PropellerHead Productions Training 2009

Lesson Plan Title: Architectural CAD Drafting - Organization and Levels of Detail

Concept / Topic to Teach: Examine the methods for organizing the design information, breakdown
the overall design into levels of detail needed to convey the construction process.

Standards Addressed: Project examination, File structure and use determination, Initial layout,
Outline levels of detail (cartoon set list)

General Goal(s): increase the awareness of these first steps in creating a successful project and quality
Construction Document set.

Specific Objectives:

o To provide clear direction on the dissecting of project information toward the

development of a clean and complete drawing set.

o Review the basics of drafting coordination focused on scale, layout and presentation
readability.

o Create the basis for a set of guidelines on drawing layout.

Required Materials: handout (subset of this document), note taking tools, AutoCAD workstation

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In): basic experience with AutoCAD

Step-By-Step Procedures:

o Introduce the overview of the class

o Make sure everyone has a handout

o Place remaining handouts for easy access to late comers

o Place sign in sheet with handouts

o Guide class to training template drawings

o Work through handout information

o Ask for questions

The following pages are a Handout document to be used in the training.

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Architectural CAD Drafting - Organization and Levels of Detail

1) AutoCAD is a design database, not an electronic pencil.

a) Many engineers and architects misconstrue AutoCAD as an "electronic pencil": a computer-

assisted way to draw lines, arcs, and text and to copy them quickly. This debilitating myth saps
the efficiency of CAD and bears much of the responsibility for mediocre drafting productivity
in many firms.

b) AutoCAD is a database management system (DBMS) for making drawings. This assertion
might seem surprising (or even pretentious) at first glance, but it's the foundation for effective
CAD. Databases and managing data are the heart of almost all computer software, so it's really
no surprise that these concepts are fundamental to CAD as well.

2) In the setup of our drawings, we must think about the bigger view of the process. We have to
consider some or all of the following items:

a) Our base of information – The existing conditions and proposed design. How much
information will we need to show for the scope of the project? Sometimes we will have a clear
picture of this total; sometimes we may need to adjust it as the project proceeds. We have to
keep flexibility in mind for these main files.

b) The Groups involved – We need to get a list of the disciplines for the Construction Document
set as soon as possible. We also need contact info for these groups and that should include the
technical personnel that we will interact with. We will need to know the range of software
versions in play, so we can plan our files with the flexibility and ease of transfer to meet the
need. Knowing the players will help us determine how the game should be played.

c) The Views needed – We need to have a quick assessment of the cartoon set to determine if all
views listed are needed or if any are missing. The basics are where we concentrate at this point.
We need to ask some questions; the answers will become the skeleton of the cartoon set:

(1) What size sheet is this set going to use – based on the building or site size, using client
requested sheet size, or other criteria.

(2) How big is the main plan – will it fit at a decent scale on a single sheet?

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Will the overall building plan need to be divided into sections? How many sections?
Which way to divide it? Will the plan sheets be ‘standard read’ sheets or ‘right read’
sheets?

(a) A ‘standard read’ sheet is the typical layout with the plan North arrow pointing up,
the plan oriented horizontally, and the border is Landscape. The image below is an
example of a building plan that fits in landscape orientation. This is a Coke plant on
a 30x42 sheet. If we had to produce this set on 24x36, the plan would need to be
divided to fit across two sheets.

(b) A ‘right read’ sheet layout would be rotate 90° Counterclockwise.

These views show a plan split into two parts to show the plan at a larger scale. The
sheets are rotated so the larger scale fits. Match-lines would be used to show the
alignment of the break in the plan.

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(3) Part of this decision on the layout and orientation of the sheets is what scale to best
show the different levels of detail.

(a) Scaling is handled in CAD exactly the opposite from the way it is in manual
drafting. In manual drafting, you squeeze real-world objects (the building perimeter,
footings, 2x4s, and so on) down by a specific scale factor, like 96 or 16, so that they
fit nicely on a sheet of paper. Naturally, you always draw text and other annotations
the size you want them to appear on the paper (e.g., 1/8" high), regardless of the
scale of the drawing.
In AutoCAD, on the other hand, you draw real-world objects at their actual size and
stretch annotations up by the scale factor. That means that 1/8" text in a 1/8"=1'-0"
plan will be 12" high in the AutoCAD drawing, while the same text in a 3/4"=1'-0"
detail drawing will be 2" high. When you plot, everything gets scaled back down to
fit on the paper. This approach seems peculiar at first to someone who was schooled
in manual drafting, but it's actually more sensible and offers many advantages in
CAD drafting. As a result, even so-called "not to scale" drawings should be set up
and drawn to a specific scale.

(b) Although almost any scale can be used with almost any drawing type, there are some
common industry standards:

(i) Overall Floor plans [A-100s] – 1/32”, 1/16”, and 1/8” are generally the most
common.

1. A very large plan may be shown at 1/32” as a full sheet key plan for the set.
There is not a lot of detail to be shown at that scale, but the full facility view
can provide a framework for the set organization.

2. 1/16” is similar to 1/32”. Somewhat more detail can be shown at this scale,
but again it provides more of the full facility view than any real detail.

3. The one I have found useful most often is 1/8” [A-200s]. At this scale a fair
amount of detail can be show. In a large facility, the individual departments
can be illustrated with overall dimensions. The building as a whole can be
shown with the major column grid dimensions and overall exterior
dimensions. This scale plan can use the column grid as a coordinate key for
the large scale sub-plans.

(ii) Site Plans [A-100s] (for the Architectural division) are used mostly to show
relationship coordination between the site and building facility. They can
also show existing and proposed: Streets and street rights-of-way, storm
drainage, landscaping, grading, lot sizes and shapes, driveways, curb cuts,
parking and loading areas, sidewalks, pedestrian ways, building outlines on
lots with setbacks noted, utility lines and easements, dedications and
vacations, use and zoning of adjacent property, and open space location and
treatment; depending on what is required by the permit department. In many
cases, we will cover all of this detailed information in the civil set and some
portion of it (i.e. Property lines, setbacks, basic outline kinds of information)
will be reflected on the Architectural Site plan. The scales for these site plans
should match the civil set so that they coordinate easily.

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(iii)Large Scale plan [A-200s, sometimes shown on A-500s] – These are blow up
areas from the overall plan and start at 1/4” scale. They can also be shown at
1/2”, or maybe 3/8”, but not usually bigger than that. They show finer level
of detail such as the layout of a restroom with key notes and dimensions for
all walls, partitions, fixtures, and openings. The example below is a typical
1/4” scale enlarged plan.

(iv) Exterior Elevations [A-300s] – The exterior elevations can be setup at several
scales. Often we create full building facility elevations at 1/16” similar to the
overall plan as an elevation key. Most exterior elevations are setup for 1/8”
with large scale details sections done at 1/4” and 1/2” to pick up specific
elements that need finer dimensions or material key notes.

(v) Interior Elevations [A-400s] – These are used to detail and illustrate the layout
of fixtures, millwork, equipment, counters and other interior finish items.
They are usually setup to plot at 1/4”.

(vi) Schedule sheet with Door and Window details [A-500s] – Details are placed
around the schedules on this sheet at larger scales to show high levels of
detail. They are usually Head, Jamb, and Sill details shown at 3” or 1 1/2”
scale. Also Door and Window type elevations may be included on this sheet;
they are typically shown at 1/4” scale as diagrams of each door or window
used.

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(vii) Building and Wall Sections [A-600] – Building sections are like the overall
floor plans; they are full building key plan type sections. They show major
overview information and low level detail. They are typically plotted at 1/16”
and 1/8” scales with callouts that coordinate with wall section sheets that come
after them. Wall sections are shown at 1/2”, 3/4”, and sometimes 1” scales.
They are usually full height sections through a wall showing a high level of the
details of construction.

(viii) Vertical Circulation [A-700] – Stairs, Elevators, and Escalators are

shown on these sheets. This sheet is a mixed scale sheet because these items are
usually shown as plans, full sections, and details together. So it will have 1/4"
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plans, 1/2” or 3/4” sections and 1 1/2” or 3” details. These elements are
encapsulated sub-systems of a building facility. They are complete within
themselves and often provided as a complete unit. This sheet provides the
coordination between the manufactured system and the built environment.

(ix) Standard Details [A-800] – This sheet is used for all details that are typical
across the set and are not associated with any particular sub-set sheet. They
include things like a typical bollard detail, a locker base detail, standard ceiling
systems, etc.

(c) Coordination of the set is both an easy and complex task. The main idea is to make
the coordination flow from the front of the set to the back in a logical way. It is also
a goal to show each unique detail once if possible and not repeat the same
information. Every time the same detail or information is repeated is an opportunity
for the coordination to fail because a revision may catch one instance, but not the
other.
We are working on ways to make some of these parts dynamic so they coordinate
with each other automatically. Using fields, we can tie a detail callout from a plan
sheet, to the detail sheet and detail that is being referenced. If the detail number or
sheet number changes, those changes will reflected back to the plan sheet.
So in the layout of a set, you should start with coarse gross detail in the overall
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plans, elevations and building sections; proceed to medium detail with the large
scale plans, elevation blow ups, interior elevations, and wall sections; then complete
the process with the fine detail of the door & windows, penetrations, and standard
details.
All of the graphic information is framed with annotation. The general notes, key
notes, dimensions and schedules serve as the threads that tie the drawing elements
together into a complete picture of the project design. The specifications or project
manual is the detailed annotation that supports the drawing set annotation. That is a
complete project package.

3) AutoCAD is a database management system. The way we put together our base files will affect the
clarity, efficiency, and versatility of our sheets. The base file must take into account the final
output and how it will interact with the sheets as the ‘windows’ on the project design information.
In all of the training session this year, we will reinforce the CAD standards in the production of the
drawing files. The standards are the foundation for all of these other activities. Even with the
vertical programs we have at Prime, that feed the design objects to layers, colors, text type, and
other properties using predefined styles, we have to pay attention to the drawings and make sure
things are going to the right places.

This handout covers a lot of information. I intend to use it as an outline for the training sessions to
follow. We will cover in more detail many of the areas in this handout. Please put it in a notebook or
folder to keep it for use during the year.

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