Planning to build your dream home? Before the first brick is laid, you need a blueprint for success. Architectural drawings are more than just technical illustrations, they are your legal and technical roadmap. This guide explains the essential drawings you, the homeowner, will need, how they protect your investment, and why a professional is your best partner in this journey. Architectural drawings come in a variety of forms, which is why it’s crucial to understand them if you are planning to construct a house. Hence, in this blog, Brick&Bolt explains what an architectural drawing is and types of architectural drawings.
What is an Architectural Drawing?
An architectural drawing is a representation of a building or other structure illustration during the design phase by an architect. In simple words, a diagram, plan, sketch, or blueprint that conveys specific details about a building is called an architectural drawing. During the planning phase of the construction process, architects and designers prepare these documents, which are essential drawings for house construction.
Importance of Architectural Drawings
Architectural drawings are useful when a building is ready to go into the construction process because they give workers comprehensive information about the structure that can improve productivity and efficiency. For example, construction workers can show where windows and doors should be placed, where beams and columns should be positioned, how many floors they should account for, and what materials they might use depending on the building.
Apart from that, the architectural drawings help project planners and homeowners to understand the final look and functionality of a building. They offer thorough documentation of the internal workings of a building, which is essential for future maintenance. You require different types of architectural drawings throughout your construction project.
So, let’s discover more about those.
8 Different Types of Architectural Drawings
The following are the different types of essential drawings for house construction and other building projects:
- Site Plan Drawing
- Floor Plan Drawing
- Cross-Sectional Drawing
- Elevation Drawing
- Landscape Drawing
- As-Built Drawing
- Detail Architectural Drawing
- Excavation Drawings
Let’s dive deeper into all the types:
1. Site Plan Drawing
Site plans give an aerial view of the building and the surroundings. Sometimes, it even displays nearby structures or transportation infrastructure, such as roads. Architectural site plan drawings are essential for demonstrating the exact position of the structure in proximity to the property lines. Additionally, the site plan drawings can provide precise measurements and information about patios, driveways, landscaping, and other outdoor design features.
2. Floor Plan Drawing
The floor plan is a drawing of an interior layout of your structure. Architects can design floor plans for each room in a building with multiple floors or rooms. Architectural floor plan designs help arrange the layout of doors and windows and other features that will make the structure look nice once constructed. Depending on their intended use, floor plan layouts also come in a broad range of varieties. As an example, some floor plan drawings are created to show specific design elements such as electrical or plumbing systems. You can draw floor plans in 2D or 3D (2 Dimensions and 3 dimensions) with the help of different digital tools like Revit and CAD-computer-aided design.
Drawings that provide precise measurements between walls, windows and doors are the most popular type of floor plan used in residential construction projects. This building plan drawing also displays the surface area calculation for every room. Floor plan designs are necessary to create estimates and build a house as per the architect’s specifications.
3. Cross-Sectional Drawing
The cross-section drawings display both visible and hidden components of a building; they are two-dimensional drawings. Consider that you are looking inside the building after cutting a portion of it in half along a vertical plane. It is a sectional or cross-sectional drawing.
In simple words, assume you have a chocolate vanilla cake; when you see it as a whole, you can see the shape of the cake, such as round or square. But if you slice it, you can see all the layers of that cake.
The cross-section drawings help demonstrate how specific components of a building are put together. They can display items such as
- Floor-to-floor structural transitions,
- How walls need to be constructed,
- How windows and ventilations fit into those wall sections
4. Elevations Drawing
An elevation drawing is drawn from a vertical plane facing directly at the building. Architectural elevation drawings that display the exterior of the building from the back, front, and side are the most common types of elevation drawings. These architectural house design drawings also display the height of the building and the effects of its elevation on the structure.
In essence, an elevation drawing is the drawing of the exterior of your building. Every elevation drawing has a label indicating which direction it faces on the compass. From various angles, there are various views of your elevation.
5. Landscape Drawing
Architectural drawings are not always centred on structures or buildings. The surrounding environment of the building or structure must also be taken into consideration. The landscape plan is closely related to the site plan drawing, but obviously with a focus on more specific information about the hardscape, softscape and greenery. These architectural design drawings help to show the overall landscape layout and measurements. So, when you build a home, it will help you to make a beautiful landscape to enhance its outer beauty. They are more common in residential construction than the commercial structures.
6. As-Built Drawing
The as-built architectural drawings are revision drawings hence, these house-building plan drawings aren’t complete until the construction process is completed. They serve to demonstrate alterations made to the original designs and the construction process of the building. To differentiate between how the building was actually constructed and how it was intended to be constructed, the contractor typically marks them up. This isn’t done until the construction project is completed.
7. Detail Architectural Drawing
In the detailed architectural drawing, the small cross-section drawings and close-ups of specific building components are typically combined. They play a crucial role in demonstrating how different components work together in key areas of the structure.
The detailed drawings can help provide instructions on how to assemble the components of the building, such as how you can assemble reinforced concrete beams. It also shows the custom design elements or complicated crossings or junctions, such as roof eaves or window openings.
8. Excavation Drawings
Excavation drawings offer comprehensive details about tunnels, pits, shafts, trenches and other soil removal techniques. Architects can also include crucial information about the excavation procedure in these drawings.
Cost and Timeline: What to Expect for Your House Plans
Every construction company or architectural firm charges different rates for providing architectural drawings. This rate may be calculated on the basis of three methods:
- As a percentage value of the project’s estimated cost
- As a lumpsum value based on the project’s complexity and size
- As a square foot value: A specific rate is charged per sq ft of built-up area of the project.
The total cost varies based on several factors like project type and size, design complexity, amount of work involved, type of drawings required, the architect’s/ company’s experience and expertise, etc. However, the general cost to get house plans drawn and other architectural drawings executed is between 3 – 20% of the total project cost. Architects typically take 1-3 months to prepare all the drawings required for a residential project, although many drawings may be provided during the progress of the project itself.
From Blueprint to Reality: Why an Expert Becomes Non-Negotiable
Hiring an architectural consultant for residential projects as well as other building projects is vital for several reasons, including:
- Provide Technical Expertise: Architects provide expertise, bring experience and guide projects on various technical aspects like structural design, MEP design and layout planning.
- Ensure Good Design: Apart from ensuring the basic requirements like sufficient cross ventilation and natural light, architects also suggest innovative designs and materials that can be used to produce a unique building structure.
- Compliance with Codes: Architects have a working knowledge of national and local building codes, as well as National and International building standards. Following these codes ensures that a project is legally compliant.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
In conclusion, architectural drawings are essential resources in the construction industry that allow designers, architects, and other stakeholders to communicate and visualise ideas. There are several types of architectural drawings you can use for various purposes during the entire design and construction phases of your project. They offer comprehensive information about the dimensional, structural, and aesthetic aspects of the building. As technology develops, digital tools and software are now playing a crucial role in creating architectural drawings, increasing productivity and teamwork in the construction industry.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What scale are architectural drawings?
The scale of architectural drawings generally varies from 1:5 to 1:1000, depending on the project size, sheet size and type of details depicted.
- Can AI create architectural drawings?
Yes, there are many AI tools available today that can create architectural drawings. However, these are generally not accurate or specific to individual and site requirements. It is thus advisable to hire professionals to produce accurate and personalised drawings.
- How much do architectural drawings cost?
Architectural drawings typically cost between 3-20% of the total project cost.
- Who can draw architectural plans?
Architects licensed by the Council of Architecture (CoA) and holding a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (B.Arch) can draw architectural plans.
- What is the purpose of architectural drawings?
Architectural drawings are necessary to aid and direct all stages of a construction project, including excavation, foundation laying, site planning and building.
Apoorva H P Achar