How to read buildings pdf download

Precedence relationships are the logical order in which you will complete tasks. A combination of basic job logic — figuring out what must happen before, during, and after performing a specific task — and physical or practical constraints determine precedence relationships.

Builders have an intuitive understanding of job logic: You have to lay the bricks before you can paint the walls. Other constraints that can be hard to see in advance may affect task execution. For example, it may appear that the cabinetry team and the painting team can work simultaneously, except that the space is too small for all the workers. Once you determine task durations and precedence relationships, you can create a precedence network. A precedence network is a visual representation of all project tasks that you arrange in logical order.

Nodes , or hollow circles, represent activities that contain written task durations, and arrows between nodes represent the order in which you perform tasks. The precedence network drives scheduling with a technique called the critical path method CPM. The CPM establishes the early and late start and end dates for tasks — that is, when you can or must start and finish them in order to complete the project on time. Since all of these activities follow from the work breakdown structure, you can clearly see the importance of construction plans to the planning and scheduling of a building project.

Blueprints also shape other important decisions, such as the choice of technology and construction methods for a project. Builders assess the scale not only of the project as a whole, but also of specific components of the project, such as building materials and their position within the structure. For example, a construction planner might ask whether a project requires a cement mixer truck or simply a wheel-based cement mixer. And, once the crew mixes the cement, do they need to pump the mixture to the higher levels of the structure, or can they transfer it by pulley or even manually?

Most jurisdictions have building departments or councils that must issue permits for new construction or renovation projects before the construction work can begin. For example, inspectors will check whether buildings have adequate fire protection and safely positioned windows, include enough parking, and many other details. Project owners seeking a building permit communicate these details by submitting the blueprints for review.

Government permit departments will pore over the plans and check for compliance with building rules and codes before giving construction the permission to break ground. Builders use a standardized coding system, such as MasterFormat, to simplify specifications and make it easy for all participants to communicate requirements.

MasterFormat , developed by the U. Construction Specifications Institute CSI and Construction Specifications of Canada , comprises 50 major divisions of construction information for commercial and institutional projects.

In this coding system, you identify each work product with a series of numbers that describes the major category and subcategory, and the type of work involved. For example, masonry is in division 04, and the clay unit masonry is in subgroup Brick masonry gets MasterFormat number 04 21 13, which you would use on the construction plan.

Construction plans help builders estimate costs, especially during the early stages of a project when contractors are preparing bids. To arrive at a cost estimate, you use a technique called quantity takeoff and prepare a document called the bill of quantities. The quantity takeoff calculates the materials you need in a construction project. You list, for example, how much wood you require for an activity, and then you multiply that amount by how many times that activity occurs during construction.

The quantity takeoff is a fairly specialized operation performed by an estimator who can both read blueprints and quantify all costs for work tasks without overlooking anything or double counting. Pinpointing costs is tricky - even for someone who can read blueprints - because architects vary in how clearly they enumerate all dimensions on construction plans.

A cost estimator or quantity surveyor typically performs the quantity takeoff. Excel Word PDF. The bill of quantities lists the material quantities from the quantity takeoff, and contractors use this to determine their expenses on materials and labor for the project. This calculation enables them to bid accurately. The bill looks like an extensive table of itemized costs: The scope of each item is described in some detail and accompanied by the number of units of each item in terms of area, length, volume, or other dimensions as appropriate , the cost per unit, and the resulting total cost of that item.

The bill of quantities also includes so-called contingency costs for unforeseen expenditures and waste costs and materials prone to breakage or wastage. Since the bill of quantities is an exhaustive document, you only prepare it once you have a completed and finalized set of construction plans. Excel Smartsheet. Paper construction plans are large about 24 by 36 inches and consist of several pages.

Also, remember that paper plans tear and fade easily, and they deteriorate if they get wet. You can easily feel overwhelmed by the sheer size and amount of detail on the plans, so the first step in working with them is to relax. Unlike books, plans do not have a single starting place. Focus your attention on one corner, and then work your way across. Good plans show a lot of detail and are highly accurate. Is this a full view or a section?

Next, check the scale. You use architectural scales in plans for buildings, and engineering scales in plans for other construction projects, such as roads or dams. This guide from the U. Fire Administration is a good primer on how to select the correct scale and accurately interpret the dimensions.

If the architect possesses written dimensions for the plan, use those instead of measuring the dimensions with a ruler. According to a U. Navy blueprint reading and sketching course , paper will stretch or shrink over time, which can make dimensions bigger or smaller than you intended.

Sometimes, in the revision process, you miss details. Also, try comparing different plans with elevations to see whether the dimensions add up.

If you are measuring dimensions using the ruler and scale, remember to check whether someone reduced the drawings themselves during reproduction. Instead, use the dimensions written explicitly on the plans - if these are unavailable, contact the architect to obtain missing dimensions. Construction plans feature symbols that represent components of the completed structure.

For complex projects, architects may use hundreds of abbreviations and symbols. These represent all the structural components, down to nine different symbols for nine different types of doors. The symbols are mostly standardized, but architects have latitude to use their own symbols.

Either way, the plan will feature a key explaining what the symbols mean. In addition, the architect will depict elements, like stonework, using simple graphics. If you want to brush up on blueprint symbols before you get your hands on a set of plans, check out these free resources that HousePlanHelper. These lines indicate everything from the visible and invisible sides of objects to the dimensions and center axes of objects.

A set of plans for a single residential project can include dozens of separate drawings in some cases, there might be more than Quickly scan the entire set of plans before you start, so you know what the architect has included.

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Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Obinna Ranks Ubani. A short summary of this paper. By looking at the GA of a building, other engineers can identify the model of the building, the shape and type of structural elements, and the possible assumptions made in the design. Figure 1: A typical example of a building's GA In order to carry out a design properly, the design engineer should be able to adequately idealise the structure in order to obtain the closest theoretical and practical behaviour of the structure under load.

This interpretation is usually made from standard and well prepared architectural drawing of the proposed building. The GA also contains the labelling of the axes and A publication of www. After completing the GA, the engineer makes preliminary sizing of the structural elements which may be governed by past experience or by deflection requirements based on the code of practice.

After the sizing, the engineer is faced with the challenge of loading the structure. But let us briefly review how we go about the GA. To me, adequate presentation of the general arrangement has more to with years of design and construction experience. However, I am going to highlight some important guidelines which are very necessary.

Architectural drawings supersedes structural drawings for building projects. For instance, when arranging your columns, do not place columns where the architect has meant to be a free space, and also, none of your structural elements should interrupt the interaction of spaces. Very interesting and educational book, i recommend it to every enthusiastic novice. It starts with a short description of architectural styles from antiquity to the twentieth century. Then, it focuses on each part of buildings door, windows, towers, etc Reading this book gives you the opportunity to better assess buildings you visit.

It's like a guide on how to taste wine instead of just drinking wine. However, readers may fe Very interesting and educational book, i recommend it to every enthusiastic novice.

However, readers may feel lost among the many details given and have a hard time remembering the characteristic of each architectural style. It's like anything else, you need to put into practise what you've just learnt to better understand it and memorize it.

Fortunately, this book is available in a small size which is convenient to take it with oneself while visiting. Nov 04, Mary rated it really liked it. Great little book. View all 3 comments. Oct 02, Kanoa rated it it was amazing Shelves: books-read This book is a fantastic introduction to common architectural styles with great details about how to accurately date a building based on a variety of features such as materials, columns, arches, roofs, vaults, domes, windows, fireplaces, etc.

It has a lot of specific examples and a decent glossary if an unfamiliar term is used. Don't let its small size fool you; it contains quite a bit of useful information. If you are looking for a more in-depth study of architectural history after reading this This book is a fantastic introduction to common architectural styles with great details about how to accurately date a building based on a variety of features such as materials, columns, arches, roofs, vaults, domes, windows, fireplaces, etc.

Jul 27, Nikky rated it liked it Shelves: default. At first glance this book may have what you're looking for if the goal is be reminded of architectural styles and evolution through identifying structural and decorative components. There's an introduction section that describes the different styles through time, and then more in-depth looks at each kind of identifying trait. The problem is the book is too haphazard in how it presents this information. For instance, if you're looking to identify a building based on the door design, instead of pre At first glance this book may have what you're looking for if the goal is be reminded of architectural styles and evolution through identifying structural and decorative components.

For instance, if you're looking to identify a building based on the door design, instead of presenting the information as a variety of common traits, it instead shows a few examples that aren't consistent between each section, or even consistent between each style. The reader is constantly needing to reference other works to figure out the actual traits they're looking for.

Mar 10, Tam G rated it liked it Shelves: patterns , history-historical. This is succinct, but very dense. In fact, I would consider this more of a reference book than a text on architecture. It consists of 2 or 4 page spreads which have a photo and paragraph describing architectural concepts and words.

These spreads are grouped in themes Roman, Gothic, Religious, Suburban , but otherwise don't follow a discussion or overarching book theme, so it ends up more like a dictionary of images and concepts. I would probably give it 4 stars as a reference book, but as a cra This is succinct, but very dense. I would probably give it 4 stars as a reference book, but as a crash course I felt it was limited.

Dec 11, Meredith rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction-general. Nice, but could have done with a few more features to be more useful. Interactive sub-floor plan Click to see interactive version of plan. Elevations are a 2D view of each external elevation of the house. Plans include front, rear and both side elevations. Elevation Click to see interactive version of plan. A section is generally cut through a detailed section of the home and is shown as a very dark line with a letter on both ends.

It describes how the building will be constructed and describes the internal finishes. Sections explain construction types in more detail. Interactive section plan Click to see interactive version of plan. Our quotation service is free and includes: Three quotes or more if you use our online directory 40, businesses ready to help you business categories The business categories you can select from include everything from architects to cleaners.

Search our business directory Get 3 free quotes. Choosing door handles and locks. Considering the demand for e-reading in cross-platform devices we have created Books with separate editions optimized for devices of different screen size like PCs,Tablets and Mobiles.

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