Different types of symbols used in construction drawings
There are various types of representations of the building materials in the construction drawings, which are needed by the engineers and architects to understand. Both printed and digital construction drawings have been used by the construction professionals to ensure that the construction drawing conveys the same meaning of that drawing to each and every stakeholder.
The building material symbols act as contributors to the construction drawings. These visual component of the construction drawings helps to represent the real-life materials that have been used in the construction process. The building material symbols are available in various shapes, sizes and thicknesses, which enables the architects to interpret the construction drawing more effectively.
The construction drawings have been represented more concisely with the use of the building material symbols, as a result, the users can get the information as per their needs. Various Building Information Modelling (BIM) software offers lots of pre-built building material symbols, which help to give a holistic view to each member of the construction project.
Importance of using symbols in the construction drawings
Enhancing accuracy
The building material symbols help to provide more accurate information about each object of the construction project, which plays an important role in preventing costly mistakes in the construction project.
Increased communication
The building material symbols can be understood by the architects and other construction professionals, which enhances the involvement of all construction professionals in the specific construction project by facilitating effective communication among them.
Project schedule and budget management
The building material symbol helps to develop more accurate cost estimates and project schedules. These symbols help to determine the accurate labour requirements and material quantities, which help to maintain the project budget and meet the construction project deadline.
Increasing quality control
The building material symbols also act as the quality control reference point. This helps to ensure that each building element has been built on the basis of the specific standards.
Streamlining the approval process
The use of standardised building material symbols helps to comply with the building regulations and codes. This also helps to ensure that the building plans have been reviewed more efficiently.
Discuss different types of symbols used in construction drawings
Different variety of symbols have been used in the construction drawings, which are as follows:
Architectural drawing symbols
Numerous symbols have been included in the architectural drawing symbols, which are:
Door symbols
These types of architectural symbols help to show the users the appropriate positions of the doors in the building structure. Different types of door symbols are available, which help architects to understand which type of doors are appropriate for specific areas of the building structure.
Window symbols
These types of symbols are similar to the door symbols, which help to indicate which type of window can be used in the building structure. There are different types of window symbols, including slide window symbols, casement window symbols, double casement window symbols, vertical sliding window symbols and bay window symbols.
Wall symbols
There are different types of wall symbols available that have been used in the construction drawing. The wall symbols help to differentiate the types and materials of walls that have been required to construct the walls. In the wall symbols, the thicker lines help to indicate the exterior walls, whereas the thin lines of the wall symbols help to indicate the interior walls.
Furniture symbols
Various types of furniture and their placement in the construction structure can be indicated by the furniture symbols. The arrangement of the furniture in the building areas can also represnetd by the furniture symbols.
Stair symbols
Usually, two parallel lines has been used to represent stairs in the architectural drawings. In addition, multiple lines and shapes can also be added to the stair symbols in the case of the contractor requires more specifications in the stair construction drawings.
Plumbing symbols
The plumbing symbols help to represent the plumbing layout and piping system in the building structure, which is crucial to designing the water supply and water removal systems in the building structure.
Pipes
These components have been represented by lines, which help to indicate the type of pipe in the building structure.
Fixtures
These are the symbols for toilets, sinks, and bathtubs.
Valves
Various form of circles helps to represent the valves.
Electrical symbols
The electrical symbols help to represent various electrical components of the construction structure, including switches, outlets and fixtures. These types of electrical symbols help to plan the electrical layout of the construction structure, thus helping to ensure the proper placement and connection in the construction structure.
Switches
A break in a line touched with an angled line helps to represent the switches.
Outlets
Generally, small circles or squares help to indicate different types of outlets.
Fixtures
There are different types of fixture symbols, including fans, light fixtures and others, which have been represented by the circle along with the internal symbols.
Structural symbols
The structural symbols help to provide accurate information related to the framework of the building, as well as about the load-bearing capacity.
To learn more, watch the following video tutorial.
Video Source: Parag Pal
Foundations
The foundation elements of the building structure have been indicated by the thick and dashed lines.
Columns and beams
The columns and beams of the construction structure have been represented by the rectangle and thick lines, which help to specify the material and dimensions of the building structures.
Perspective symbols
The perspective symbols help to represent the drawing viewpoint as well as help to show how the different types of drawing elements can relate in three dimensions.
