How to Draw a Staircase on a Floor Plan

What is a flooring programme?

A floor plan is a 2d drawing to scale of the inside of a building. Information technology is a horizontal cutting of the building at a acme of 4 anxiety from the floor.

The elements that tin can exist shown in a floor programme are the walls, the partitions, the doors, the windows, the stairs, the piece of furniture, and more than.

Different views in architecture

A programme view is just ane of the different views of a edifice we run into in architecture. In that location are also elevation views, department views, and 3D views. These are some example of different view nosotros can have:

Side Height

Front Peak

Section AA

Floor Plan

Axonometric

Isometric

Programme view

A program view is a horizontal 2D view of a building. The most common programme view drawing is a floor plan, but there are also reflected ceiling plans, details program view, etc.

Summit view

An elevation view is a 2D view of i of the sides of a edifice.

Section view

A section view is 'cutting' in the edifice (vertically) and looking at the inside.

Even for a floor plan, it is useful to think almost the section view and the superlative view. Some elements are cut through, like in section, and some elements are seen in 2D from an outside point of view, like in elevations.

Line Weight

In architecture floor plans, there are unlike line thicknesses used for unlike elements. This is called line weights.

This is to make the plan easier to understand and help them brand the link between the 2d and the 3D.

Every object fatigued in a floor plan tin can be separated into 3 categories:

• The objects below 4 feet
• The objects 'cut' at iv feet
• The objects to a higher place four feet

Depending on the category to which the objects belong, it volition non be represented with the aforementioned line weight.

The objects below 4 feet

The objects below 4 feet often include the floor itself, forepart porches, decks, balconies, banisters, walls not reaching the ceiling, stairs going down, the lower steps of stairs going up, countertops, and other article of furniture.

These objects are seen from above, so their representation is only the way they expect on the height. Nosotros normally use continuous fine or medium lines to stand for them.

Sometimes, the closer the objects are to 4 feet, the heavier the lines can be.

The objects 'cutting' at 4 anxiety

The objects 'cut' at 4 feet will always be represented with heavier lines. They often include outside walls, interior walls, the glazing and frame of windows, columns, etc.

To indicate that they are cutting trough, a lot of these objects will be poached (shaded in black). This includes the chief elements of floorplans, similar the exterior walls, the partitions, and structural elements. Doors and windows volition non be poached.

The objects above 4 feet

The object above 4 feet often includes the college steps of stairs going up, ceiling features (Ex: opening in the floor higher up or cathedral ceilings), or upper cabinets.

Those objects are considered "hidden" in the flooring plan because you would not see them if you look down at 4 feet. So, to draw them, nosotros utilise fine dashed lines.

Other uses of line weights

Besides, unlike line weights tin can be used for graphic reasons. An object that as a lot of details in a small corporeality of space will accept thinner lines to make it easier to understand. It can also exist used to hierarchize the elements. For instance, less important ones, like floor finishes, will exist in thinner lines to draw attending to the main elements.

The dashed line is also used to stand for any subconscious object even if it is not above 4 feet. For case, in stairs, the riser will be in dashed lines, because they are hidden by the tread and the nosing. Likewise, the part of the dishwasher that is under the countertop will be in dashed lines.

Recap

Large: cut through architectural elements, such as interior and exterior walls

Medium: doors, windows, stairs, flooring limits, countertop and other architectural elements seen from in a higher place

Thin: piece of furniture, appliances, and symbols

Sparse (dashed): hidden objects, ceiling features, risers (stairs), and more than.

Actress sparse: materials (floors) and other surface features

Elements are filled with blackness when they are cut through. In a floorplan, it is by and large walls or columns.

Overall view

This is an overall view of the use of weight line.

Exceptions

The 4 feet dominion is near always followed but does not apply all the time. For example:

In a basement, we oft see windows that are but on the upper role of the wall. Nonetheless, if we follow the iv feet rule, those windows volition not appear in any flooring plan. Because they are a very important element of the building, we can make the decision to nevertheless bear witness them equally if they were regular windows.

Split levels. They are represented on the flooring plan of the closest level. In that location is no distinction between the way carve up levels and the residuum of the level are fatigued. The 4 feet rule is ignored considering the representation of the split up level would be too hard to understand.

Some furnitures are drawn as if they were seen from to a higher place even if they are cutting through, like the refrigerator, because representing the inside of a fridge would add not any helpful detail. However, nosotros tend to show the inside of custom or integrated furniture, like pantries.

What parts of the building are represented?

Unremarkably, in a floor programme, everything is shown. This includes solariums, front porches, decks, etc. Yet, the interior space is always the most of import part to represent if information technology is not possible to draw the outside spaces.

Outside spaces

The exterior elements volition merely be drawn in the level they are in.

For example, on the basis flooring, the deck and the front porch are drawn, also as the outside stairs and the banisters. Yet, nosotros do not encounter the pavement on the footing because it is not considered to be at the same level.

For the second floor, nosotros will not run across the deck or the forepart porch because they are a level below. However, if the second floor has a balcony, we will see information technology.

In the basement, nothing from the exterior is ordinarily shown because information technology is just soil all around the foundation walls.

Baseline of the plan

The front door is generally aligned towards the lower part of the programme.

All the floor plans of the aforementioned building need to exist oriented the same style. Also, if you put them on superlative of the other, you should be able to brand them fit with each other.

Exterior walls

There are no standard sizes for exterior walls because there are a lot of possible assemblies.

Walls tend to exist thicker in parts of the world that are cold in the winter and crave insulation.

Some other element that makes a lot of difference in the thickness of the wall is the siding. Masonry walls will be thicker than lightweight sidings walls.

Thicker sidings: Masonry similar bricks and stones (most of this type of siding is more than or less around 3 ½'' thick)

Slimer sidings: Wood, aluminum, cobweb cement, vinyl, stucco, etc. (the siding can be as slim as ¾'')

Also, non all walls are constructed the aforementioned way. A house built in the 1920s will not have the same wall thickness because it will non employ the same construction methods nosotros use today.

The blazon of structure too has an influence on the thickness. Most houses accept a woods structure, but commercial buildings can have a steel or physical structure.

The walls in the basement are thicker than other walls because they are foundation walls and made of concrete.

Unremarkably, the outline of the exterior walls will have the simplest shape possible. For instance, a lot of bungalows have a rectangular shape. There can be more features from the inside of the wall but usually, the outside walls volition exist mostly flat.

Partitions

Interior walls are called partitions.

The most common thickness for partitions nowadays is 4 ½''. They are made with 2x4 (which are 3 ½'' thick) and a gypsum board ½'' on each side.

Some partitions can be thicker. For case, if there is plumbing going through the partitioning, the 2x4 are sometimes replaced by 2x6, which makes a six ½'' partition.

Partitions that need to exist soundproofed or fire-resistant are as well often thicker. For example, the partitions separating condos or some partitions in commercial or institutional buildings.

Bearing walls can also exist thicker.

Walls non reaching the ceiling

Some partitions within the house can be at half their acme.

They are represented with the same thickness as walls, but they aren't filled with black because they are not cut through.

Structural elements

A few structural elements can exist seen in the flooring program, such as bearing walls, columns, and beams.

They should be aligned with i another considering the structural elements of a building are positioned post-obit the horizontal and vertical axis.

The columns are represented the same way as walls (poached in black), and the beams like archways if they are visible. (columns and beams together create archways).

Stairs

Stairs are one of the most difficult elements to represent because it can hands become confusing for the people looking at the floorplan to understand their direction.

In a floor plan, the parts of the stairs and the dimensions nosotros are able to run across are the width of the stairway, the landing, and the thread.

The risers are shown in dashed lines, whereas the threads are in ordinary lines. The handrail is also often shown with two lines at ii" from each other.

Vocabulary

This is the vocabulary used to design parts of the stair:

• Pace
• Handrail
• Thread
• Riser
• Banister

Types of stairways

Straight stair

U-Shaped stair

U-Shaped stair

U-Shaped stair

Fifty-Shaped stair

Angular steps can either be at xxx or 45 degrees

U-Shaped and Winder stair

Spiral stair

Helical stair

Stairs Up

Because the floorplan is cut at 4 feet, not all the steps are seen the aforementioned.

The steps below 4 feet are represented with a continuous line.

The steps in a higher place 4 feet are represented with a dashed line.

The place where the 4 feet cutting is made is represented with a cleaved line symbol. Usually, nosotros always make the cutting later on iv-5 steps.

To indicate the direction of the stairway, we must write Upward at the beginning of the stairs. An pointer starts at the bottom of the stairs and goes up until the cleaved line symbol.

The handrail is usually represented only up to the broken line symbol.

Stairs Downward

Stairs going down are seen from in a higher place, then all the steps are in continuous lines.

To indicate the management of the stairway, we have to write DN at the kickoff of the stairs. An pointer follows the direction down to the last visible step.

Opening in the flooring

Sometimes we take an opening in the floor. We will depict an 10 to show this opening.

Stairs Down

Simply the steps visible through the opening of the flooring are shown. We will not draw the steps that are hidden.

Stairs Up and Down Combined

Sometimes, stairs going up and stairs going downward are overlapped.

The stairs going upward are represented the aforementioned style, but we brand them end at the broken line symbol.

The stairs going downwards are also the same way, except they stop where the stairs upwardly brainstorm. Also, nosotros need to put some other broken line for them to indicate that they continue further.

Standard Sizes (CCQ 2010)

Landing: Needs to be at least the width of the threads

Thread: min 34" width

two" minimum between the wall and the handrail

Standard Sizes (CCQ 2010)

Riser: max 7 7/eight" and min 4 vii/eight".

Nosing: maximum i"

Notation that not all stairs meet those standards. Older staircases might not be upwardly to norms.

Doors

Standard Sizes - Interior Doors

The interior doors should be mostly the same size. Usually, there aren't more than 2-iii unlike sizes in the aforementioned house.

Mostly for bathrooms and storage

Mostly for bathrooms and storage

Interior door size 32"

Standard Sizes - Exterior Doors

Outside door size 32"

Exterior door size 34"

Exterior door size 36"

Minimum Gap

The minimum gap betwixt the opening of the door and an adjacent sectionalization is 3".

Exterior Door Threshold

The threshold is a little 'stride' at the bottom of a door. Exterior doors accept i but about interior doors don't.

Interior Door Threshold

A door also has a threshold when there is a modify of floor covering. Ex. : wooden floor to ceramic floor.

However, if there isn't any floor roofing represented in the floorplan, it is not necessary to stand for the threshold of those doors.

Entrance

An entrance can be of whatever dimension. Sometimes, they are the width of a door merely they can also be a lot wider. The dashed lines correspond the wall above the archway.

Windows

General Graphic Representation

This is the graphic representation of a single and a double window at the medium detail level. It is commonly used considering it shows the mullions and the frame.

Single Window - Height View

Single Window - Plan View

Double Window - Height View

Double Window - Plan View

Curtain Wall

A curtain wall is a blazon of wall arrangement used in commercial or institutional buildings in larger-scale projects.

It is made of a thin metallic frame containing glass and lightweight sliding panels.

Curtain walls are non used in houses. Walls in residential buildings that are completely fabricated of glass are walls of windows, which are non represented the aforementioned way.

Pall Wall - Program View

The graphic representation looks a lot like a window. However, it is thinner and isn't inside a wall, because a drapery wall has its own wall system.

Also, the glazing isn't centered in the frame, information technology is usually closer to the exterior.

Drapery Wall - Elevation View

The thickness varies a lot from a drape wall to some other, simply we often encounter mullions between 3 ½" to 7 ½" thick.

Conservatory

Solariums are always represented in floor plans.

Sometimes, the wall will be thinner for this office of the house, considering they are non always insulated. Information technology can be windows in a wall or only windows with structural elements. To draw them, it is exactly similar putting windows in a wall.

Room Identification and Dimensions

Identification

All the rooms are normally identified with their dimensions, except closets and pocket-size storage spaces. Hallway and other circulating areas are too identified. Sometimes, it can be purposeful to identify the deck or the porch if there is a lot of outside living infinite.

There isn't a conventional mode to proper noun the rooms, as long as information technology is logical and easily understandable.

If there is not enough space to write the complete proper name of the room, we tin can use abbreviations. For example, WASHROOM often becomes WC or Bathroom just BATH. Merely brand sure to write it the aforementioned style in all the plans of the aforementioned house so it is easily understandable.

Dimensions

We always start with the horizontal dimension and and so the vertical ane.

Dimensions - Closet

When there is a closet in a room, we often include it in the dimensions. However, walk-in usually has its own identification and dimensions.

Dimensions - Shape of Room

If the room doesn't accept a foursquare or rectangular shape, we take the dimension that is the near representative of the infinite. The dimensions are approximative, so information technology doesn't affair if the dimension is not entirely accurate.

Dimensions - Open Area

When it is an open surface area and there is no separation between the rooms, nosotros need to create imaginary separations by guessing where the room ends. Afterward, we take the dimensions every bit usual.

Graphic Standards

At that place are a few dimensions that should exist the aforementioned in most houses.

Hallways or whatsoever other circulating surface area are at to the lowest degree three'-0" wide.

A cupboard is usually ii'-0" broad minimum.

Countertops are a minimum of 24".

Entrances

It is common to put small triangles in front of the entrances of a building to make them easier to notice in the floorplan. A black-filled triangle ofttimes represents the main archway and a hollow triangle represents secondary entrances.

Cupboard

The inside of a closet is represented with a thin line and a dashed line (the pole and the shelf). Hangers are likewise fatigued optionally.

Opening in the floor

Openings in the flooring of a programme are represented with an "X" in thin lines.

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Source: https://www.urbanimmersive.com/floor_plan_knowledge_base