Ten lessons
Lessons
Ten lessons on reading a construction drawing set, from orienting a sheet and navigating the set through dimensions, symbols, sections, details, schedules and consultant sheets.
Lesson 1 on A-101Orient the sheetBefore you read a single dimension, find the five facts every sheet states about itself: the sheet number, the drawing title, north, the scale, and the issue and revision dates.Lesson 2 on G-001Navigate the setDiscipline letters, sheet type digits and the sheet index, and how a callout on one sheet names a drawing on another so you can find it without hunting.Lesson 3 on A-101Read at scaleThe architect's and engineer's scale families, what a bar scale is for, and the difference between measuring a drawing and reading a dimension off it.Lesson 4 on A-101Dimension stringsOverall, grid, locating, clear and equal dimensions, how the strings check each other by adding up, and what face a dimension is taken to.Lesson 5 on A-101Grid lines and columnsWhy a set has a grid, how letters and numbers give every column an address, and how the grid lets an architectural and a structural sheet be read together.Lesson 6 on A-101Plan symbolsWalls, door swings, windows, room and door and window tags, fixtures, hatch patterns and hidden lines, and how a plan shows what is above and below the cut.Lesson 7 on A-301Elevations and sectionsSection and elevation markers, level datums, floor to floor heights, and what a cut actually shows you that a plan cannot.Lesson 8 on A-401Details and wall sectionsThe jump from an eighth inch plan to a three quarter inch wall section, how an assembly is drawn layer by layer, and how to resolve a detail callout.Lesson 9 on A-601SchedulesDoor, window and room finish schedules, and the three step lookup from a tag on a plan to a row in a schedule to a type drawn in elevation.Lesson 10 on M-101Consultant sheetsStructural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical sheets, why the architectural plan appears screened underneath them, and what coordination between them looks like.
Where the lessons are taught
| Lesson | Title | Sheet | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orient the sheet | A-101 | 14 |
| 2 | Navigate the set | G-001 | 18 |
| 3 | Read at scale | A-101 | 13 |
| 4 | Dimension strings | A-101 | 11 |
| 5 | Grid lines and columns | A-101 | 14 |
| 6 | Plan symbols | A-101 | 37 |
| 7 | Elevations and sections | A-301 | 22 |
| 8 | Details and wall sections | A-401 | 24 |
| 9 | Schedules | A-601 | 16 |
| 10 | Consultant sheets | M-101 | 38 |