Has it already been a month since I shared my floor plan rough draft? Apparently. Never fear, the project continues, even if at a snail's pace! I have been making many changes to the floor plan, digging through my old files from when I worked as a professional draftsman, reviewing building standards, and so much more re-learning after many years away from the field.
Oops! I need to update that scale to 1/4"=1'-0". The best way to find mistakes is to share a project before it's finished, right?
A section drawing is a slice through a structure or component showing internal details. In architecture, this is where we show floor and ceiling heights, and call out details in keynotes or further drawings at a larger scale. The location of the section is shown with a heavy line on the floor plan. Arrows at either end show which way the section cut is looking, and letters differentiate between different section cuts.
This is section A-A. There may not be a Section B-B. I don't know yet. The plan is simple, so probably not.
Starting from the left: the truss is a stand-in for a structural component which should be properly engineered for wind and snow loads by the truss manufacturer. The slope icon on the right side of the roof shows the rise over the run instead of an angle measure for the roof pitch. Since I have my own climate in mind, this is intended to shed snow and rain
There will be a porch or deck on this side of the building at the front door, so this is incomplete. I am showing the header above the entrance door.
I'll probably add callout bubbles for the foundation, door header, truss connections, partition wall anchors, soffit (under the eaves) and roof ridge where ventilation is planned. I'll also probably switch to a single piece of 2x8 or 2x10 lumber for the door header, since that will provide ample structure without impacting insulation as much. I just need to check some tables of standards for that.
Some old plans I once helped draw used a callout tag with a text description of the wall construction layers. These 1, 2, A, and B tags are from an experiment with that process, but I'll probably use a drawing instead. I want them for a library I can use for future projects, too.
Interior partition walls do not carry any loads from the truss, so they do not require any footing piers or a thickened slab at any of these locations. I think I'll call for the attic access hatch to be in a closet cut by this section line, so I'll show framing for that. It also cuts through an interior door, which should have a detail drawing callout as well.
I added an insulation pattern to the exterior walls, but I think I'll omit it outside of detail drawings for clarity. I can fill the window gap with a stand-in basic window section.
On the far right are elevation tags with leaders. This is more common in commercial architecture. The top of the concrete slab or main floor is set to zero, and all other measurements are taken from there. Using 100' or 10' as the baseline avoids using negative numbers below the floor height, but also requires some math.
Progress is happening, and in addition to the section drawing and planning detail drawings to add, I have also largely finished my boilerplate notes document, my title block template for all pages of the blueprints, and have a good start on a new library of callouts and tags. I've also started a proper door & window schedule with notes on the floor plan. Once I make a few more updates, I'll share a more complete set with basic elevations and updated versions of the files I have published so far.
If you work in the trades and have any advice, I'm open to input. After all, it has been cough years since I did this professionally, and I know I'm a bit rusty.
If you're not on Hive yet, I invite you to join through InLeo or PeakD. If you use either of my referral links, I'll even try to delegate some Hive Power to help you get started.