drawings uses
orthographic projection (no perspective or vanishing) to convey the essence of
the building. We routinely begin to understand the building by looking at the
plans. The plans show us the size, shape, and horizontal locations (plan
dimensions) of all the major features of the building. We then typically go to the
elevations and building sections to help us understand the building in the third
dimension. By putting the two views together mentally, we begin to understand
what the building 3-dimensionally.

A system of directional signs has also been developed to help us find our way
through the drawings. We use these signs so we know from the plan where the
building sections are cut. We know from the building sections where we can go
to find wall sections of selected areas at a larger scale. We know from the wall
sections where we can go to find even larger drawings of selected details shown
on the wall sections. The details may refer us back to the plans or the elevations
to tell us even more about the building. This whole system is called cross-
referencing. It is important to understand this system in order to be able to
guide the contractor through the set of drawings in as clear a manner as
possible. You should understand what information belongs on the plans and
what belongs on the building sections or elevations. Similarly, you should
understand what belongs on the wall sections and what belongs on the details.

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This will require some experience, but it isn’t hard to learn. But until you learn it,
make sure you ask the appropriate questions.
For example, the plans should show you horizontal dimensions, while the
sections and elevations should show you vertical dimensions. A plan drawn at a
scale of 1/8” = 1’-0 will show walls using two lines, whereas a detail showing that
wall will show each layer of gypsum board, ceramic tile, or whatever else makes
up the wall. The building section should be a simple profile of the portions of the
building that intersect the cutting plane, and more detailed wall sections should
be cross-referenced from them. The wall sections should show more detail, but
(unless the scale is sufficiently large), not as much detail as the details cross-
referenced from them. This distinction is very difficult to make now that
technology allows us to zoom in on any part of our drawings to show as much
detail as we want. But we must remain mindful that the final output is still going
to be a scale drawing, and it shouldn’t be cluttered with unnecessary detail. If
you’ve never tried to draw a wall section by hand at a scale of 1/2” = 1’-0, you
should try doing it. That will give you a great idea of how much detail you can
(and should) show on those drawings.

Schedules
Schedules are really just tables, or perhaps special MS Excel worksheets. But I
don’t mean to trivialize schedules. In my experience, door schedules, for
example, routinely have the highest density of errors of anything in the drawing
set. They require diligence and perseverance, just as all schedules do. Now that
schedules can be created on the computer, there is a tendency to hand-write the
schedules out by hand, and have them transcribed by support staff into Excel or
another spreadsheet program. Then you have to check it to make sure it was
transcribed correctly. I strongly encourage you to learn the software and
sufficient data entry that you are able to create the schedules yourself. This
takes two steps out of the process, and should result in a higher degree of
accuracy.

Schedules are used to convey a lot of information about a large number of

things in a very concise and straightforward way. Even a simple project may
have several dozen doors and frames, and a variety of interior finishes. A
schedule is still the answer to this issue.

A door schedule should include this information for each door:

1. Door mark (the number given to the door on the floor plan)
2. Opening size
3. Number of leaves (active and inactive) and their respective sizes
4. Door type
5. Door material and finish
6. Frame type
7. Frame material and finish
8. Fire resistive requirements
9. Hardware group
10. Location of relevant head, jamb, and sill details
11. Any special requirements

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Click here to go to link to a
Typical Door Schedule

Finish Schedules
The same applies to finish schedules. If the finishes are too complicated to
handle using the finish codes (see Standard Symbols), then use the following
sample Finish Schedule.

Click here to go to link to a

Typical Room Finish Schedule

Details
 As you progress through the process of designing details, you will learn new
things or make new decisions that will affect details you have already drawn.
For this reason (as well as others), you should do your detail studies
freehand, in pencil. Use a sheet of 1/8” graph paper as an underlay, and
place your bumwad or trace paper over it. For details that should be at a
scale of 1 1/2” = 1’-0 in the final drawings, sketch them at 3” = 1’-0 and then
reduce them for preliminary paste-ups. You may scan them if you wish, but
a copier works just as well. Many architects prefer to sketch with a soft tip
pen, but I encourage you to use pencil because you can erase it; you don’t
have to re-do the entire drawing to incorporate a comparatively small
change. You can add notes to the drawing using a very quick freehand
technique. The details can then be drawn up on the computer after you have
thoroughly studied all of the conditions around the building.

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 Sample of a freehand sketch detail

Detail Libraries
Detail libraries are stockpiles of fairly standard details that are available for
use on any project. They have been suggested, discussed, and used for
many years – at least thirty that I know of. But I have rarely seen a detail
library that is conceived and implemented successfully. And there are many
reasons for this. One reason is that folks have a very hard time distinguishing
between a standard detail and a one-time use detail. For example, we may
want to use the same windows in a building with wood siding that we used a
few projects ago on a building with brick veneer. That is certainly enough
difference to put those details into a non-standard category.

However, many site details are fairly standard. A flag pole base or a concrete
curb is probably going to be pretty similar from one project to the next. Once
you have identified a detail as a potential detail for the library, go ahead and
begin drawing it for the project at hand. But stop short of adding project-
specific information (such as grade elevations and the like). Then place a
copy of it in a folder for the library, and go on to finish it.

There are probably a number of tried and proven ways of cataloging

standard details. The method I prefer is to catalog them by building system –
exterior envelope, roofs, site, and the like. The Construction Specifications

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 Institute uses a system called the UniFormat, which provides a convenient
way to catalog details by building system.

Suggested Detail Library Categories

A Substructure D Services
A10 Foundations D10 Conveying Systems
A1010 Standard Foundations D1010 Elevators and Lifts
A1030 Slabs on Grade D1020 Escalators and Moving Walks
A20 Basement Construction D20 Plumbing
B Shell D30 HVAC
B10 Superstructure D40 Fire Protection Systems
B1010 Floor Construction D50 Electrical Systems
B1020 Roof Construction
B20 Exterior Enclosure E Equipment and Furnishings
B2010 Exterior Walls E10 Equipment
B2020 Exterior Windows E20 Furnishings
B2030 Exterior Doors
B30 Roofing F Special Construction and Demolition
B3010 Roof Coverings
B3020 Roof Openings
C Interiors G Building Sitework
C10 Interior Construction G10 Site Preparation
C1010 Partitions G20 Site Improvements
C1020 Interior Doors G30 Site Civil/Mechanical Utilities
C1030 Specialties G40 Site Electrical Utilities
C20 Stairs G90 Other Site Construction
C30 Interior Finishes `
C3010 Wall Finishes
C3020 Floor Finishes
C3030 Ceiling Finishes

Just as for standard details, there are certain sheets that lend themselves well
for use as standard “starting point” drawings. They should be created as a
generic form of the sheet, and then placed in a library of “starting point”
drawings.

Sheets that are particularly good choices for “starting point” drawings are as
follows (and some of the standard information that can be created in advance):

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Starting Point Drawings
A0.X General Information Sheet
 Abbreviations
 Materials indications
 Standard symbols
 Drawing index
A1.X Demolition Plans, Site Plans, Details
 Drawing title and scale
 North arrow
 Standard site details
A1.X Floor Plans
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
 North arrow
A1.X Reflected Ceiling Plans
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
 North arrow
A2.X Building Elevations
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
A3.X Building Sections And Wall Sections
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
A4.X Stairs and Elevators
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
 North arrow(s)
A2.X Interior Elevations
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
 Horizontal lines to separate rows of interior elevations
A7.X Door Types And Frame Types
 General notes
 Drawing title and scale
 Elevations of several of the most common door types, completely
dimensioned and noted
 Elevations of several of the most common frame types, completely
dimensioned and noted
 A place to import an Excel door schedule
A4.X Partition Types
 Sections of several of the most common partition types, completely
dimensioned and noted

Field Verification Guidelines

Goals:
The purpose of all field verification activities is to gather (and record) enough
information about an existing project to allow a responsible design and

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documentation effort to result. In renovation projects, many decisions are driven
by the feasibility of modifying existing features of the building. In order to make
informed decisions, the existing conditions must be clearly understood. Since
we cannot always anticipate how the design may evolve, we must prepare as
complete and as accurate a record as we can in order to assess the impact on
design issues that were not known at the time of the verification work. In order
for our verification work to be successful, we should:

 Verify existing materials

 Verify existing configurations
 Photographically document interior spaces and exterior conditions for
future reference
 Measure existing walls (only where required to coordinate with new
work)
 Identify areas requiring more extensive verification
Methods:
1. Neatness and clarity in your field verification notes are very important.
2. Use Schematic Design drawings as the redline set. Consolidate redlines
into a Master redline set, which will be kept at the Project Architect’s desk.
For field purposes, xeroxes of partial plans may be most convenient.
3. Verify room configuration (measure as required to verify).
4. Do not get bogged down in detail unless the effort seems needed to you.
If you have questions, ask your Project Architect.
5. Photograph walls, ceiling conditions, and special problems for areas
affected by new construction. No photos needed for rooms that will not be
altered.
6. Identify photos by date, room number, and initials of photographer. The
room numbers shall correspond to Schematic drawing numbers wherever
possible. If the room number comes from the existing drawings, indicate
so on the photograph.
7. Keep notes that correspond to the photos (if it seems necessary).
8. Compare existing drawings to actual materials—note discrepancies.
9. Drawings shall be marked to indicate existing materials (including
finishes).
10. In some areas, xeroxes of existing drawings may be required to
understand the area—especially for demolition.
11. When you return from the project site, you will be responsible for
organizing the photos and transferring their information onto the Master
redline set.
12. Photos will be organized in notebook form to accompany the redline set.
Keep the photos and negatives in specially made plastic sleeves.
Negatives should be kept in the project files.

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 13. Note significant equipment (panel boards, fan units, cabinet heaters, life
safety equipment, hose cabinets, pull stations, etc.) and photograph large
units.
14. Pay particular attention to location of expansion joints and covers.
15. The degree of accuracy reflected in your measurements is important, but
keep in mind that a measurement between two walls that are slightly out
of plumb could vary by an inch or more, depending on the height at which
the measurement was taken. For most purposes, round each
measurement to the nearest 1/2”. For modular materials, such as
concrete block or brick, ignore minor deviations from standard coursing
dimensions; minor deviations are presumed when the dimensions are
stated with the standard “±” required for all existing dimensions.
Therefore, record them as typical coursing dimensions. Any deviation
from standard coursing dimensions greater than an inch could mean that
bricks were cut, and should be recorded accurately, rounding to the
nearest 1/2”. If we know we are going to have to accommodate a specific
piece of furniture or equipment, increase the level of accuracy to 1/8”.

Tools:
– Measuring tapes
– Hard hat
– Note pad
– Clip board
– 6” scale
– Camera and plenty of film
– Pencils, with regular eraser (include red pencils)
– Backpack (day pack) to carry gear
– Flashlight
– Appropriate dress—hard sole shoes, perhaps jeans

Teams/Areas of Responsibility:
(Identify areas of the building which will have to be verified, and the teams
assigned to each area).

Team Members:
(Identify the members assigned to each team).

Timing and Tasks:

(Indicate dates for various verification activities).

Field Measurement Graphics:

1. Standard nomenclature for dimensioning is: 8’-1.
2. Use standards set by office for dimension lines, dashed above, dashed
below, centerlines, tenant lease lines, property lines, etc.
3. Sketches to be done in consistent media; preferably graphite on graph
paper.
 On the sketch itself, the following should be indicated:
 Date sketch was made

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  Indication of floor level
 Number of sheets used to define the sketch
 Section, details, and match lines, if necessary
4. Drawings should be sketched with a reasonable sense of scale and
clarity.
5. Sketches should be oriented on the sheet in the same orientation as the
schematic design drawings.
6. All sketches should be hardlined on trace paper or on CAD.
 To check for discrepancies
 To calculate square footage

Drawings should include:

 Date of original sketch
 Date of hardline drawings
 Indication of floor level

CAD Drawings
1. Standard graphic symbols should be used on each drawing.
 Line types — centerlines, lease lines, solid lines, leader lines, symbols
 Layers — text, dimensions, partitions, line types
 Symbols
 Text:
 styles
 font files
 layers
 sizes

2. Dimensioning and noting should occur approximately in the same placement

and orientation from drawing to drawing.
3. CAD name for drawings should be at the bottom left hand corner of each
individual drawing.
4. CAD plotting procedures should be outlined with respect to:
 Pen sizes
 Layers and colors
 Plotting scale
 Sheet sizes
 Plotting medium

Photo-Drafting
Photo-drafting has been a very popular technique for renovation/alteration
projects. We used to have to go through some fairly complicated
photographic processes to get a photo onto a sheet of drafting film, but
technology has simplified this process immeasurably.

Photo-drafting allows you to note demolition or new finishes for existing

construction without having to measure and draw the building from scratch.
You may still have to do that, for other reasons, but before you do, think
about how you might be able to use photos to reduce or eliminate drawing.

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 Example of the Use of Photo-Drafting

RE-PAINT ALL PAINTED WOOD

SURFACES WITH NEW PAINT
TO MATCH EXISTING

RE-GLAZE EXISTING
WINDOWS WITH GLAZING
COMPOUND

RE-PAINT EXISTING WINDOW

MUNTINS

CLEAN ALL EXISTING STONE

and RE-POINT MORTAR JOINTS

The Molly Brown House; Denver, Colorado

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CHAPTER 2 -- DRAWING ORGANIZATION
Drawing Organization — Cartooning
You might get in your car one day, and just start driving. You might go where
your fancy takes you, and you might end up in some beautiful spot where you
decide to spend the rest of your life. Or… you might not. Perhaps you prefer
to plan your trips, knowing where you want to go and how long you have to get
there. So it is with working drawings.
Every set of working drawings must be planned to ensure that the drawings will
be logically organized. Planning encourages the Project Architect to think
about all the drawings that are necessary to adequately communicate the
design, and gives him or her an opportunity to group or separate drawings in a
way that will facilitate bidding and construction. Cartooning is a graphic way of
planning and organizing the set of working drawings, and of planning the
composition of each sheet within the set.
A cartoon set, or mock set, accomplishes the following:
 promotes efficient and orderly drawing layout
 allows an early determination of the number of drawings required
 assists in estimating the manpower requirements to complete the
work
 aids in scheduling the work and in determining drawing assignments

Go to the links at the end of this section, select the appropriate mock set form
(for 24 x 36 or 30 x 42 sheets), and print as many copies as you need to
complete the set. Use one for every sheet in the set, including the title sheet
Block out each sheet, showing the approximate size, shape, and location of
each drawing on the sheet.
 give some thought to the details that will be needed, and try to
organize them in some logical order (such as from the ground up, or in
a sequence corresponding to CSI divisions). Don’t merely set aside
three sheets of drawings for details
 include any schedules that will be needed
 allow yourself some flexibility in your sheet composition; leave some
open areas where possible to help in accommodating those inevitable
unforeseen drawings
 remember that it is more important to maintain clarity and cogency in
the organization of the set than it is to fill up each sheet; however, this
idea must be balanced with the idea that we should use as few sheets
as possible.
 The usefulness of the cartoon sets can be doubled if they are used as
part of the work plan. The work plan begins with a list of basic
requirements that each drawing must comply with, and a checklist of
elements that should be included on the drawing. The work plan is
then copied on the back of each cartoon set sheet, and acts as a road
map for the person to whom that sheet has been assigned. Sample
work plans for various kinds of sheets are included in the Appendix.
Contractors see many different drawings from many different architects, and the
drawings are not all as well organized or planned as well as yours are.

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Contractors usually have a very short time to figure out our drawings, anticipate
the things we forgot, and prepare a bid that is competitive but requires no
change orders. It is our responsibility to make this process as direct and as
clear as possible. A little planning at the beginning will go a long way towards
accomplishing that goal.
Every set of working drawings must be planned to ensure that the drawings will
be logically organized. Planning will encourage you to think about what drawings
will be necessary to communicate the design and give you an opportunity to
group drawings in a way that will facilitate bidding and construction.
Cartooning is a graphic way of planning and organizing the set of working
drawings, and of planning the composition of each sheet within the set.
Concepts:
 Promote efficient and orderly drawing layout
 Allow early determination of the number of drawings required.
 Assist in estimating the manpower requirements needed to complete the
work.
 Aid in scheduling the work and determining drawing assignments.

Methodology:
 Block out each sheet showing the approximate size, shape, and location
of each drawing on the sheet.
 Give some thought to details that will be needed and locate them as
close as possible to where they are referenced.
 Locate general notes, key notes, schedules, legends, and key plans in a
consistent format.
 Allow yourself some flexibility in your sheet composition; leave some
open areas where possible to help in accommodating those inevitable
unforeseen drawings.

Click Here for Link to Blank

Cartoon Set Background (24x36)

Click Here for Link to Blank

Cartoon Set Background (30x42)

Click Here for Link to

Sample Cartooning Sheet

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Drawing Organization — Sheet Design
I’m sure you’ve seen this... you get a letter on a folded sheet of paper. You
start reading the front page, no problem. Then you turn the page and
resume reading. But you soon realize that page two is where page three
should be, and page three is on the back and upside down so that when you
get there and turn the page, page four is upside down where page two
should have been in the first place. Well, I’m sure the author was simply
trying to be clever, but in the meantime, you’ve torn the letter apart and
reassembled it in a sequence that seemed more logical to you.

While there may be a time and place for this kind of cuteness, working
drawings is not it. Working drawings must be so clearly organized that
anyone with the need to decipher them can do so easily. The general
contractor, subcontractors, materials suppliers, manufacturers, building
officials, owners, consultants, and even checkers in your own office are all
seeking different information from different parts of the drawings, in different
levels of detail. Your challenge is to find a way of communicating effectively
with each of these groups. The whole idea is to put page two where
everyone expects to find it, and the same with page three, and so forth. This
is oversimplifying, obviously, but it should be your objective to SIMPLIFY.
SIMPLIFY. SIMPLIFY.

Clear and organized sheet design promotes communication of construction

drawings quickly and easily. When ignored, details can disappear into a
maze of lines, dimensions and notations.

A poorly organized set of construction drawings can drive up construction

costs as well as increasing the number of questions during construction.
This costs you and the contractor time that you might otherwise be using to
do something fun. A little attention to organization when you begin a set of
drawings can benefit all concerned. The following items will help keep
drawings clear and organized from the very start.
1. Determine a sheet size which is appropriate to the project scale
and complexity. Avoid using odd sized formats whenever practical.
Using a match line and breaking a plan into two or more drawings
may be preferable to the drafting and storage problems
encountered if you must draw on a 48” sheet with a 42” parallel rule,
or store it in a 42” flat file. In addition, using a sheet that is too large
for a particular project encourages over drafting and wasted time in
trying to fill the empty space.
2. Be consistent. Locate title blocks, key plans, keynotes legends,
and plans in the same position on each sheet to speed orientation.
It is also desirable to have the title block on the right margin so it is
visible without unrolling the entire set.
3. Group similar drawings together on the same sheet. If a project
requires few details and a separate sheet is not required, locate the
details around the upper and left margins. With larger or more
complex projects, position details in a logical sequence starting from

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 right to left and bottom to top (we recommend this approach
because, when flipping through a set of drawings, it is easier to find
drawings located in the lower right-hand corner of the sheet than it
is one in the upper left-hand corner; as a result, if there is any left
over space on the sheet, it should be near the binding edge, which
is the most difficult area to get to). Group similar details together
maintaining scale and orientation where ever possible.
4. When sketching details or sections, plan for final scale and space
on the construction drawings. Allow space for titles, dimensions,
keynotes, and grid designations.
It is in our best interest to follow an accepted industry standard when it comes to
organizing a set of drawings so as to be better able to defend our construction
documents and to communicate our ideas with the least amount of confusion.
To this end, we recommend using Module 1 of the Uniform Drawing System,
Drawing Set Organization as a guideline in most areas.
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for drawing set
organization so as to ensure correct communication with the document user.
 To establish consistent information finding methods throughout the Contract
Documents.
References:
 Uniform Drawing System, Module 1 – Drawing Set Organization,
Construction Specifications Institute, 1999.

Drawing Organization — Drawing Identification

What would you think if you got into a new car, a model you had never seen
before, and as soon as you sat down, you discovered that the steering wheel
was in the backseat? Or that the speedometer was in the trunk, and the fuel
gauge was in the glove compartment? Maybe the engine was mounted to a
separate trailer you were dragging behind you, and the switch for the
headlights was under the hood? After your initial wonderment, you would
probably start to become outraged. “What were these guys thinking about?”
you ask yourself, more than a little agitated. This scenario sounds ridiculous,
but it is very similar to the kind of thing we do to contractors nearly every day.
We may think we are organizing our drawings logically, coherently. But the
guy down the street has the same notion, and he organizes his drawings
totally differently. No wonder contractors get so annoyed with us. We can
do better. We need to move in the direction of a more consistent approach
to presenting information from office to office. And we should have a darned
good reason for departing from established standards and conventions.
Keep in mind, too, that there are many other individuals who look at our
drawings– owners, lenders, members of the boards of directors, materials
suppliers, building officials, and more. By being more consistent in our
approach to our drawings, we can all do a great service to our profession,
and the construction industry.

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There are certain kinds of information that should appear on every drawing. It is
most convenient to provide this information in a title block, which can be created
as a reusable entity in CAD. The title block should include:
 Project Name
 Project Address
 Project Number
 Architect’s Name and Address
 A place to identify the consultants on their respective sheets, along with
their addresses and phone numbers
 Date of Issue
 Type of Issue (“DD pricing,” for example)
 Sheet Number
 A place for the architect’s or engineer’s stamp
 A Revisions record
 Sheet Contents
 Sheet Number
 A place to record the initials of the individuals who participated in the
drawing of the sheet, and in reviewing it.
Other information that may not be appropriate for the title block includes:
 Drawing Name
 Key Plan or Section
 North Arrow
 Scale
A strip approximately 2 1/2 ” wide adjacent to the right-hand margin seems to
work best for the title block. Certain parts of the title block are repetitive from
project to project (such as the architect’s name and address, and the graphic
linework used to separate different areas of the title block). Ideally, these should
appear on the standard “starting point” drawings, leaving a void in the middle.
The void can then be filled in with project-specific information, such as, project
name, address, and number. Other areas of the title block will have to be
completed by computer where appropriate.
 Drawings are sometimes used from phase to phase and the organization
of the drawings and the numbering sequence should be consistent from
phase to phase and project to project. It is helpful to include a sheet index
on the general information sheet at the beginning of the set. This index
should show each sheet number and sheet contents (matching the
description shown in the title block), organized by discipline. Each
discipline should be identified by a single letter designation, if possible, and
the disciplines should always occur in the same sequence, as follows (as
recommended by the CSI UDS):

Discipline Designations
G General Information
H Hazardous Materials
V Survey/Mapping
B Geotechnical

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 W Civil Works
C Civil Engineering
L Landscape
S Structural Engineering
A Architectural
ID Interiors (this is a departure from the UDS; I prefer “ID” to the UDS “I” because it is not
easily confused with a “1” – “one”)
Q Equipment
F Fire Protection
P Plumbing
D Process
M Mechanical
E Electrical
T Telecommunications
FS Food Service (this is another departure from the UDS, which does not include Food
Service as a separate discipline)
R Resource
X Other Disciplines
Z Contractor / Shop drawings
O Operations

Sheet Type Designation

[Link] General information, sheet index, definitions, code, phasing,
legends, title or cover sheet
[Link] Plans (horizontal views)
[Link] Elevations (vertical views)
[Link] Sections (sectional views, wall sections)
[Link] Large Scale Views (plans. Elevations, stair sections, or sections
that are not details)
[Link] Details
[Link] Schedules and Diagrams
[Link] User Defined
[Link] User Defined
[Link] 3D Representations (isometrics, perspectives, photographs)

It is highly desirable for consultants’ sheets to correspond to the architectural. If

the architectural drawings show level one on sheet A1.1, then mechanical sheet
M1.1 should also show the level one plan. The same applies for plumbing sheet
P2.1, electrical sheet E1.1, etc.
Electrical drawings commonly include a power plan, which corresponds to the
architectural floor plan, and a lighting plan, which corresponds to the

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architectural reflected ceiling plan. Therefore, it is helpful to put each reflected
ceiling plan directly following the corresponding floor plan, to allow the sheet
numbering concept to carry through.
A1.3 Third Floor Plan
ID1.3 Third Floor Interior Finishes Plan
Q1.3 Third Floor Equipment Plan
S1.3 Third Floor Framing Plan
P1.3 Third Floor Plumbing Plan
E1.3 Third Floor Electrical Power Plan
or…
A1.4 Third Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan
M1.4 Third Floor HVAC Plan
E1.4 Third Floor Electrical Lighting Plan
or…
A1.3D Third Floor Demolition Plan
H1.3* Third Floor Hazardous Materials Plan
 Notice all third floor plans are indicated XX.3 (or XX.4, respectively) as a
quick method of finding third floor information.
Identification of drawings issued after the selection of a contractor should also
be consistent in nature. Addenda drawings can have an AD preceding the
drawing number Sometimes an “X” is used to indicate a “change” drawing, but
AD is a better choice since addendum drawings can be supplemental as well as
change drawings. Drawings required to accompany Supplemental Instructions
or Proposal Requests should share the same number as the instruction or
request and can be preceded with a SI or PR. If more than one drawing is used,
follow the number with a letter (PR-12A, PR-12B). The same can be said for
other additional issued information from the architect and the consultants
(Change Orders, Construction Change Directives, etc.).

Small Project Organization

Many projects do not need so many sheets to explain the work involved. In such
a case it is better to combine information onto a single sheet to avoid high
reprographics costs and to make it easier to find things. An example would be:
A1 Cover, information, index, definitions, code
A2 Demolition Plan, Site Plan, & Details
A3 Floor Plan, Reflected Ceiling Plan, Details
A4 Roof Plan, Enlarged Plans, Stairs, Details
A5 Exterior Elevations, Wall Sections, Details
A6 Interior Elevations, Casework types, Millwork, Details
A7 Partition Types, Door Types, Frame types, Details

Drawing Organization
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Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for drawing sheet
organization so as to ensure correct communication with the document user.
 To establish consistent information finding methods throughout the Contract
Documents.
Methodology:
 All graphic information should be shown in the drawings. The project
manual should contain written information only. This includes abbreviations,
symbols, door information (except door hardware schedule), and details. It
makes sense that all graphic information be grouped together and all written
information be grouped, since one literally references the other. It is also
difficult to keep several volumes in the same location, and not having details
at hand or to have a problem locating them in a project manual, for example,
could be very frustrating.
 Module size conforms to industry standard for future use with manufacturers
details available on the internet.
 Common location for notes, key plans, and keynotes throughout all
disciplines of the drawing set.
 Encourages information composition and including the most information
possible on any one sheet. Grid blocks can be used in any combination for
large drawings.
 Encourages reuse of standard detailing, legends, and other information.

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CHAPTER 3 -- INTERIORS DRAWING SHEET STANDARDS
Try to use this format for numbering Interiors sets when possible. Customize
only if needed.

ID0.0 Cover/Index/Data Sheet (always has a title block so info is exposed

when rolled. This sheet also includes a key plan to illustrate exiting from
building. Locate tenant on key plan.)

ID1.x Demolition Plans

ID1.0 Demolition Notes (only if notes do not fit on I1.1)
ID1.1 First Floor Demolition Plan (includes finish demolition)
ID1.2 Second Floor Demolition Plan
ID1.3 Third Floor Demolition Plan
ID1.4 Etc. or Demolition Reflected Ceiling Plans

ID2.x Floor Plans (New Construction)

ID2.0 New Construction Notes (only if notes do not fit on I2.1)
ID2.1 First Floor New Construction Plan
ID2.2 Second Floor New Construction Plan
ID2.3 Third Floor New Construction Plan
ID2.4 Etc.

ID3.x Reflected Ceiling Plans

ID3.0 Reflected Ceiling Plan Notes (only if notes do not fit on I3.1)
ID3.1 First Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan
ID3.2 Second Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan
ID3.3 Third Floor Reflected Ceiling Plan
ID3.4 Etc.

ID4.x Finish Schedule and Plans

ID4.0 Finish Schedule and Legend
ID4.1 First Floor Finish Plan
ID4.2 Second Floor Finish Plan
ID4.3 Third Floor Finish Plan
ID4.4 Etc.

ID5.x Furniture and Equipment Plans

ID5.1 First Floor Furniture/Equipment Plan
ID5.2 Second Floor Furniture/Equipment Plan
ID5.3 Third Floor Furniture/Equipment Plan
ID5.4 Etc.

ID6.1 If needed, any other drawing series that may be required, e.g.. Sections,
Signage. If you do not use, label this series in the drawing list on the
Cover Sheet “Not Used”.

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ID7.1 Interior Elevations (includes toilet rooms). Add decimals if more than
one sheet is necessary.

ID8.1 Door/Window and Frame Types and Schedules

ID9.1 Partition Types, Interior Details. Add decimals if more than one sheet is
necessary.

Note: Consultants’ drawings must correspond with architectural, i.e.

M2.1 to be first floor mechanical plan, E3.1 to be first floor reflected ceiling
plan, etc.

M Mechanical Drawings
E Electrical Drawings
Specifications Booklet

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CHAPTER 4 -- SPECIFYING TECHNIQUES
Drawings and Specs establish a standard of required function, dimension,
appearance, and quality.

Specifications accomplish this by using one (preferably) of the following

specifying techniques:

Descriptive Specifications
 Detailed description of properties of a product or material.
 Workmanship required for installation.
 Proprietary names are not used.
 The burden of performance is assumed by the specifier.

 Example: (Descriptive Specification)

Concrete mix of four parts coarse aggregate, two parts fine aggregate,
one part cement, with 0.5 water/cement ratio.

 Performance of 3,000 psi at 28 days is implied, but if the concrete did not
test out, the contractor could not be held responsible if he provided a
concrete mix as described.

Performance Specifications
 Statement of required results
 all desired end results must be spelled out.
 criteria for verifying compliance must be included.

Reference Standards
 materials: ASTM
 products: ANSI
 design: ACI
 workmanship: ASTM
 test methods: ASTM
 codes: ANSI/ASME

– reference standards may include words used in a different context than

those same words used in the General Conditions.
– inappropriate provisions often appear in Reference Standards.

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Proprietary Specifications
• identification of product’s manufacturer, brand, model, type, etc.

• Open Proprietary Specifications versus Closed Proprietary Specifications

• Open
 allows substitutions
 named product defines desired properties and level of acceptable
quality
 substitutions are proposed by contractor
 products are reviewed and allowed if approved

 Typical master specification language for an open specification is as

follows:
 “Subject to compliance with requirements, products which may be
incorporated in the work include, but are not limited to, the
following:”

• Closed
 no substitution
 may specify one product.
 may specify several products as options.

Typical master specification language for a semi-proprietary specification is

as follows:
“Subject to compliance with requirements, provide one of the following:”.

Click here for a link to

Specifications Coordination Checklist

Abbreviations
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CHAPTER 5 -- ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations in print and speech proliferate throughout the architectural
profession. They have long been considered fair game for individual expression
and ingenuity in adapting drawing notations to the limited space usually
available in a set of working drawings. However, it is important to be mindful
that abbreviations will have to be interpreted and understood by people with a
wide variety of interests and backgrounds. Since the use of abbreviations can
lead to misinterpretations and confusion, they should generally be avoided.
There are some good reasons to abbreviate, though. Perhaps space is limited,
or perhaps the abbreviated form is more common and readily understood than
the long form (gyp. bd., for example, or max.). Where abbreviations are
desirable, only those abbreviations which are generally understood and
accepted throughout the industry should be used. AIA, PA, JC, GC, CDs, CA,
and the like, require no further explanation except to those outside the field.

Abbreviations should be easily recognizable to promote understanding of a

specific note — not obscure it. When misused, abbreviations can frustrate and
annoy, taking far more time to decipher than lettering the entire work or note.

If you encounter a special situation for which you feel it is desirable to

abbreviate, there are some guidelines which should be followed. Abbreviations
should conform to commonly accepted practice, and should be easily
recognized in order to achieve this:
1. Be consistent. Choose one abbreviation for a specific term, and use it
throughout a set of drawings. Do not use STR, STRUC, STRUCT,
STRUCT’L at random, depending on available space.
2. Limit abbreviations to four or five letters. Do not use abbreviations that
are nearly as long as the original word or phrase. Some common
exceptions are EA, W/, W/O, @, PR, etc.
3. Generally, do not use apostrophes (BL’K’G). The purpose of an
abbreviation is to limit space, not provide punctuation. Besides, the
contraction is implied by the use of a period at the end of an
abbreviation (BLKG.).
4. if multiple definitions exist for an abbreviation (something that should be
avoided), the context should provide a clear meaning. If it doesn’t, do
not abbreviate.
5. Coordinate abbreviations used by other disciplines and within the
specifications to avoid conflict and confusion.
6. Provide an abbreviations list specific for each discipline. Do not include
those abbreviations listed in the specifications. Edit the list to
incorporate any project-specific abbreviations included in the drawings.
If in doubt, do not abbreviate. Any time spent contemplating an abbreviation is
better spent writing out the full word or phrase. While use of appropriate
abbreviations can speed completion of a drawing and provide a cleaner, more
readable drawing, misuse can render a drawing virtually incomprehensible.

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A sample word and symbol list is included here for your reference. This is
intentionally a restrained list. Familiarize yourself with this list. When preparing
your drawings, use only the abbreviations which appear on this list. Do not
make up new variations, and do not abbreviate anything that is not on this list.
It is in our best interest to follow an accepted industry standard when it comes to
abbreviations so as to be better able to defend our construction documents and
to communicate our ideas with the least amount of confusion. To this end, this
firm has adopted Module 5 of the Uniform Drawing System, Terms &
Abbreviations, as our standard for proper terminology.
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for abbreviating terms so
as to ensure correct communication with the document user.
 To establish consistent abbreviations throughout the Contract Documents.
References:
 Uniform Drawing System, Module 5 – Terms and Abbreviations, Construction
Specifications Institute, 1999.
Methodology:
 Do not abbreviate words of five letters or fewer, except in schedules.
 Only abbreviate if you have run out of room to spell the word.
 Do not use “periods” with the abbreviation.
 Avoid the use of abbreviations with more than one meaning.
 Show the most commonly used abbreviations on the title sheet and reference
the UDS Terms and Abbreviations Module.

Click Here for a sample list of:

Standard Abbreviations

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CHAPTER 6 -- TERMINOLOGY
The difficulty communicating a design described in English to a Dutch general
contractor and Argentine subs is obvious. No one would even attempt
something so obviously doomed to failure. Yet, as a group, we do something
very similar when we use different words to describe the same thing in a set of
working drawings, or when we use the same words to describe different things,
even if the words are all in English. As a profession, we should agree on some
common definitions for commonly used terms, and then be consistent—and
relentless about being consistent—in their usage.

Any effort in communication first requires that a common language be

established between participants. The English language generally serves us
well for this purpose, but there are some terms that have special meanings
when used in a construction context. By reference or by inclusion, construction
documents should begin by defining terms, standards, abbreviations, and
symbols that will be necessary to clearly interpret and understand the
information presented. These are most often identified on an initial drawing
sheet, in the General Conditions of the contract, and in Division 1 of the
specifications. Make it your mission to know the words used in the general
conditions, and elsewhere in the specifications, and then to use these words,
terms, or expressions to describe the same things every time they are used.

Except for simple English, only identified terms, abbreviations, and symbols
should be used. These should be identified for use prior to the start of the
drawing. Referenced standards often use specific words to communicate
information or identify materials and methods. These same words should be
used for the same intentions in the construction documents.

Creation of the project specifications should begin with this same process of
defining the language to be used. Specified products should generally be
identified by the same non-proprietary terms as are used by manufacturers. In
the drawings, the use of the non-proprietary terms from specifications aids the
reader in finding the matching specification. A proprietary name should not be
used in drawings. The drawings identify where specified products are required
and how they are to interface with other specified products. By not repeating
information from the specifications in the drawings, small changes in the
specifications can be made without affecting the drawing notation.

Words not having a consistent spelling or meaning within the industry will always
be present. If a set of documents is consistent within itself and its referenced
standards, there should be little chance for confusion. For words not taken from
referenced standards or from manufacturers, it is recommended that one
dictionary be established as the reference of choice for that project. Spellings
used should generally be the first listed.

Some words in common use in the industry are not appropriate. “Lineal,” for
example is a poor variant of the word “linear” because its preferred use is in
reference to genealogical lineage rather than measurement. Care should be
exercised to avoid use of product names such as “vinyl asbestos tile” which

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identifies a product that is no longer manufactured. Words that do not say
exactly what is meant, such as “sound proof” or “fire proof,” should also be
avoided. “Sound resistive” and “fire resistive” are more accurate.

Many words or word uses have been identified as poor choices by liability
insurance carriers. Having been pivotal in deciding liability cases against design
professionals, such words have become suspect for being interpreted in ways
other than intended. The most common example is the word “approved.”
Without qualification of what is approved, much may be assumed. For
guidelines regarding liability issues associated with the use of certain words,
consult the firm’s liability insurance carrier.
To this end, we recommend adopting Module 5 of the Uniform Drawing System,
Terms & Abbreviations, as the standard for proper terminology.
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for communicating the
building design to others in order to eliminate individual preference and to
better defend our documents.
 To establish consistent terminology throughout the Contract Documents.
References:
 Uniform Drawing System, Module 5 – Terms and Abbreviations,
Construction Specifications Institute, 1999
Methodology:
 Verify that the terminology is consistent throughout the drawings and
specifications using the UDS module as a guide.

Click here for a listing of:

Standard Architectural Terminology

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CHAPTER 7 -- STANDARD SYMBOLS
The graphic language that has evolved over the years uses symbols to help
guide users through a set of drawings. Think of symbols in the same way you
think of road signs. Each sign or symbol should be placed in a spot that makes
it as clear and simple as possible for you to move around the neighborhood you
are in, to know where you are now, where you’ve been, and where you’re going.
When symbols are used well, they enhance the readability, clarity, and graphic
quality of working drawings or they can confuse, obscure, and obfuscate. The
following guidelines should help us to use symbols well.
1. Symbols should be simple to draft. Any drafter should be able to draw
them with little trouble. Most CAD systems provide a library of common
symbols. These symbols should conform to industry standards, and if
they do not, you should seriously consider customizing them. Then,
send your CAD manufacturer a copy of this book, along with an
admonishment about the need to standardize throughout the industry.
2. Symbols should be standardized so that the drawing can be easily
understood. Preference should be given to symbols that are commonly
used throughout the industry.
3. Symbols should be unique. Anyone who reads the drawing should be
able to ascertain the meaning of each symbol without difficulty. It should
not be easily confused with other symbols.
4. Symbols should be readily discernible from other elements on the
drawings. The reader should not confuse symbols with drawing
elements or have difficulty finding symbols.
5. Symbols must not obscure the drawing. Symbols must be drawn so that
they are informative, but not the predominant features of the drawing.
6. Symbols must show the importance of information. A hierarchy of
symbols should be developed so that the prominence of the symbol
relates in a general way to the importance of the information to which it
applies.

There are five categories of symbols commonly used in architectural working

drawings. They are:
 Reference Symbols
 Material Symbols
 Identity Symbols
 Line Symbols
 Text and Template Symbols

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Reference Symbols
These symbols refer you to information found in another part of the drawing set
(called cross-referencing) or give basic information on the drawing. They are
independent of drawing scale.
The reference symbols we recommend here follow the Uniform Drawing System
in concept.
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for Reference Symbols
so as to ensure understandable communication with the document user and
to better be able to defend our documents on the jobsite.
 To establish consistency throughout the Contract Documents.
Methodology:
 Cross-check all references for accuracy.
 Establish a “Project North” on the Site Plan and then refer to it as “North”
throughout the set on all other drawings.
 Use the Section Reference’s “tail” to define the limits of the Section.
 Do not obliterate dimensions and text when using the Detail Reference
Symbol. Break the line as needed.
 Exterior Elevation References should be used only where special elevations
need to be shown. Rely on compass point designations for major exterior
elevation references.
 The Section Reference lines should be broken if necessary so as not to
obliterate other parts of the drawing.
 Interior Elevations of the same room should be referenced under the same
location. Label them as North, South, East, and West.
 The dark part of the Match Line circle always faces the drawing.
 Symbols have been created for Identifiers not listed in the UDS using
traditional processes recognizable to the construction industry.

Click Here for Link to:

Standard Architectural Symbols

The symbols shown on the linked legends are essentially the same as those
advocated by the CSI Uniform Drawing System. There are some differences,
however. We have not marked up the actual legend sheets in the event that you
may wish to use them on your working drawings “Legends” sheet. The reasons
for these differences are as follows:

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Interior Elevation Reference:

UDS
Interior
Elevation
Reference

The UDS shows a horizontal line at the center of the circle; then the drawing
number is placed in the top half of the circle, and the sheet number is placed in
the bottom half of the circle. We consider the drawing number to be redundant,
and represents additional unnecessary work. The letters in the above example
indicate the drawing identifications, and are sufficient.

Door Identification Mark

202
A
UDS Standard
Door ID Mark

The UDS uses a circle to surround the door number. We consider the door
number to be an adequate symbol, and placing it inside a circle is like inserting a
square peg in a round hole. This is additional work that we don’t feel is
necessary.

4-Hour Fire Resistive Partition Symbol

UDS 3-hour partition symbol

UDS 4-hour partition symbol

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The UDS uses a line with three dashes for a 4-hour fire-resistive partition
symbol, identical to the 3-hour symbol. We believe this is a mistake, but we
could not get confirmation from CSI on this.

Materials Indications

The UDS uses this 3-line symbol for steel

and other metals, and the 2-line symbol
for aluminum. This may be a mistake,
because the 2-line symbol has been used
for steel for many years (and the 3-line
symbol for aluminum.

The UDS uses this symbol to represent

loose fill insulation, and has no symbol for
batt insulation. This symbol has been
used for batt insulation for many years.
This may be a mistake in the UDS
Manual.

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Materials Symbols
Materials indications are a necessary (if sometimes tedious) part of working
drawings. This “poché” is used to make the extent and relationships among
various materials readily discernible. Materials indications must be consistent
throughout a set of drawings and, where possible, they should be consistent
with what are generally considered to be industry standards. Materials symbols
graphically indicate certain materials and are used to help differentiate one
material from another. They can be dependent or independent of drawing scale.
We recommend using materials symbols that follow the CSI Uniform Drawing
System (see exceptions shown earlier in this chapter).
Concepts:
To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for Materials Symbols so as
to ensure understandable communication with the document user and to better
be able to defend our documents on the jobsite.
1. When material poché is used well, it enhances the readability,
clarity, and graphic quality of working drawings. The following
guidelines will help the architect use material poché well.
2. Material poché should be consistent throughout a set of drawings.
A material should be pochéd the same way in all drawings in the
set.
3. Material poché should be consistent with industry standards.
4. Material poché should be done at the appropriate scale. Quite
often, poché should have a different graphic scale on a large scale
drawing than one drawn at a small scale.
5. Limit the use of materials indications to those areas where they will
most effectively clarify the intent. Never was the cry so loud for
“Less is More” than in the use of materials indications. Use poché
at the boundaries or extremities of a material, or where it meets
another material. Long brick walls rendered in their entirety are
much more difficult to read than if the materials are indicated
sparingly.
Keep in mind the reproduction techniques that may be used. Continuous tones
do not generally reproduce well by photographic methods (including xerox), and
should be avoided. Dot screens can be used to similar effect, but make your
choices carefully. If the drawing is going to be reproduced as a half-tone, dot
screens will produce an objectionable moiré pattern. Fine dot screen patterns
will be splotchy if a reduced size reproduction is made. CAD poché is readily
available, and is generally a superior method for accomplishing this task. The
same criteria should be used in making selections from the available patterns.
Methodology:
Several basic rules govern the use of symbols and materials indications:
 A symbol is generally a superior way of communicating, and is preferred
over a written explanation or description whenever the symbol can do the
job adequately.

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 Different symbols for the same information should never be used in the
same set of drawings (or other sets, either, for that matter).
 Different information should never be represented by the same symbol in
a given set of drawings.
 Cross-check all references for accuracy.
 Symbols have been created for materials not listed in the UDS using
traditional processes recognizable to the construction industry.
 Material Symbols should not be overdone. They should be used where a
material stops or where it changes direction.
 Use a very fine lineweight and border it in heavier lines.
 Never use Material Indications on existing construction, only on proposed
construction to differentiate between the two and illustrate the work to be
performed.

Click Here for Link to:

Standard Materials Symbols

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Identity Symbols
Identity symbols indicate individual objects. They can be dependent or
independent of drawing scale.
We recommend using identity symbols that follow the CSI Uniform Drawing
System (see exceptions shown earlier in this chapter).
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for Identity Symbols so
as to ensure understandable communication with the document user and to
better be able to defend our documents on the jobsite.
 To establish consistency throughout the Contract Documents.
Methodology:
 Cross-check all references for accuracy.
 Symbols have been created for materials not listed in the UDS using
traditional processes recognizable to the construction industry.
 Identity Symbols should be coordinated with the engineering consultants so
as to be able to exchange CAD information with them. Using the UDS
module (the industry standard) will help persuade them to alter their
symbolism to a format you can use.

Click Here for Link to:

Standard Symbols

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Line Symbols
Line symbols indicate continuous objects with either single or double lines. They
are independent of drawing scale.
We recommend using line symbols that follow the CSI Uniform Drawing System
(see exceptions shown earlier in this chapter).
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for Line Symbols so as
to ensure understandable communication with the document user and to
better be able to defend our documents on the jobsite.
 To establish consistency throughout the Contract Documents.
Methodology:
 Cross-check all references for accuracy with consultant drawings.
 Symbols have been created for materials not listed in the UDS using
traditional processes recognizable to the construction industry.
 Line Symbols should be coordinated with the engineering consultants (Civil)
so as to be able to exchange CAD information with them. Using the UDS
module (the industry standard) will help persuade them to alter their
symbolism to a format you can use.

Click Here for Link to:

Standard Symbols

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Text & Template Symbols
Text symbols graphically indicate a word and may be used in notations on
drawings. They are independent of drawing scale.
Template symbols resemble the actual objects being symbolized. They are
scale dependent.
We recommend using text and template symbols that follow the CSI Uniform
Drawing System.
Concepts:
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for Text & Template
Symbols so as to ensure understandable communication with the document
user and to better be able to defend our documents on the jobsite.
 To establish consistency throughout the Contract Documents.
Methodology:
 Cross-check all references for accuracy with consultant drawings.
 Symbols have been created for materials not listed in the UDS using
traditional processes recognizable to the construction industry.
 Template Symbols should be coordinated with the engineering consultants
so as to facilitate the exchange of CAD information with them. Using the
UDS module (the industry standard) will help persuade them to alter their
symbolism to a format you can use.
 Template symbols used to show existing conditions should have a
lightweight line type to differentiate them from proposed construction.

Click Here for Link to:

Standard Symbols

There are many popular symbols which commonly appear in a set of working
drawings. There are also many variations. Create your own standard set of
symbols, based on the UDS standards, and place it on your standard cover
sheet, prepared as a standard on CAD. Then, copy it. Send it to your friends
and colleagues, even competitors or enemies – anyone who might be tempted
to deviate from the standard. Peruse it, use it, abuse it even. But don’t lose it.
And don’t deviate from it. It must become the law... for all of us.

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CHAPTER 8 -- STANDARD PRACTICE

Redundancy
Time is money. Repetition of information on multiple drawings and the
subsequent multiple corrections that inevitably result cost both time and money.
Similarly, duplication of information may add to the cost of construction. Most
simply stated, do not repeat the same information on different drawings. When
preparing the cartoon set, determine which information or level of detail should
appear on which drawing. Strive for clarity, simplicity, and consistency.
Concepts:
Every office should have a Department of Redundancy Department to help
eliminate our natural tendency to be redundant, to repeat ourselves, to say the
same things over and over. Invariably, as a design evolves, certain earlier
decisions must change. If that decision was documented in many different
locations throughout a set of drawings, it will have to be changed at each
location. If one spot is missed, there is an inconsistency in the drawings that
jumps off the page to owners and contractors as a throbbing “change
order...change order...change order.” Reducing the number of opportunities for
this kind of oversight should result in drawings with fewer conflicts, requiring less
time for corrections.
Methodology:
 Design your working drawings as hierarchical shopping lists, moving from
broadscope drawings to larger scale drawings and then to specific details.
 Show room, door, and window identifications on floor plans. Do not repeat
on building sections, wall sections, exterior and interior elevations.
 Avoid repeating similar details. Mark them as similar and note variations
from the standard.
 Avoid drawing interior room elevations unless wall pattern, details, or
ornamentation require graphic depiction. Most room elevations, including
many classrooms, offices, toilets, and the like can be described using the
floor plan in conjunction with a casework schedule, standard mounting
height notes, or details.
 Look for methods of simplification in room finish, door and window
schedules, and other similar schedules (e.g. casework, louvers, toilet
accessories, etc.). If there are 100 rooms in a project, there are probably no
more than 10 standard room finishes (and perhaps some minor variations to
those). Create a room finish legend of the 10 types and subtypes and show
a symbol on the floor plans with the legend adjacent. Avoid sheets of
duplicative schedules.
 Avoid repeating notes from wall section to wall section or detail to detail. On
a given drawing, completely note the most typical section or detail and
simply reference other sections or details to the one noted. Note any
variations to the typical on the affected section or detail. Locate the “noted”
section or detail on the right hand side of the drawing.
 Avoid showing room elevations in the backgrounds of building or wall
sections. This may seem like a logical thing to do, and perhaps for design or
presentation drawings, it is. But for working drawings, it obfuscates the
clarity of your drawings. The users of your documents will be looking for

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 interior elevations on the interior elevation sheets, not the building section
sheets.
 Avoid describing material characteristics, product names, or assembly
instructions on drawings. This information more appropriately belongs in the
technical specifications of the project manual. The specifications indicate
quality requirements, while the drawings indicate quantities and how
different materials come together.
 Avoid showing the same information on both small and large-scale
drawings. If there is room to provide sufficient detail at small scale, omit the
large scale. If not, draw it in detail at large scale and show only a schematic
representation at small scale.
 Avoid plan details in general. If a small-scale plan shows a door jamb tight
to an adjacent wall, there is no reason to draw an enlarged plan detail. If it
is remote from a wall juncture, dimension it.
 Consider drawing wall sections or building sections, not both. Wall sections
should be of sufficient scale to include critical vertical detailing. Building
sections will typically be of sufficiently small scale to require detail
enlargements (adjacent if possible) of key junctures. As a minimum, limit
the number of building sections to those necessary to generally describe
building cross sectional characteristics.
 Locate door and window frame detail references consistently, typically on
door and window frame elevations, not on floor plans or building/room
elevations. Move from plan to schedule to details.
 Avoid repeating site drawing information on floor plans.
 Reflected ceiling plans — consider calling for coordination drawings by
contractor. Every symbol shown on Architectural RCP is a duplication of
engineering drawings and consequently a potential source of conflict.

Dimensioning
Hands and feet. I suppose there was a time when these seemed like wonderful
measuring devices. After all, you always had them with you (unless you were a
convicted thief). Obviously, things were simpler then. In the intervening years,
those of us still using the English system of measurement have made countless
improvements to make the system more workable. First, we standardized the
length of a foot. Good move. Then we divided it into twelve equal parts. How
convenient. Then we divided these twelve increments into halves and into
halves again and again and again – just to make certain that our base 10
calculators could never be used to add up the parts. But we are not trying to
change that here. We are simply trying to work with the system we have. There
are many, many spectacular buildings built using this system, and these
buildings are uncompromised by dimensional “busts,” redesign costs, or change
order increases. This chapter is for the rest of us.
Dimensioning is necessary to define the size and location of various building
materials, components and elements. When well done, dimensioning can clarify
and simplify the construction of the most complex building. However, even the
simplest building can be rendered virtually indecipherable if dimensioning is not
adequately considered.

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If, as architects, there were to be only one thing we did right on a set of working
drawings, that one thing should be to make the dimensions add up correctly.
Dimensioning is a comparatively simple arithmetic exercise, and it is so
important that there is simply no excuse for not taking the time to do it right.
However, there are ways to make this process simpler and easier to manage,
and these techniques should be used on every job.
1. Try to make the floor plan work out on a grid or a module
 Start with a 5’ or a 4’ grid, to see how much of your floor plan you can
make work out to that module.
 Then go to a 2’ grid, and then a 1’ grid, to pick up any uncooperative
stragglers.
 There may still be a few renegades that simply will not conform to these
grids, but they should be very few; try to get them on 6”, 4” or even 2” or 1”
even-inch increments; avoid fractions wherever you can.

2. Arrange dimensions in a hierarchy that corresponds to the building

hierarchy.
 Work from the broad and general to the narrow and specific.
 Generally, for exterior dimensioning, there should be four dimension
lines:
The line furthest from the building should be an overall dimension
from the outside face to the outside face of the building; where the
dimension lines cross over the grid lines or extension lines, break
the line so there will be no confusion about whether a dimension dot
or slash may have been forgotten.
The next line, moving in toward the building, should dimension the
column grid.
The third line in should dimension the building offsets.
The fourth line should locate the small elements, such as the
openings.
 Locate the closest dimension line no closer than 11/2” from the building
linework; this allows space for cross-reference symbols that read more
clearly when placed close to the building lines.

3. Dimension all items from an established reference point, such as a grid line,
and do not necessarily close the string of dimensions to the next grid.

4. The nature and complexity of each building will dictate to dimension to finish
faces, actual faces, or to the centerlines of building elements. For most
projects, the default should be to dimension to the face of concrete or
masonry, and to the finish face of gypsum board applied to studs.
 Dimension to one face of manufactured materials, such as metal studs,
and to both faces of site-constructed items.
 Dimensioning to the centerlines of partitions is common, and may be
acceptable if the thickness of the partition is described in a legend of
partition types; however, dimensioning to the face of one side of the
stud is more consistent with the manner in which partitions are actually
laid out during construction.

5. Dimension to the centerlines of columns, gridlines, and modular partitions.

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6. Dimensions under 1’-0” should be stated in inches only (not 0’-6”, but 6”);
dimensions over 1’-0” should be expressed in feet and inches.
 For dimensions expressed in feet and inches, the inch symbol (“) should
be omitted, because the “inches” part is implied and should be
understood.

7. Limit the smallest fractional increment to 1/8”.

8. Do not dimension items such as partitions or doors that are centered or

otherwise located by being on a grid, mullion, or by typical condition.
1
9. Fractions should be shown with a diagonal slash: 1/2 or /2
1 unacceptable
2

12 unacceptable

10. Dimension as much as possible from structural elements, rather than from
items that may not be installed when the layout takes place.

11. Do not dimension openings that are dimensioned in a schedule.

12. Dimension to the centerlines of windows when the dimension of the actual
unit installed (as determined by competitive bidding on one of several
approved equivalents) may vary from the size of the unit you have shown on
the drawings (except where window units are within masonry walls, in which
case, masonry opening dimensions should be used). “Windows” are to be
distinguished from framed openings in that they are pre-manufactured
assemblies, usually of a pre-determined dimension.

13. Use actual (as opposed to nominal) dimensions for all construction except
masonry. Use nominal dimensions for unit masonry, and make sure that
masonry openings are indicated as such.

14. Make liberal (but studied and judicious) use of terms such as ALIGN,
CENTER, MINIMUM, MAXIUMUM, and CLEAR to show intent; in many
cases, a dimension may not be necessary when the intent is clearly
indicated.

15. Do not dimension to the centerlines of doors. Doors should be located by

dimensioning to one jamb (at the edge of the opening) only when the
location is not otherwise made clear by its context (as it would be when it is
centered in a corridor, for example), or when it is not shown in a detail.

16. When dimensioning unit masonry, always use coursing dimensions, both
horizontally and vertically. Never dimension any part of a masonry wall on
the assumption that the difference can be made up by stretching or
shrinking the mortar joints. Always keep in mind the exact coursing intervals
for the particular block or brick sizes you are using.

17. Give consideration to the overall dimensioning strategy in dimensioning

large and small scale drawings.

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  Don’t be redundant by repeating dimensions on the small scale plan that
are more appropriately indicated on the larger scale plan.
 Use the small scale plans for dimensioning areas that don’t appear in
plan enlargements.
 Use the small scale plan for locating the perimeter points of areas
shown at larger scale.

18. When dimensioning common features in different parts of the plan, make
sure the different ways of dimensioning them result in the same relative
locations for those items (the same dimensions).

19. Make sure long strings of dimensions are tied to gridlines.

20. For doors in typical partitions, don’t dimension the door or the opening size
on the plans – let the door schedule handle this.

21. When the dimension of a door jamb is clearly indicated on a detail, don’t
dimension it on a plan.

22. Dimensions should be checked, then double-checked, and then checked

again. Use an Add-Feet, Jr. or a feet-and-inches calculator; do not try to do
it in your head, or even on a scratch pad. Don’t even think about converting
the dimensions to decimals to use a regular calculator.

Look for alternatives ways to arrive at the dimensions for a cross-check, and
then scale the dimension to make sure you are in the ballpark.

Use common sense in determining a dimensioning strategy, and make it

clear when you are deviating from the norms you have established for your
project.

 For example, if you have decided generally to dimension to the face of

rough framing members, but you discover a condition where you feel it
would be clearer to dimension to the face of a finish material, make sure
you are clear in indicating that deviation to the contractor.
 Dimension for the installer; use reference points that will be clear to the
installer, and that will be in place at the time new pieces of the
construction are being installed.
 Dimension (and annotate) for the desired effect; if you want a masonry
scoring line to align with the edge of a window, make it clear that that is
the desired effect.
 Don’t dimension to a gridline if there will be a concrete wall between the
installer and the gridline at the time of construction. Dimension to the
face of the concrete wall, and then tie that face back to the gridline.
 If the plan features a series of rooms defined by partitions 10 feet apart
(for example), establish a dimensioning strategy that allows a dimension
of 10’-0 to be shown; dimension to the centerlines consistently, or,
better yet, dimension to one face (the same face) of each partition. Don’t
dimension to the left face in one instance, and the right face the next
time. And don’t dimension the thickness of the partition – that is the job
of the partition types.

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  Make any special requirements clear; if a window must meet the brick
on both sides the same way, make sure you have clearly indicated that.

Masonry and Coursing Dimensions

Brick and concrete block are modular materials, and we must be mindful of
their coursing dimensions when we lay out and dimension buildings. The
chance for error is multiplied when we start adding opening into masonry
walls.

Windows
Windows are pre-manufactured units that are available from the manufacturer
in specific, pre-determined sizes. If you want to put one of these units in a
masonry wall, be sure that you can get one that comes in a standard coursing
dimension for the brick or block you are using.

Doors
A typical door size would be 3’-0 w x 7’-0 h. a typical hollow metal frame would
be 2” h (in cross-section). So, a typical door and frame would require an
opening of approximately 3’-4, plus a 1/4” on each side for shimming it so it
1
will be plumb. That makes 3’-4 /2 “. That works well with standard modular
3
brick, because a typical masonry opening would be 3’-4 nominal (3’-4 /8”
actual). The same door would require a vertical opening of 7’-2”. The closest
coursing dimension would be 7’-4” (33 courses). Not such a good match. You
have a couple of choices… you can make the top portion of the frame 4” high
so it courses out, or you can get a special door at 7’-2” high, so with a 2”
frame, it will also course out. It’s not difficult, but it is something you have to
keep in mind when you’re working on a masonry building.

Framed Openings
The frames in framed openings are put in placed after the masonry is
installed. They can be any size you want, as the pieces are cut to measured
field dimensions right at the job site. But you still need an opening that
courses out with the masonry you are using. Don’t forget to always show a
shim space around the frame for shimming.

A final reminder: Keep it simple, take your time and do it right.

Some firms are adamant about dimensioning to the face of a finish material to
ensure the “desired effect.” Others are equally adamant about dimensioning to
the rough face of structural or framing members to simplify the layout. Others
may favor dimensioning to the centerlines of partitions, or creating nominal
dimensions for partitions and dimensioning that way. There is no right way or
wrong way of doing it – only the way preferred by the office you are in. Each
method has its advantages and disadvantages, and certain projects may
present very compelling arguments in favor of one method versus another.
These arguments should be considered, even if the most favored method is
not the current office standard. If you are not absolutely clear on what the
preferred method is in your office, go and find out. It is imperative that the
dimensioning methodology be consistent throughout the entire set of working
drawings.

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Concepts:
 Easy to check: By using actual sizes and by dimensioning from finish
surface to finish surface you will be able to tell at a glance if your building
complies with code or if your equipment will fit.
 Easy to check: By tying all dimensioning to the structural grid it is easier to
check for accuracy by adding between structural bays instead of having to
add dimensions from one end of the building to the other.
 Easy to check: If you never change your CAD dimension values, and always
draw accurately, you can let the computer check the math for you.
 Reduce drafting time: Dimension things once and in the most logical place.
 Define your potential errors: Use such terms as “+/-“ and “Field Verify” as
appropriate to indicate potential for varying dimension values.
 Understand that R.O. (rough opening) and M.O. (masonry opening) define
openings and not necessarily frame sizes.
 A flexible system that will adapt to a variety of building types.
Methodology:
 Create a single source of information. Understand what level of
dimensioning is appropriate for details and what level is appropriate for
broad scope information. Show dimensions the least number of times,
preferably once, in the most logical place. Change becomes easier that way.
 Position all text so it is readable without linework running through it.
 If you must dimension an existing condition label it as such with an (E) and
define it as an “existing dimension to be field verified”.
 Approach dimensioning like you were slicing bread. Slice through the
building every so often with a string of dimensions. Random dimension
strings are a sure sign to the contractor that some items have been missed.
 We require all dimensioning (except masonry) be actual distances, not
nominal, measured from finish face to finish face, to the right side of
partitions.
 In general, for exterior dimensions there should be four dimension lines. The
outermost should be a building overall length, next dimension the column
grid, the next string follows the major building offsets (if applicable), and
finally dimension small elements such as openings.
 All dimensions 1”-0” and over should be expressed in feet and inches.
Casework and Millwork are the only areas where it is common to dimension
in inches only.
 Limit the smallest fractional increment to 1/8”.

Click here for a link to a

Sample Dimensioned Floor Plan

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Drawing Hierarchies
Let’s say you want to bake a layer cake. You could mix up the batter for the
first layer, and then bake it, and then frost it. And then start over for layer
two. You could, but since you don’t want to devote the entire day to baking
the cake, you probably opt in favor of mixing the batter for both layers at the
same time, baking both layers at the same time, and then frosting them at
the same time. You would follow a logical sequence of events that allowed
each activity to happen at the appropriate time, resulting in the most efficient
process for doing the work.

As architects, our reputations depend on our ability to conceive creative ideas.

But our livelihoods depend on our abilities to communicate these ideas
effectively to the people who will be translating our ideas into built reality. A
systematic, hierarchical approach to communicating our ideas is important for
the following reasons:
 to allow the most important information on a drawing sheet to occupy its
rightful place on the drawing
 to avoid overlapping and conflicting drawing elements
 to allow the drawing to become meaningful and useful at the earliest
possible point in its development

Drawing components can be divided into the following broad categories:

 initial drawing linework
 dimensions
 cross-referencing
 poché
 notation
 titles

The information contained within each of these basic drawing elements can be
prioritized in order to achieve the proper organization of the drawing elements,
to avoid overlapping information, and to deliver information to our consultants
and in-house team members according to a sequence which allows them to be
most productive.

Structural engineers need the following information at the start of working

drawings:
 floor plans for all levels, but especially at foundation or below grade
levels (the grid has been determined during an earlier phase, in concert
with the engineer); include column grid lines with dimensions between
grid lines
 show wall and partition locations (including opening sizes and locations)
and construction materials
 roof plan
 building sections
 wall sections
Mechanical engineers need the following information at the start of working
drawings:
 site plan

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  floor plans (similar to the requirements for structural drawings, but
include plumbing fixture types and locations)
 reflected ceiling plans
 building sections
 mechanical equipment room plan
 building elevations
 roof plan
Electrical engineers need the following information at the start of working
drawings:
 site plan
 floor plans
 reflected ceiling plans
 furniture layouts
 telephone and electrical room locations

Hierarchical Organization
In preparing each of the following types of working drawings, keep in mind the
information that each discipline needs to know, and develop the drawings
accordingly. Don’t clutter the drawings with a lot of architectural information until
the engineers have what they need. Remember that our mechanical and
electrical engineers may want to use sepias, CAD plots, or electronic versions of
our drawings as backgrounds for their work.
FLOOR PLANS (generally follow this sequence)
 title block showing project name
 drawing identification and scale
 north arrow
 column/grid lines with bubbles and alpha-numeric designations and
dimensions
 walls and partitions (clearly identify concrete and masonry walls)
 openings in floors and walls
 issue drawings to structural engineer
 add doors, door swings, and windows
 add stairs, elevators
 add plumbing fixtures (toilets, lavatories, sinks)
 issue backgrounds to mechanical and electrical consultants
 issue prints to structural consultant for coordination
 add balance of exterior dimensions (leave space between dimension
lines and building lines for cross-referencing symbols)
 add remaining plan features such as vanity tops, toilet partitions,
railings, changes in floor materials
 add interior dimensions
 add cross-referenced symbols such as building section marks, wall
section marks, detail marks, interior elevation marks
 add room names, room numbers, room finish codes

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  place room names in rooms as possible, but not in conflict with
dimensions or cross-referencing
 place outside but near rooms where necessary, with leader lines
 add door symbols and marks
 add notation
 issue coordination sets to consultants
 add poché (materials indications)
 make necessary revisions
 prepare final redlines
The above sequence applies to the development of the floor plans. Similarly,
certain drawings in the set should be started before others. The same criteria
apply.

Drawings that should be started first, all at about the same time, are:
 Site improvements plan
 Below-grade floor plans
 Above-grade floor plans
 Wall sections

Then, in descending order of priority:

 Reflected ceiling plans
 Floor plan enlargements
 Building elevations
 Building sections
 Details
 Partition types
 Interior elevations
 Schedules
Obviously, the preferred operating procedure will vary among consultants. Talk
to them; find out what they want. If their particular needs vary from this
sequence, that’s OK. It is better to deviate from this sequence than it is to make
assumptions that impede the productivity of our consultants.
Hierarchical organization is similarly important on other kinds of drawings as
well. For building and wall sections, it helps to keep the construction sequence
in mind as you develop the drawing. For example:
Start at the footing and work your way up the building.
 Put the structural elements in your drawing first; show the foundation wall,
floor joists, beams, etc., as you develop the drawing. Show the same
structural members and connections as the structural drawings show (but
leave out the detail).
 Develop the drawing from the outside in; make sure you have established
the proper relationships between the structure and the skin materials.

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 Determine the parts of the construction that will drive decisions about the
rest of the building; for example, determine vertical masonry coursing early,
and work the rest of the construction around it.

The drawings you create will be the products of the thought process that you put
into them. If your thought process is clear, logical, and coherent, then your
drawings will communicate clearly. If your process is haphazard, then that is
what will be communicated to the contractor. Take care with your work, and let
it say good things about you.

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CHAPTER 9 -- NOTATION & KEYED NOTATION
Introduction
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find notes on our draings such as these:
gyp bd., drywall, sheetrock, gyp rock, wallboard, etc,. on the same set of
drawings. A contractor may ask himself, or even you, whether you wanted a
specific manufacturer of gypsum board (sheetrock) at certain locations but not at
others. Or he may ponder the difference you had in mind between gyp. bd. and
drywall, when the truthful explanation is that Dick used the term “drywall” to
describe gypsum board, while Jane used the term “gyp. bd.” Multiply this by, oh,
maybe 500 opportunities, and it is easy to understand why consistency in the
use of architectural nomenclature is so essential in creating drawings that
communicate effectively. A master notation system (including keyed notation)
can eliminate this problem. But that is not the only advantage a notation system
has to offer.
We have three goals in the use of a master list of CSI notations:
 to save time (both in creating our drawings, as well as checking them)
 to make our notation consistent, from sheet to sheet, from drafter to
drafter, and from project to project – even office to office
 to tie the drawings to the specifications
The use of CAD has automated some of the above objectives. We have created
a library of standard notation (see the link at the end of this chapter). Notation is
typically inserted into the drawings as blocks, with attributes. This will
accomplish the objectives of saving time and making the notation consistent. A
4-digit CSI number (the first four digits of the 6-digit CSI numbering system) can
then be added to tie the material to its proper address in the specifications.
Even if you choose not to access notes from a computer library of notation, use
the master list anyway. It will help keep your notation consistent, a noble
achievement in itself.
In addition to producing drawings that are more graphically legible, the proper
use of standardized CSI notation automatically establishes a direct and
deliberate relationship between the drawings and the specifications.
Conversely, if improperly used, they can result in anything from simple confusion
to potentially costly legal action.
Some other considerations in using a master notation system:
1. Notes as they appear on the drawings will consist of numerals and the
actual notation. Go through the master list and choose whatever notes
you think you will need and highlight them for editing and sorting by
support staff. If you discover later that you need some that you haven't
previously identified, you can select additional ones at any time.
2. References to Civil, Landscape, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, and
other disciplines must be carefully coordinated with those disciplines. It
is extremely problematic to refer to consultant drawings if the information
isn’t there. If you use this reference, make certain that someone
following your instructions will find the information you say they will.
Otherwise, it would be better to leave out this instruction altogether, since

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 some requirement for a reference to consultant drawings is implied by
language in the AIA General Conditions.
3. With some notable exceptions (such as demolition notes), notes should
refer only to materials. Imperative notes or clarifying notes should be
written in full directly on the drawing.
4. Remember that the drawings quantify and the specifications qualify. Try
not to include information in the notes that rightfully belongs in the
specifications, and vice versa. Use of the attached master list should help
accomplish this.
5. The use of a tag can be very helpful in reducing the number of notes
needed. For example, a single project may require several different
thicknesses or types of gypsum board. One method of annotation might
be to create a separate note for each size or type. A simpler and more
effective method would be to create a single note, such as 09270 GYPSUM
BOARD , to cover all sizes and types of gypsum board with a tag to
differentiate them. The size or type which is most prevalent on the job
should be identified and the basic note in the legend would read “09270
GYPSUM BOARD; 5/8” unless otherwise noted.” Any variations would be
tagged when the note is applied to the drawing. The tag would indicate a
different thickness (such as “09270 GYPSUM BOARD; 1/2”) or type (such
as “09270 GYPSUM BOARD; Type “X” or 09270 GYPSUM BOARD; M.R.)
The tagging system is particularly useful in differentiating different colors
of the same material, such as paint, plastic laminate, carpet, etc. Once
the limits of various sizes, finishes, or colors are indicated in the drawings,
the specifications take over to spell out the required finish in detail.
6. This master list of notation should be used as the basis for all note lists
used on working drawings. Where there is some question as to the
appropriate section or location for a material not already in the master list,
refer to the CSI MasterFormat book from the Manual of Practice. It will
serve as an excellent guide for making this determination. Remember
that just because an item is metal does not necessarily mean that it
belongs in the metals section – it may be an accessory that should be
specified in an entirely separate section.
7. It is possible for the same note to appear in more than one section. This
usually occurs with certain accessories. For instance, weeps may be
under stone and under brick. Be careful to use the proper note for the
condition in question.
8. Demolition notes must be carefully coordinated with specific project
conditions. It is very easy to get overly detailed with these notes. More
generic notes, used with a qualifier, or "tail,” may be more useful and
effective than a separate note for every instance.
As with any type of lexicon, it is important to develop a standard list of items
which is as comprehensive as possible. This “Master Menu” of potential notes
should include not only the most commonly used materials, but also some that
you don’t use that often. Yet it is also important to keep the list as brief as
possible, to streamline its use. At some point, usually not too far into its
development, a long list becomes unwieldy and detrimental to the process. If

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that happens, the list will fall quickly into disuse. The Master Menu should be
consulted as early as practical in the course of the work so that a preliminary
working list of notes can be generated and the project team can get accustomed
to its use on the particular project. In using the Master Menu, make a copy of
the entire menu of notes. Highlight the notes you know you will need. If other
members of the team need to have input, have them use the same list. Once
the preliminary selections are made, have the list edited on the word processor
and reprinted. As the project evolves, more notes will be necessary. The
project architect should keep one project list which can be edited as the need for
additional notes is discovered. All other members of the team must clear new
notations with the project architect to ensure that the same designation is not
used for more than one note, or vice versa.
Use of the master CSI notation system requires discipline and self-control. The
fewer notes required to communicate the basic systems and assemblies the
better.
Editing the Master Menu not only makes for a much more manageable notation
list, it provides only that information which is relevant to the project.
Last, in terms of coordination among disciplines, make certain that all project
consultants are aware of, and actively use, your notation system. It was
designed to cover all 48 specification divisions and that covers structural steel,
floor drains, and electrical raceways as well as bricks.
Where overlap occurs between disciplines (e.g., on site development,
landscape, civil engineering, and plumbing or electrical site plans) make certain
that common elements utilize a common designation.
Use of the computer enables us to produce a “Master Menu” of notations that
can be stored in the CAD database as a library of notes. Just as toilets or doors
can be inserted as “entities,” so can notes. Depending upon the system you
use, you may need some consulting help to set up a system that allows pull-
down menu trees or tablet icon selections. Each note can be inserted into the
drawing in its entirety, each composed in the same way described above
(complete with its CSI designation), something every contractor will be ecstatic
about. When assigning CSI numbers for this method, group materials into
sections of 4 digits, where the first two digits indicate the Level 1 categories
(Divisions), and the second pair indicates the CSI Section numbers. A notation
number that goes to the third level would make the system unwieldy, and the
first two pairs of numbers gets the contractor to the appropriate CSI division and
section category of the specifications, and the CSI numbering system will take
over from there.
Concepts:
 Easy to check: By creating a set of key notes common to all Architectural
sheets in the set the keynotes are recognized easier and memorized quicker
than if each sheet had a different system.
 Easy to check: By including written terminology after the CSI specification
division reference number the drawing can be understood quicker.
 Easy to check: CSI reference numbers can be checked against specification
sections to see if the information is truly there.

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 Reduce drafting time: By creating an x-ref’d set of key notes common to all
Architectural sheets in the set any additions or subtractions are
accomplished quickly.
 A flexible system that will adapt to a variety of building types. Methodology:
 Only use keynotes (a keynote is a numeral or letter contained inside a
special symbol, such as the hexagon recommended by the CSI Uniform
Drawing System -- if the term you need to use is repeated many times.

12 Example of a keynote symbol

 Only use keynotes if you have run out of space on the drawing to spell the
note out.
 Use a single keynote list for all drawings in the Architectural set.
 Proper notation involves understanding how to present information in a
consistent sequence.
 Start your note with a Specification Division number (a four-digit number
where the first two digits represent the CSI Division number, and the last
two digits represent the CSI Section number).
 Follow the Division Number with Identification information (if it is not
covered elsewhere).
 Follow the Identification info with dimensional Information (use the
identical terminology/nomenclature as is used in the specifications).
Keep in mind that if there is only one size of something on your project,
it can be covered in the specs. Different sizes are indicated in the notes
to help clarify the extents/limits of (quantify) each size.
 Follow Identification with Assembly information (if it is not covered
elsewhere – it is generally covered in the specifications).
 Follow assembly info with a Cross-Reference to another part of the set
(if it is necessary).
 An example of this sequence would be: 09200 –Moisture Resistant
Gypsum Board; 5/8” unless noted otherwise; screw to studs @ 6” O.C.
See Detail 5/A8.3.

Click Here for Link to:

Master List of CSI Notation

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CHAPTER 10 -- STANDARD MOUNTING HEIGHTS
General
1. All reveals shall be centered unless otherwise noted.
2. Model numbers for pre-manufactured casework: Refer to ISI Corporation
units and model numbers.
3. Owner provided accessories include paper towel dispenser; sanitary napkin
dispenser; toilet paper dispenser and soap dispenser.
Mounting heights indicated apply for general conditions unless noted otherwise
(dimensions represent distance above finish floor typical). If conflicts arise,
review with architect prior to installation of back boxes or framing; where
applicable, a second mounting height for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
rooms are given in parentheses. Modify these heights as necessary to conform
to ADA requirements, local codes or office standards.

Standard Mounting Heights

ITEM MOUNTING HEIGHT
Access panel @ water walls: ........................................................
2’-0 AFF to center of unit
Drink fountain:................................................................................
3’-0”, 2’-6” for additional fountain at same location, to
spout
Markerboards/tackboards:.............................................................
3’-0 (2’-6”) to bottom rail
Thermostats: ..................................................................................
5'-0" AFF to center
Electrical receptacle: .....................................................................
1'-6", or 4" above counter or backsplash, to center
Electrical and communications receptacles @ wall
mounted TV: 7'-8" to center
Communications receptacle:.........................................................
l'-6", or 4" above top of counter or backsplash, to
center
Electrical switch: ............................................................................
3'-8" to center
Fire alarm pull station: ...................................................................
3'-8", to center
Center fire extinguisher cabinet: ...................................................
3'-4" to bottom of cabinet. Handle to be 4'-0" max.
Fire horn device: ............................................................................
7'-8" to center
Clock & wall mounted speaker:.....................................................
7'-0' AFF to centerline of units
Automatic door operator: ..............................................................
3'-4" to center
Magnetic door holder:....................................................................
6'-4" to center
Panic hardware:.............................................................................
3’- 0" to center
Paper towel dispenser @ classrooms: .........................................
4" above backsplash to operations/controls
Soap dispenser @ classrooms: ....................................................
4" above backsplash to operations/controls

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Standard Toilet Room Fixture Mounting Heights:
Mounting heights indicated apply for typical conditions unless noted otherwise
(dimensions are Above Finish Floor (AFF) typical). If conflicts are discovered,
review with architect prior to installation of back boxes or framing. Where
applicable, a second mounting height for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
rooms are given in parenthesis. Confirm and modify these heights as necessary
to conform to ADA requirements, local codes, or office standards.
ITEM MOUNTING HEIGHT
Lavatory: ........................................................................................
30” to rim or counter
Water closet: ..................................................................................
15" to rim
Urinal: .............................................................................................
24"
Mirror at toilets: ..............................................................................
40" to bottom of mirror
Soap dispensers at toilets: ............................................................
40" to operational controls
Toilet paper dispensers: ................................................................
24" to center
Paper towel dispenser at toilets: ...................................................
48" to center of operational controls
Hand dryer: ....................................................................................
36" to center of operational controls
Napkin dispenser: ..........................................................................
40" to operational controls
Napkin disposal: ............................................................................
24" to center
Hand held shower head: ...............................................................
6'-6" to center, on 60" hose
Shower seat: ..................................................................................
17"
Shower control:..............................................................................
42" to center
Shower rod:....................................................................................
6'-6" to center

Standard Mounting Heights Drawing -- .DWG format

(AutoCAD)

Standard Mounting Heights Drawing -- .PLN format –

(ArchiCAD)

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CHAPTER 11 -- GENERAL NOTES
The following is a master list of common general notes which may or may not
be required on any given project. Edit this list to remove any notes which do
not apply, and add any notes which do not appear here, and to customize the
wording so that it applies directly to the project at hand. Look for cross-
references, and update them for your drawing set. Also, verify that these
notes accurately reflect your office standards. As you add new general notes,
update the master list if you think the new notes will apply to most projects.

Floor Plans
1. The contractor shall visit the site and become familiar with site conditions
as they may affect carrying out the Work as described in these contract
documents. The contractor shall investigate, verify, and be responsible
for all conditions of the project, and notify the architect of any conditions
that require modification before proceeding with the Work.
2. Any indication of project limits or lines of demarcation are shown for the
convenience of the contractor, and are not to be taken literally. Actual
contract limits are to be determined by the contractor and approved by
the Owner before actual construction work begins.
3. These drawings use a modified ConDoc notation system. The
specification notation system uses three digits of specification section.
Refer to specification book for specific specification number.
4. Architectural drawing notation includes specification section reference
numbers in conjunction with material descriptions. This information is
provided for the convenience of the Contractor only and is not intended
to indicate specific trades to be utilized for the Work. In case of
discrepancies between the reference number and the verbal description,
the verbal description shall take precedence, unless otherwise directed.
Discrepancies between specification number references and written
descriptions of materials or systems in no way relieves the contractor of
responsibility for the completing of the Work as shown.
5. Dimensions indicated are to faces of finish materials and grid lines
(typical), unless noted otherwise.
6. Refer to enlarged plans for dimensions, detail references, and interior
elevation references within those areas.
7. Refer to structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical for additional
general notes, abbreviations, and symbols. All notes are to be reviewed,
and applied to related building components. Details not shown are
similar in character to those that are shown. Where specific dimensions,
details, or design intent cannot be determined or reasonably inferred,
consult the architect before proceeding with the Work. Refer to
structural drawings for structural column and bearing wall locations and
sizes.
8. Refer to sheet A_._ for partition types, details, and descriptions.
9. Refer to Reflected Ceiling Plans for soffit locations and ceiling detail
references.

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10. Where doors in metal stud/gypsum board partitions are not specifically
located on the plans with dimension strings, provide a minimum hinge-
side jamb dimension of 6” from door opening to adjacent perpendicular
walls. Where doors appear to be centered within corridors, locate the
doors in the center of the corridor.
11. Top of concrete finish floor (level one) is assumed at El. 100’-0
(elevation 100’-0 equates to USGS datum elevation of XXXX’-X).
12. Drawings are prepared using dimensions and product configurations or
details of specific manufacturers (typically the first manufacturer listed
under “Acceptable Manufacturers” in the Specifications). Dimensions
and details for specific products may change before they are actually
incorporated into the Work, and products by other manufacturers may
also be acceptable. Therefore, actual installation details and
dimensions may differ from those shown. Contractor shall verify
installation requirements for all products to be incorporated in the Work
(including partition thicknesses for recessed or semi-recessed
products), and is responsible for accommodating and coordinating
changes to other materials or products that are necessary because of
these differences.
13. All partitions are Partition Type ## unless indicated otherwise. Partition
types continue around comers unless indicated otherwise.
14. The drawings and specifications are separated into disciplines for the
convenience of the Architect and the Contractor. The separations used
herein are used only for the purposes of convenience and reference and
in no way do they define or limit the scope or intent of any part of the
drawings, or of the drawings and specifications as a whole. The fact that
the drawings are separated in no way suggests that the Work is not to
be constructed as a complete, integrated and unified whole.
15. The drawings and specifications, including drawings prepared by
specific engineering disciplines (such as civil, structural, mechanical,
electrical, etc.) are complementary; items shown in any one location in
the drawings shall be considered to be requirements of the contract for
construction. In the event of an inconsistency between the drawings and
specifications, or within either document, the Contractor shall seek
clarification or interpretation from the Architect prior to bidding. Where
inconsistencies are not clarified prior to bidding, and where the actual
solution or intent cannot be reasonably inferred, the Contractor shall
include the better quality or greater quantity of Work in the bid proposal.
16. Wall, ceiling, base, and floor finishes are to be provided in every room
unless the drawings specifically indicate that a room or portion thereof is
to remain “unfinished.” If room finishes are not specifically indicated,
provide the same finishes as are provided in the room adjacent to the
room in question, or obtain clarification from the Architect prior to
bidding.
17. Fire-rated corridor partitions indicated on floor plans are components of
continuous rated corridor assemblies consisting of walls, floor, and
ceiling. See Reflected Ceiling Plans and Partition Types for specific
methods of achieving the necessary ratings. Where the specific method

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 of achieving the rating is not indicated, obtain clarification from the
Architect prior to bidding. The rating of the entire corridor must be
maintained. Provide rated partitions, floors, ceilings, and door or other
opening assemblies to maintain the continuity of the fire rating. Provide
fire safing and fire-rated sealants to maintain the continuity of the fire-
rated system. If a ceiling rating is not specifically indicated, obtain
clarification from the Architect. prior to bidding; otherwise, assume a
rating to match the rating of the corridor walls. Where mechanical work
penetrates any component of the fire-rated assembly, provide the
appropriate fire and/or smoke dampers. If it is not clear whether
ductwork penetrates a portion of the rated assembly, obtain clarification
from the Architect. prior to bidding.
18. Door assemblies in 1-hour rated partitions are to be 20- minute rated
unless a higher rating is indicated in the Door Schedule.
19. Door assemblies in 2-hour rated partitions are to be 90- minute rated
unless a higher rating is indicated in the Door Schedule.
20. Use tempered glass in all openings within 18” of the floor or a door,
unless another form of safety glazing is specifically indicated on the
drawings.
21. Use wire-glass in all glazed openings within fire-rated corridors.
22. Caulk all joints or cracks which occur where dissimilar materials
intersect perpendicular to each other, and the intersection is exposed to
view, unless indicated otherwise on the drawings.
23. Provide slip joint connections at the tops of all partitions which intersect
the structure above; provide fire-safing at all slip-joint connections in
fire-rated partitions. See Partition Types for typical slip-joint connection
design. If amount of deflection to be accommodated is not indicated,
obtain clarification from the Architect prior to installation.
24. Provide continuous perimeter building insulation (minimum 1” thick
unless another thickness is indicated) at all exterior walls.
24. Paint all exposed steel or wood (unless noted otherwise).
25. All material colors to be selected by Architect, unless noted otherwise.

Wall Sections
1. Refer to Civil drawings for site grading; refer to architectural site plan
and enlarged site plans for concrete paving patterns and spot
elevations.
2. Structural steel or precast concrete shapes are shown for detailing of
architectural finishes only; refer to structural drawings for structural
dimensions, sizes, shapes, and details of construction for specific
conditions.
3. Wall Sections show masonry bearing ledges at a depth of 8 inches
below finish floor elevations (typical). Refer to Civil drawings for actual
finish grades; refer to exterior building elevations and structural
drawings for actual depth of ledges (typical). Coordinate with Civil
drawings for site conditions at building perimeter. Locate weep holes
minimum 4. above finish grade (typical).

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 4. Refer to Finish Schedule and interior elevations for all wall, ceiling, floor,
and base materials and finish designations.
5. Refer to Reflected Ceiling Plans and ceiling details for ceiling heights,
soffit heights, and materials of construction.
6. Flashing, dampproofing, and insulation shown on wall sections indicate
vertical locations only; provide continuous systems.
7. Provide sealant and backer rods (typical) at all exterior door and window
frames and louvers.
8. M.O. (masonry opening) refers to nominal masonry opening dimensions
in masonry construction.
9. Refer to Window Schedule and elevations for window and glazing types
not shown on Wall Sections.
10. Provide fire-retardant wood wherever wood blocking is shown on the
drawings.
11. Refer to Mechanical and Electrical drawings for interfaces with these
systems not shown on Wall Sections.
12. Provide smooth faced concrete masonry units below finish floor
elevation at brick ledge unless noted otherwise. There shall be no
exposed smooth face concrete masonry units; coordinate with finish
grade.
13. Contractor or window manufacturer to design, provide and install
complete attachment of window to structural steel or structural concrete,
or structural concrete masonry per specifications and window
manufacturer’s requirements. No loads are to be transferred to veneer
masonry .
14. Refer to detail X/AX.X for typical precast concrete sill. Coordinate final
unit size with unit location and wall sections.
15. Provide compacted gravel fill directly below slab on grade; re: structural
for required depth.

Reflected Ceiling Plans

1. All ceilings are to be xx’-x above finish floor, unless indicated otherwise.
2. Speakers, smoke detectors, and heat detectors are to be centered
within ceiling elements unless dimensioned at different locations. Center
all ceiling mounted items in acoustical panels, in gypsum board soffits,
and between other ceiling mounted fixtures (typical).
3. All gypsum board soffits are to be held back a minimum of 2” from the
face of adjacent masonry column or pilaster.
4. Sprinkler heads are to be centered within ceiling elements, acoustical
ceiling panels, and between other ceiling mounted fixtures.
5. Coordinate access panel locations with locations of other ceiling
mounted appurtenances.

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Roof Plans
1. Provide walkway pads to ensure a protected path of travel between and
around all mechanical equipment, access points, and window washing
locations.
2. Maintain ± 4” thick R30 rigid insulation at roof drain locations.
3. Maintain minimum slope of 3/8” per foot at main roof areas.
4. Maintain minimum slope of 1/4” per foot at crickets and tapered
insulation intersections.
5. Overflow drains are to be 2” minimum higher than primary roof drains.
6. Refer to structural drawings for sloping structure.

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CHAPTER 12 -- REMODEL PROJECTS
The trick with remodeling projects is to explain both the existing conditions and
the proposed construction. In other words you will need to explain twice the
information you normally would in a set of biddable contract documents.
In order for the contractor to be able to distinguish between what is to remain,
what is to be removed, and what is to be built, there is a certain language you
will need to master if you want to explain your design properly. Most of the
following information will show you the proper “graphic conversation” that you
will need to explain your design and reduce the risk of having it compromised
through a “Value Engineering” effort or through the “Change Order” process.
It is in our best interest to follow an accepted industry standard when it comes to
graphic directions of this nature, so as to be able to defend our construction
documents and communicate our ideas with the least amount of confusion. To
this end we have adopted Module 4 of the Uniform Drawing System, Drafting
Conventions, as our standard for proper drafting methodology.
Concepts:
 To graphically distinguish between the existing work to remain, the existing
work to be removed, and proposed construction without extensive site
investigation by the bidder.
 To follow a nationally recognized industry standard for communicating the
building design to others in order to eliminate individual preference and to
better defend our documents.
Methodology:
 Define your potential errors: Avoid use of the word “new”. We want the
contractor to assume everything is “new” unless labeled otherwise. Only
label “existing” materials if you need to, not both.
 Perform a detailed survey of the existing conditions early in the program
phase. Start your design effort with reliable information.
 Never use material indications (poché) on existing materials, reserve this for
proposed construction only. If you must label an existing material use text
followed with an (E) for existing.
 Distinguish between proposed construction and existing conditions by using
a light lineweight for existing. The proposed construction should stand out.
 All dimensioning of existing conditions should be labeled “Field Verify” if
involving critical items of construction such as steel or casework.

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General Notes for Renovation Construction
General
1. Information contained on these drawings with regard to existing conditions
of construction is provided for the convenience of the General Contractor in
executing the work. Every attempt has been made to provide complete and
accurate representations of such existing conditions. This interpretation has
been taken from record sets of “as-built” drawings on file at and has as been
further supplemented by extensive field-measurement and observations.
The Architect cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of any such
information and assumes no liability therefore.
2. The information contained on these drawings with regard to existing
conditions of construction in no way releases the General Contractor from
the responsibility for verifying completely all field conditions relating to and
affecting the execution of the work, as described in these contract
documents.
3. It is the responsibility of the General Contractor to field verify and document
all existing dimensions, elevations and benchmarks, materials and methods
of construction that may affect or be affected by new work, and to
coordinate such field verification with the contract documents and the
execution of the work. Discrepancies and/or conflicts involving anticipated
existing conditions shall be brought to the Architect’s attention immediately.
4. Field-verification of existing conditions related to specific portions of the
work shall be undertaken in advance to allow for the timely identification of
existing conditions that may affect the scheduled installation of new work as
designed and detailed, and to avoid undue and unreasonable delays to the
project should such conditions be discovered. Timely identifications of such
conditions shall provide for a minimum period of ten (10) working days
during which time the Architect will evaluate the conditions and make
recommendations for accommodating new work.
5. It is the responsibility of the General Contractor to assist the Architect in
making their evaluations and recommendations by providing in a timely
manner, at no additional cost to the Owner, accurate and complete
drawings, sketches, and photographs sufficient to clearly describe
discrepancies, conflicts, and concealed or otherwise unanticipated existing
conditions affecting new construction.
The General Contractor shall further assist the Architect by providing in a
timely manner prepared solutions to unanticipated existing conditions.
6. The Architect has endeavored to identify as completely as possible in the
drawings and specifications existing items of equipment and construction
that are required to be removed or otherwise demolished so as to allow the
execution of new work. This information is provided for the convenience of
the General Contractor, and is in no way intended to mean that demolition is
limited only to those items specifically identified. It is the General
Contractor’s responsibility to execute demolition work as required to allow
the execution of new work.

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7. All areas above or on the existing ceiling that are affected by installation of
new work shall be repaired completely with materials and products to match
existing installation and fire-rated assemblies.
8. All items indicating contract limits and lines of demarcation are shown of the
convenience of the General Contractor, and are not to be taken literally.
Actual contract limits are to be determined by the General Contractor prior
to bid openings by field verification. The General Contractor is responsible
for ensuring proper interface between existing and new work.
9. The General Contractor must be aware that construction in some areas
surrounding the limits of this contract is currently in progress. For this
reason, actual existing conditions may vary from conditions indicated on
these drawings. All such discrepancies shall be accurately and thoroughly
recorded by the General Contractor and promptly reported to the Architect.
10. The General Contractor is responsible for identifying all signage and other
assemblies that may be affected by demolition or installation of new work.
Such project elements shall be removed and stored prior to the performance
of any work. The Contractor is responsible for cataloging each element and
its location in the building, and is responsible for reinstalling each element in
its original location after all work in the area has been completed.
11. The General Contractor is responsible for identifying any unfinished wall
areas that may be exposed as a result of adjusting finished ceiling heights.
The Contractor is responsible for finishing these areas to match existing
adjacent finished areas and fire-rated assemblies.
12. The General Contractor and affected subcontractors shall visit the project
site prior to submitting a proposal. The Contractor shall become generally
familiar with the project, and with the impact of the new work on the existing
conditions. Any areas of concern shall be brought to the attention of the
Architect prior to submitting a proposal. No additional charge to the Owner
will be approved which is attributable to the Contractor’s failure to do this.
13. The project is currently occupied, and must remain completely operational
during normal business hours (7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays).
Coordinate with the Owner any construction activities which may impede
normal operations, including any activity which operates excessive noise,
airborne dirt, or which disrupts the normal functionality of the space. Protect
any adjacent space with dust partitions or curtains from activities which will
create dust. Notify any occupants of the building of any construction
activities which may affect their ability to operate normally.
Asbestos Location and Abatement
1. The Architect has been made aware that others have determined the
presence of asbestos in the premises. The Architect understands that
others have prescribed or may prescribe procedures for location and
abatement of asbestos. These plans and specifications do NOT contain
information from which asbestos may be located nor have they been
prepared in contemplation of asbestos removal. Before any work is
performed under these plans and specifications, the contractor performing
the work should become fully aware of the location of asbestos and
abatement procedures, if any, for asbestos. The Architect undertakes no
responsibility to provide such information or guidance, and the contractor

General Notes for Renovation Projects

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 should contact the Owner directly with respect to asbestos location and
abatement.
Building Access, and Capacity of Existing Building Structure
1. It is the responsibility of the General Contractor to identify points of
access to the building and to verify minimum clearances available for use
in transporting necessary construction machinery, equipment, materials,
and components into the building. Use of such points of access shall be
approved by the Owner.
Existing Life Safety and Emergency Systems
1. It is the responsibility of the General Contractor to identify existing
components and assemblies within the building that are constructed as
fire-rated assemblies and to determine their hourly fire rating. When the
execution of new work requires that these assemblies be disturbed, the
contractor shall undertake to repair the existing work so that the required
fire rating is maintained. Existing life safety and emergency systems may
not be shown on the drawings in their entirety.
2. The General Contractor is responsible for field-verification of location and
extent of these systems (including but not limited to fire sprinkler systems,
smoke detection systems, emergency lighting systems) as they may be
affected by new work. The General Contractor is responsible for
accommodating these systems when affected by new work so that all
applicable code requirements are satisfied.
Photographs of Existing Conditions.
1. Photographs of existing building conditions are included on portions of
these drawings. Information contained on these photographs is provided
for the convenience of the General Contractor. Existing conditions may
vary from what these photographs show. It shall be the responsibility of
the General Contractor to verify all field conditions prior to the time of the
bid and alert the Architect to any discrepancies between existing
conditions and what the photographs show.
2. The general condition of the building, including the conditions of the
finished surfaces and materials, shall be inspected, photographed, and
recorded by the General Contractor prior to beginning any work. Any
change to these conditions which occurs after making this record will be
attributed to construction operations, and it shall be the responsibility of
the General Contractor to restore any part of the project to the condition
shown in the record.
Contractor’s Project Record Documents
Maintain at the job site one copy of all drawings, specifications, addenda,
approved shop drawings, field orders, and other contract modifications, and
other approved documents submitted by the Contractor in compliance with
various sections of the Specifications.
1. Each of these Contractor’s Project Record Documents shall be clearly
marked “Project Record Copy,” maintained in good condition, available at all
times for observation by the Architect, and not used for construction
purposes.

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2. Mark on the most appropriate Documents to show significant changes made
during the construction process, and significant detail not shown in the
original Contract Documents. The information given shall include, but not
be limited to:
➝ The location of underground utilities and appurtenances referenced to
permanent surface improvements.
➝ The location of internal utilities and appurtenances concealed in the
building structures, referenced in visible and accessible features of the
structures.
3. Upon completion of the work, the General Contractor shall provide the
Owner one complete set of documents marked “Project Record Documents”
showing changes to be original documents.

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CHAPTER 13 -- COORDINATING NOTES WITH YOUR DRAWINGS AND
SPECS

General Rules and Requirements

Keep it simple and generic. Most notes tend to be too lengthy and include
information such as tolerances, product names, and detailed descriptions that
should properly be in the specifications. If this sort of information is also in the
specifications, it will either duplicate or contradict the notation. Duplication costs
you production time and contradiction creates change orders.

Types of Notes
Identification Notes
They name the material or the components. Examples: “Built-up Roofing”,
“Gypsum Board”, and “Asphalt Paving”.
Dimension Notes
These notes identify quantities, sizes, locations, and spacings named in the
Identification note. Example: “2x4 Continuous Wood Blocking”. Be careful
about being redundant. For instance, if the Structural Engineer has called out
the size of a beam your note need not include it. However, some
miscellaneous metals will need to be sized if they are not called out in the
Structural Drawings. Learn where the best place is to indicate information
and then indicate it once.
Reference Notes
Notes like this direct you to other sources of information. Examples: “Refer to
Specifications”, and “See Detail 4/A2.2”. Use this type of note to make a
point. Every steel beam does not need the words “See Structural” following it
anymore than it would need “See Specifications”. The General Contractor is
told to take the package together as a whole. Use this type of note in special
circumstances when extra coordination is needed.
Assembly Notes
We need these notes to explain in detail how components are arranged,
fastened, and finished. They are used mainly in details and are not
appropriate on broad scope drawings. Example: “Suspended Metal Grillage –
7/8” furring channel @ 2’-0” o.c. on 1 ½” carrying channels @ 4’-0” o.c. right
angle to furring”. Do not ignore fastenings or understanding how items are
attached.
General Information Notes
States common instructions or conditions. Examples: “Slope to drain” and
“N.I.C.” These notes are used to help clarify the scope of work.

Steps in Writing Notes

 Determine if your Identification Note matches the description of that item in
the Specifications. Check the office standard library of notation and your
Project Architect or Specification consultant.
 Start your note with a CSI specification number which matches the section
in the project specifications where information about the item can be found.

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 Decide if indicating a size of the material is needed. Is the size already
shown by dimension? Is it a uniform size used through out the project and
indicated elsewhere?
 Do you need to refer the contractor to additional information? You’ll probably
only need to refer if it is a very complex situation involving the work of
several trades. Most instances do not need to be referred to every last bit of
additional information because we state in the specifications that the
document package is to be used as a whole.
 How is this item to be arranged? Fastened? Finished? Much of this
information can be shown elsewhere such as schedules, specifications, and
other drawings. It is up to you however to make sure that this information is
included in the drawing set. Ask your project Architect about where the best
place to note this information would be. Indicating how things are fastened
and attached has to be included!
 Finally, is there any information of a general nature that would be helpful to
the contractor to include? Is there any doubt as to what needs to be done?
How can I prevent a construction error from occurring?
 As you can see from the above procedure, you will very seldom be able to
just “insert a note from the pop down list”. Every piece of information that
you include in a contract document needs to be carefully considered.

Proper Terminology
When bidding a project the contractor needs to be able to understand the
contract documents. When he notices “Gypsum Board”, Sheetrock”, and
“Wallboard” in the same document set several thoughts cross his mind:
 “This set of documents is poorly coordinated; I’ll bet I can get some
change orders.”
 “This set of documents was probably produced by inexperienced staff; I’ll
bet I can get some change orders.”
 “I’ll price each of these terms; I’ll bet I can get a change order for having
to eliminate or add a couple of them.”
 “I’ll bet I can get some change orders.”

Making ourselves understood is tough. To this end we need to agree on

consistent terminology to be used throughout the contract documents so as to
make our intentions crystal clear. We have reviewed several standard lists of
“proper construction terminology” and have decided to adopt the list featured in
Module 5 of the Uniform Drawing Standards. These standards were chosen in
part because General Contractors, Suppliers, and Owners all helped in its
development. It is a common language for national usage in construction
projects.

Using Keyed Notation

 Key Notes can save you time and red lining. They should only be used,
though, if a note is repeated 30 – 40 times through-out the working
drawings, or if there is absolutely no room to write the note in a crowded
drawing. That’s it. No other reason.

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  A list of key notes is developed and x-ref’d into every sheet in the set
having keynotes on it. This list serves all sheets in the Architectural
drawing set. Lists of keynotes that are sheet specific, rather than set
specific, make for harder to read CD’s and are more easily prone to
construction errors.
 On most projects you will end up with 40 or so key notes. More than that
and you are making more work for yourself in coordination and checking
time.

System Notation
 Group a bunch of identification notes together, such as a wall assembly or
roof assembly and point to the object with one leader line. These system
notes are sometimes keynoted and referred to in a legend such as a “Wall
Types Legend” or a “Roof Types Legend”. The advantages are:
 Labeling assemblies takes less time.
 Changing assemblies is easier to coordinate.
 Editing assemblies takes less time.
 When you are discussing documentation strategies early on in your
project you may find it to your advantage to try this approach. It works
best on projects with a lot of repetition and not so well on projects that are
more straightforward in their assemblies.

Abbreviations
 Don’t abbrev. w/o th’nk’ng. This means, sentences featuring abbreviations
unnecessarily are harder to read and process, and they give the
impression of a lazy drafter or a hurried, unchecked drawing.
 Don’t abbreviate anything! Not practical, I know. If you must abbreviate,
do so only because you have no room to do otherwise or because it is an
industry accepted term (conc, plam, re-bar, CMU). Other rules exist as
well.
 In an effort to end the arguments arising with just how to abbreviate
certain words, we have decided to adopt the Abbreviations Module of the
Uniform Drawing System as developed by the Construction Specification
Institute. Any standard could have been chosen but once again we felt
that this one was appropriate because of the fact that General Contractors
(our audience), Suppliers, Owners, Engineers, AHJ’s, and Architects all
had a say in its development.

Drawing Composition
Here’s where we are relying on your graphic training as an Architect to produce
a clear, readable, drawing. You have the advantage of understanding
proportion, composition, and lineweight. Some of the customs & traditions we
use to create readable, coherent drawings are as follows:
 Arrowheads must touch the line that defines the object, not fall short, not
overshoot.

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 Arrowheads are used most everywhere. Dots are used on occasion,
where a mass or field area is to be indicated.
 Group your notes together in groups of 3 or 4. Then allow some space
and repeat another grouping. Line text up along a common vertical; this
makes the drawing more organized easier to read.
 Keep your note leaders clear of dimension lines as much as possible.
Usually it is preferred practice not to cross dimension or extension lines.
Dimension outboard of your notes if possible.
 Keep your leader lines clear of the object as much as possible. Do not
place a note on the complete opposite side of an object and then use a
long leader to tie the note to it. It’s best to keep your leader lines as short
as possible.
 Text smaller than 3/32” is extremely difficult to read on half sized prints.
 Text lighter (strokes thinner) than .25mm becomes lost in the drawing
(.35mm is better). Text should be bold and stand out; leaders should
recede, objects should dominate.

Click here for a link to a

Sample Annotated Wall Section

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CHAPTER 14 -- CREATING THE REDLINE/CHECK SET

The Project Architect should chart the course for producing a set of working
drawings. He or she should determine key points in the progress of the
drawings when coordination sets should be printed and exchanged with our
consultants. Each consultant should receive a complete set of drawings, and he
or she should coordinate his or her work with each of the other disciplines.

Internally, the architect’s office should do a systematic check and coordination of

the drawings to correspond with the consultant coordination. The Job Captain,
the Project Architect, and the Partner-in-Charge should all share in the checking
and coordination process, and the Director of Quality Control should also be
notified when these sets become available. Together, the Project Architect and
the Job Captain should perform a comprehensive check of the drawings and will
coordinate the work of the consultants. They should discuss the checking
requirements in advance so that each knows who is responsible for a given
portion of the checking. The checking responsibilities should follow these broad
guidelines:

Job Captain:
 Building Data (code related)
 Dimensions
 Keynotes (to confirm that the correct numbers have been used)
 Drawing numbers, titles, scales
 Cross-referencing
 Grid line designations
 Room names and numbers
 Partition types
 North arrow
 Overlay checking of consultant’s drawings

Project Architect:
Both the Project Architect and the Job Captain should check the drawings using
the Working Drawings Checklist as a guide.

The Project Architect should review the Code Search Checklist prior to
checking. He or she should give special attention to the fire-resistive
requirements, exiting, area separations, occupancy separations, doors, floor and
ceiling assemblies, and other code related issues.

The Project Architect should plan the coordination checking using the
Coordination Checklist in Part Three. Make sure consultants are aware of their
responsibilities for coordinating their work with the architectural drawings, as
well as other disciplines. Coordination checking responsibilities can also be
assigned using the checklist, but the Project Architect should plan on doing most
or all of this type of checking.

The Project Architect should also review the drawings with the Partner-in-
Charge for compliance with the program. Meeting Minutes should be reviewed

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to ensure that the drawings reflect any decisions made during meetings with the
Owner.

The Job Captain should check the items listed above, even though the Project
Architect may duplicate this effort.

Principal-in-Charge:
The Principal-in-Charge should also review all aspects of the drawings.
However, this in no way relieves the Job Captain or the Project Architect from
their responsibilities to perform a thorough and exhaustive check of their own.

In preparing a redline set, use colors to distinguish different kinds of information;

a common convention is as follows:

Red is reserved exclusively for comments, additions or changes which must be

incorporated (generally verbatim) in the original drawings. However, you must
use your head when you read redlined comments. If you transfer a redlined note
such as “These dimensions don’t add up – FIX!” to the actual working drawing
sheet, you have abdicated your responsibility to the point that you should lose
your job.

Green is for questions or comments raised by the checker which should be

reviewed and resolved before the drawings are changed. Always make sure the
checker has received answers to his or her questions before you proceed. Red
may also be used for this purpose, but it should be clouded or otherwise
differentiated from redlines, which must definitely be incorporated in the
drawings.

Blue highlighters are used by checkers to highlight all information that has been
checked and is correct as is.

Transferring the redlines to the originals…

Yellow highlighters or pencils are used to color over all redlines and green
questions once they have been transferred to the drawings, or otherwise
resolved.

Transferring redlines to the original is admittedly a dull and tedious task.

Nevertheless, it is an essential part of the working drawing process. You bear
the ultimate responsibility to make sure that all redlines get picked up, and get
picked up accurately. If you have a question, ASK it. There should be no need
for a checker to recheck the drawings to see if all of the redlines were accurately
picked up.

Because redlines can be complex or fragmented, it is important for you to be

very systematic in your methods for making sure the job is done correctly.
Before you yellow something out, DOUBLE-CHECK to make sure you really did
it. Yellow out each redline separately, double-checking as you go. Don’t simply

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circle drawings with yellow to indicate that you’ve finished picking up redlines in
those areas.

The drawings should be 100% complete before the final check and coordination
set is printed—no exceptions. Incomplete drawings make it difficult for our
consultants and ourselves, and result in extra time for rechecking and
coordination. Be sure that the schedule allows sufficient time at the end to do a
thorough check and picking up of redlines.

One technique which we have seen used successfully to manage the redline
process is for the Project Architect to keep a check set at his or her desk.
Redline (and green) remarks are added to this set on a continuing basis.
Periodically these redlines are picked up by one of the team members and the
corrected sheet is then inserted in the check set, replacing the old one. This
method seems to work very well in managing corrections and changes made to
a set of drawings prior to the final check.

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CHAPTER 15 -- WORKING DRAWINGS DOS AND DON’TS
(or, Secrets to Job Satisfaction and Retention)
The following thoughts are things that go through the minds of quality assurance
checkers when they check drawings. They should go through your minds as
well.
True North versus Project North
You should show only one direction for north. The lone exception is on the site
plan, where we show the relationship between true north and “project north.”
Once “project north” is established on the site plan, use that for the north arrow
included on all other plan sheets throughout the set. North arrows should look
like this:

PROJECT
NORTH TRUE NORTH NORTH

SITE PLAN ALL OTHER

ONLY PLANS

Keep the Intent in Mind

The drawings may show how you plan to achieve the desired intent, but that
intent may not be clear to someone who has not spent the last year designing
the project. If the intent is not clear, a contractor looking for loopholes
(prospecting for change orders) will either find one or make one up. You can
head this off by clarifying the intent.
If it is your intention that all glass within 18 inches of a door is to be tempered,
you might do a series of frame types, which may be coded to various places on
the plans or elevations. If you do the coding wrong, you’ve got a loophole. If
you tell the contractor that the intent is that all glass within 18” is to be tempered,
at least you have a leg to stand on if he finds a mistake.
If it is your intent that all mechanical ductwork serving rated corridors is to have
a fire damper, you should say that. You still need to show the dampers on the
drawings, but engineers are human and sometimes they get missed.
If it is your intent to provide a fire rated corridor, tell the contractor that the
integrity of the entire rated envelope must be maintained. Then you have a leg
to stand on if you haven’t specified a rated ceiling.
Think in Three Dimensions
Heads, jambs, and sills for doors or windows should be designed together.
Typical wall conditions should be carried through to corners or other
terminations.
Think about conditions above and below the one at hand.

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Pay Attention to the Detail
As architects, we may fancy ourselves to be artists with a special talent for
making buildings look beautiful. But the building can’t be built from a rendering.
We have to be concerned about the detail in the building and the detail in the
drawing. We may think something should be evident to the contractor, but if we
don’t address it specifically, we’ve got a loophole again. The word “artist” never
sounded so denigrating as when it is uttered by a contractor.
Be Thorough
The contractor is going to have to build the whole darned building, so you should
design the whole darned building. You may encounter a design-build situation
once in awhile were you give the contractor license to figure some things out
and do them the way he likes best. When you do that in more traditional
situations, you’ll encounter a contractor who is unrelenting in his insistence that
he does the construction, you do the design. If you haven’t done it during CDs,
you’ll get to do it during CA.

Be Consistent In The Use of Architectural Nomenclature or Terminology

Don’t refer to the “First Floor” in one place and “Level One” in another. Gyp. Bd.,
drywall, sheetrock – are they the same thing, or not? If they are, why did we call
it something different? Glass mesh mortar units or cementitious backer board?
You get the idea. Create a standardized but editable library of CSI notation to
prevent this from happening. And use it.
Graphic Clarity
When your drawings lack clarity, it’s often because they betray a lack of clear
thinking. If you allow it, the contractor may do something wrong just because he
knows he can get some extra money because the drawings weren’t clear
enough. Make sure you know what the correct solution is, and then draw it that
way. Don’t hint at it.
Don’t Be Willing to Accept Inferior Work, and Don’t Be Willing to
Produce it
If the drawings lack clarity, or they aren’t complete, or if we haven’t thought
things through, we have produced an inferior product. Don’t accept that.
Detail for Realistic Tolerances
Don’t indicate “zero tolerance” situations that can’t be met by human contractors
in the field. When two trades are working towards each other, they will never
end up in the same place Example: a lay-in ceiling meets a window head, and
the drawings show them at a perfectly matching elevation and line. That’s not
going to happen. Show a reveal or offset.
Be Thorough with the Building Envelope
Trace with your finger such items as insulation and positive drainage to make
sure that your systems are complete. Pinpoint all interfaces between materials
on the exterior to make sure you have sealant and flashing to eliminate leaks,
and that you have drawn the necessary details to describe each condition. All it
takes is one oversight to invalidate the system.

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Accept Your Responsibility as an Architect
Avoid using notes which say “as required.” The same thing applies to notes like
“coordinate” or “coordinate with Architect” or “per code.” The trend today is to
pawn off responsibility whenever possible; this is really just plain laziness.
There are some things which a Contractor simply can’t be held responsible for.
Don’t be led into dreamland by an unreasonable expectation of what the term
“performance specifications” can do. We have to perform also.
Follow Through on Coordination
If you make a note that says “Re: Elec.” then it is your job to make sure that the
Electrical engineer coordinates the item. The same goes for the case when the
Electrical engineer puts down “Re: Arch.” If you fail to do this, your job is worse
than half done; it is not done at all.
Design for Movement
Buildings, unlike jewelry, are living, breathing creatures. They expand and
contract. Different materials expand at different rates and all materials will
expand and contract within a greater range if exposed to the exterior and/or
sunlight than if they are indoors. Plan for slip head details at the top of all
partitions below roofs and floors that will deflect (that is, 99% of all floors and
100% of all roofs). Strategize expansion joint locations early in the game. Don’t
overlook control joints in materials that require them more frequently than overall
building expansion control (such as drywall and masonry). Think through
expansion details in three dimensions. Is a particular element going to move in
one direction or two?
Follow Through on Rated Construction
Maintain in your detailing the integrity of all rated partitions. Don’t compromise
rated walls by incorporating unrated portions that invalidate the entire wall, or by
showing reveals that do the same thing. Make sure that the engineers don’t
violate the rules which you set up.
Design Lean and Mean
Don’t take the easy way out on solving problems by designing details that rely
on massive amounts of overkill to solve a problem which could be handled in a
much simpler way. When we take what seems to be the easy way out by
showing unheard-of thicknesses of tapered insulation, wood blocking, or mortar
beds, we set ourselves up for eventual ridicule by a contractor who is justified in
inquiring as to what is going on.
Accept Responsibility for Structural Requirements of Architectural Items
Make sure that handrails, guardrails, steps, and other human-body-supporting
elements are designed so it can be absolutely assured that they will perform. It
is not acceptable to indicate a papier maché handrail and add a note indicating
that it is to support a 300 lb. lateral load per code.
Provide Adequate Documentation of Elevation Transitions
When you have steps or a ramp, don’t show your elevation targets wandering off
in the middle of the space. Show a target at the top, and another at the bottom,
of the transition. Basic common sense (but frequently ignored).

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Don’t Overdraw Proprietary Sections
It makes little sense to spend an entire day drawing the particulars of a specific
manufacturer’s window sill detail, when there are 6:1 odds that you will end up
with a different product. A good detailer determines what the essence is of a
particular product section, and does no more. There are no awards for showing
the most curlicues on an aluminum extrusion.
Make Detail Alignment Consistent with the Plans
If your plans are organized with north on the top of the sheet, then your details
(and your blow-up plans) must be done with the same orientation. The
argument that “it fit better on the sheet that way” won’t hold water if your
drawings leave the contractor scratching his head.
Use the Office Standards
All it takes is a minimum of effort and caring. What you did at another office
doesn’t mean diddly here.
Know How Details Are Going to Be Built
If you show an unusual wood profile or metal shape, you had better know how it
is going to be made (or at least know of one viable option). Sooner or later –
probably sooner– the contractor will throw this one back at you. Solve the
problem today rather than letting it come back tomorrow. Generally this is an
area where interior designers and specialists like graphic designers do better
than architects. Let’s learn to do better.
Plan Your Documentation Strategy for Simplicity, Clarity, and Economy
Decide whether partition types and ceiling heights should be indicated on the
1/8” plans, the 1/4” plans, or the reflected ceiling plans. Don’t show this kind of
information more than once.
Question standard or traditional approaches.
Ask yourself whether you really need a door schedule or a finish schedule
before you jump in and make one. Ask yourself whether one of the alternative
scheduling methods will suffice for this particular project. Think about whether
building sections are really necessary, or the finishes plans. Don’t do it simply
because it was done that way on your last project or in your last office. Choose
the most economical method that gets the job done.
Don’t layer several kinds of information on top of each other.
For example, don’t put reference bubbles on top of dimensions, or room names
on top of sprinkler heads, etc. Be especially attentive to this when creating CAD
drawings, if some layers are not visible.
Naming details –
Give some indication as to location, and to whether it is a plan detail or a
sectional detail (unless it is patently obvious). Use language such as: “Plan
Detail at Cafetorium Column”. We don’t want the detail names to become
unwieldy, but they should also stand alone when someone is working their way
backwards through a set of drawings.
Roof details
Show more clearly the limits and extents of the roof membrane, and the
relationship of the membrane to other materials. Spread the materials out a little
graphically so you can clearly follow the path of the membrane. The membrane

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should extend up the side of the parapet and over the top, except at very tall
parapets. You may want to use a dashed line as we sometimes do to distinguish
plastic laminate, if it will help clarify this path.
Expansion Joints
Show expansion joints all the way through the building — floors, walls, ceilings,
roofs. Think about how the building is being isolated for movement, and design
your wall locations accordingly. We don’t want wall systems crossing over the
expansion joint without a break. If you’ve placed a partition over an expansion
joint to conceal it, make sure you show attachment on only one side of the joint;
let the other side be free to accommodate the movement around it.
Symbols and Notation
Use symbols to identify marker boards, tackboards, fire hose/extinguisher
cabinets, etc. Use language such as: MB — 8’ or HC or TB. For those kinds of
items, we can dispense with the CSI reference number.
Stair Sections
Do not draw shop drawings of stairs for stair fabricators.
➝ If we have a plain old exit stair that doesn’t require any special
embellishments, we can rely on the stair fabricator to provide the
necessary details using components from his (or her) system. We need
to provide only the basic rise and run information, and the conditions at
the top and bottom of the flight so (s)he can determine the connection
details.
➝ This will require you to become familiar with the components of any of
the systems you might get (the “approved” manufacturers in the specs)
to make sure you can live with the components provided.
Grab Bars and ADA Requirements
When dimensioning grab bars, show the dimension from the front edge of the
water closet to the extended end of grab bar (and make certain that dimension
complies with ADA requirements) — do not dimension the length of grab bar
(which should be handled by a model #). If the bar does not extend to the wall
behind the water closet, dimension the distance from the wall to the end of the
grab bar. Make sure that all of the dimensions add up to the ADA
minimums/maximums.
Detailing Techniques
Show masonry in plan details without holes or joints. Use a simple diagonal
poché for brick. You may need to confirm that the coursing works out properly,
but handle that with a dimension — after you’ve sketched it for your own
satisfaction.

At scales of 1” = 1’-0 or smaller, show structural steel members cut in section as

solid black. Use a small enough pen weight that the edges of the steel are sharp
and clear, and fill in the internal space with solid black fill. On small-scale
drawings, the diagonal poché for steel only serves to obfuscate the drawing, and
our goal is clarity.

Show studs at door jambs appropriately, as detailed by HM fabricators to

accommodate frame anchors (studs back to back)

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Typical Hollow Metal Frame Installation
➝ Use a single line to indicate hollow metal
frames

Interior Elevations
Do not indicate direction of door swings on interior elevations; door swings are
handled adequately on floor plans. By showing swing direction on elevations,
you’ve just added one more thing that could be wrong, and has to be checked
and coordinated.
Building Elevations
Poché materials in elevation with a break line rather than covering the entire
visible surface. This helps to define the planes of the building better and makes
the drawing easier to read.
Plans
Make proper use of dashed lines — use dashed lines to:
➝ Indicate items provided (furnished and installed) by owner
➝ Items otherwise not in contract (NIC)
➝ Items below grade or otherwise hidden from view
➝ Items above the cutting plane
See the Linetype Symbols for more information on what types of dashed
lines to use for each purpose.
Do not use dashed lines to:
➝ Indicate the work of other disciplines (if it is part of the Work)
Do not use solid lines to:
➝ Indicate any item that is NIC
Wall Sections
Do not indicate dampproofing on the outside of foundation walls where there is
no interior space on the other side. We seem to do this by rote, without thinking
about it very much. The purpose of dampproofing is to discourage moisture
percolating down from the surface from entering the building through cracks or
form tie holes. Obviously, if there is dirt on the other side of that wall, we
probably don’t care if percolating moisture makes it through the wall or not (of
course, there are exceptions, so make sure you understand the
recommendations of the soils report).

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If you are concerned about ground water rising up from below, you should be
using waterproofing, not dampproofing. Check your soils report for their
recommendations.

When noting wall sections, building sections, and elevations:

➝ Identify only assemblies and systems on small scale drawings; don’t
itemize individual components. Identify components of the systems or
assemblies on the details
➝ Provide filler panels at the ends of all casework constrained at the ends
by walls

Too often metal furring channels (don’t call them “hat channels”) are indicated
upside down. Look at the drawing below, and memorize it:

Typical Furring Channel Installation

Flanges are secured to substrate

This portion receives screws to attach

gypsum board

When viewing elevation drawings of ornamental metal fabrications such as stair

railing systems, it is often difficult to tell whether the balusters might be square
or circular in cross-section. That makes it necessary to clearly identify each
component. And it also makes it necessary to use the correct nomenclature
when labeling them. Make sure you understand and communicate appropriately
the following distinctions:

Bars, Tubes, Rods and Pipe

BAR (solid; square or

rectangular in cross-section

TUBE (hollow; square or

rectangular in cross-section

ROD (solid; circular in cross-

section

PIPE (hollow; circular in cross-

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General
Do not use the expression “By Others.” That is an expression reserved for use
by subcontractors who are referring to someone else also under subcontract
with the General who will provide some work that surrounds or is surrounded by
that trade. As architects, we must use the term “NIC,” or we must indicate who
specifically is responsible for the referenced work.

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CHAPTER 16 – WORK PLANS AND CHECKLISTS FOR TYPICAL DRAWING
TYPES
Use the following buttons for links to discussion about the philosophy of our
approach to specific drawing and documentation methodologies:

Checklist for Working Drawings and Specifications

Hyperlinks to Drafting Conventions, Work Plans and Drawing Checklists

for Various Drawing Types

Title Sheets
Code Plan Checklist

Code Review Checklist

Demolition Plans Site Plans

Plans Roof Plans

Ceilings Sections

Enlarged Floor Plans Wall Sections

Exterior Elevations Exterior Finishes

Toilet Rooms Stairs and Elevators

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Casework and Doors and Frames
Millwork

Partitions Interior Elevations

Room Finishes — Specialties and

Room Finish Legend Equipment
and Schedule

Kitchen Equipment
Kitchen Equipment
Schedule

Landscape Drawings Civil Drawings

Structural Drawings HVAC Drawings

Plumbing Drawings Electrical Lighting

Drawings

Electrical Power
Drawings

END
Architectural Office Practices and Standards
WORKING DRAWINGS
Work Plans and Checklists
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INDEX
framed openings, 66, 68
“
G
“starting point” drawings, 32, 42
General Information Notes, 90
general notes, 39, 80
A General Notes for Renovation
Abbreviations, 50, 51, 53, 92 Construction, 86
Assembly Notes, 90 gross fee, 25

B H
Budgeting for Working Drawings, 26 Hierarchical Organization, 71
Hyperlinks to Drafting Conventions,
Work Plans and Drawing Checklists
C for Various Drawing Types, 105

cartoon set, 25, 38, 63

Cartooning, 25, 39. See I
Concept Design, 18
Contract Documents, 15, 41, 44, 51, 53, Identification Notes, 90
55, 60, 61, 62, 89 Identity Symbols, 60
coursing dimensions, 35, 66, 68
Cross Referencing, 28 L
cross-referencing., 28
Line Symbols, 61
D
M
Descriptive Specifications, 48
Design Development, 18 Managing Your Time, 25
Detail libraries, 31 Manual Drawing versus Computer
Details, i, 26, 30, 33, 43, 44, 47, 72, 80, Aided Drafting, 21
100 master list of notation, 75
Dimension Notes, 90 MasterFormat, 15, 16, 17, 75
Dimensioning, 27, 64, 65 Materials Symbols, 58
Discipline Designations, 42 mock set. See cartoon set
door schedule, 29, 33, 67, 100 Model or Object-Based Computer Aided
DPR, 27 Design/Drafting, 23
Drawing Composition, 92 Mounting heights, 78, 79
Drawing Hierarchies, 70
Drawing Organization — Cartooning, 38
Drawing Organization — Drawing N
Identification, 41 net architectural fee, 25, 26
Drawing Organization — Sheet Design, net fee, 25
40 notation system, 74, 76, 80
Drawing Progress Report, 27
Drawing, Checking, and Management
Responsibilities, 19 P
Performance Specifications, 48
F Photo-drafting, 36
Pre-Design, 18
field verification, 33, 34, 86, 87 Project Files, 19

Index
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Project Notebook, 19, 20 Steps in Writing Notes, 90
Proper Terminology, 91 System Notation, 92
Proprietary Specifications, 49
T
R
Text & Template Symbols, 62
Record Keeping, 19 title block, 40, 42, 46, 71
Redundancy, 63 Traditional Design and Documentation
Reference Notes, 90 Sequence, 18
Reference Standards, 48 Types of Notes, 90
Reference Symbols, 54, 55
Reimbursable expenses, 26
Revisions, 24, 42 U
Routing and Distribution matrix, 20 Uniform Drawing System, 41, 51, 53,
55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 85, 92
S Using Keyed Notation, 91

Schedules, i, 29, 30, 47, 72

Schematic Design, 18 W
Sheet Type Designation, 43 WORKING DRAWINGS, 15, 18, 19, 25,
Small Project Organization, 44 26, 94, 97
Spelling, 24

Index
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