Constructing to Instruct
Buildometry
A set of "working drawings" or prints are made of several key graphic elements. Listed below are the "plot plan", the "floor plan", the "elevations" and the words and symbols typically used on residential plan sets. They go together to give the skilled craftsman the necessary guidance to build most residential construction projects. These concepts are introduced here and are looked at in a more in depth way on other pages on the web site.
The "Plot Plan" is the initial design snapshot. It is that overhead, aerial view of a piece of property with the idea of getting a feel for the beginning of a build project and how it will be affected by its location.
Topographical considerations, landscape considerations, legal location, and even solar orientations are important design concepts considered during this process. Consider the two examples and the information needed on them.
The Floor Plan is the most essential graphic element used for the "framing" a house. This part of a set of plans is the "cutaway" view of a house that is as if you have cut through the house, lifted it off, and now you are looking at the plates that indicate all the different aspects that define the various rooms. The floor plan will show you where all the door and window openings are and where and how the walls intersect.
Interpreting a blueprint for the information needed to build is an excercise in understanding the "graphic" language used by architects and draftsman.
This is the "builder's hieroglyphics" that enables the contractor and skilled craftsman to understand how the parts of the building project go together successfully. These symbols allows the architect to convey the most amount of information in a concise and universally understood manner. Even the lines themselves have particular significance. Here is where we will study their meaning.
These are the "flat plane" views of a project. The view where you see what the architect is looking at in his mind's eye. The graphic projection you get when you are "standing" in front of a building and looking straight at it. You see the placement of the windowns and doors----how they are supposed to look and the outisde treatment of the exterior walls. How the building project is going together becomes evident as you study the "floor plans" in conjunction with the "elevations" They complement each other to help in the details of the building project.
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