A | B |
Architect | qualified, licensed person who creates and designs drawings for a construction project |
Architect’s Scale | measuring device used for laying out distances, with scales indicating feet, inches, and fractions of inches |
Architectural Plans | Drawings that show the design of the project |
Beam | horizontal structural member made of concrete, steel, stone, wood, or other structural material to provide support above a large opening |
Blueprints | Architectural or working drawings used to represent a structure or system |
Civil Plans | Drawings that show the location of the building on the site from an aerial view, including contours, trees, construction features, and dimensions |
CAD | The making of a set of blueprints with the aid of a computer |
Contour lines | Solid or dashed lines showing the elevation of the earth on a civil drawing |
Detail drawings | Enlarged views of part of a drawing used to show an area more clearly |
Dimension line | A line on a drawing with a measurement indicating length |
Dimensions | Measurements such as length, width, and height shown on a drawing |
Electrical plans | Engineered drawings that show all electrical supply and distribution |
Elevation (EL) | Height above sea level, or other defined surface, usually expressed in feet |
Elevation drawing | Side view of a building or object, showing height and width |
Engineer | A person who applies scientific principles in design and construction |
Engineer’s scale | straightedge measuring device uniformly into multiples of 10 divisions per inch so drawings can be made with decimal values |
Floor plan | drawing that provides an aerial view of the layout of each room |
Foundation plan | drawing that shows the layout and elevation of the building foundation |
HVAC | Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning |
Hidden line | dashed line showing an object obstructed from view by another object |
Isometric drawing | A three-dimensional drawing of an object. |
Leader | drafting, the line on which an arrowhead is placed and used to identify a component |
Legend | description of the symbols and abbreviations used in a set of drawings |
Mechanical plans | Engineered drawings that show the mechanical systems, such as motors and piping |
Metric scale | straightedge measuring device divided into centimeters, with each centimeter divided into 10 millimeters |
Not to scale (NTS) | Describes drawings that show relative positions and sizes |
Piping& Instrumentation Drawings | Schematic diagrams of a complete piping system |
Plumbing | general term used for both water supply and all liquid waste disposal |
Plumbing plans | Engineered drawings that show the layout for the plumbing system |
Request for information (RFI) | A means of clarifying a discrepancy in the blueprints |
Roof plan | drawing of the view of the roof from above the building |
Scale | The ratio between the size of a drawing of an object and the size of the actual object. |
Schematic | one-line drawing showing the flow of path for electrical circuitry |
Section drawing | cross-sectional view of a specific location, showing the inside of an object or building |
Specifications | Precise written presentation of the details of the plan |
Structural plans | set of engineered drawings used to support the architectural design |
Symbol | drawing that represents a material or component on a plan |
Title block | part of a drawing sheet that includes some general information about the project |