Creating an Architectural Floor Plan

this booklet will walk you through every step from start to finish

remember, one thing at a time and it will all come together

take your time and develop a knowledge of why and how drawings are put together the way

they are

follow each step carefully following all instructions

Step 1: Create sketches & Graph paper drawings (suggested time 3 classes)

Read this whole page before starting your sketches

All good plan designs start as sketches on a piece of paper... or maybe even a napkin

don't be afraid to be messy, it's all about getting your ideas on the paper, you can refine them later

Things to consider while designing:

room layout

room sizes

sun direction (sunset / sunrise)

exterior appearance

Your home must be 2 floors & include the following rooms:

Garage

Foyer

Kitchen

Living room

Dining room

2 or 3 Bedrooms with Closets (Master + 1 or 2 more)

2 or 3 Bathrooms

At least 2 other rooms

(Ex. Den, Games room, Office, Sun room, Mud room, Studio Etc.)

Space for Hot Water Tank & Furnace

(Think about distance from HW tank to sinks and showers)

Stairs

You may wish to include a gas fireplace as well (optional)

Creating a Floor plan Sketch from scratch can be a difficult task

Generic room sizes can be found below this tutorial on the main webpage.

If you are having trouble you may want to cut out the rooms provided on the webpage and try organizing

them on your desk in different ways to get some ideas :)

Once you are happy with your sketches and have a final version on graph paper (this may take multiple

revisions ... in reality many many revisions) place some general dimensions on your sketch to help when

starting in AutoCAD.

Your final sketched plan must be approved by the teacher before beginning in

AutoCAD

Step 2: Initial AutoCAD Setup for Architectural Floor Plans

(suggested time 5 - 15 min)

Open "AutoCAD 2015 English"

start a new file from scratch

Make sure your UNITS are in Architectural & Inches with a precision of 1/16"

type: UNITS then press Enter to get this box

Make sure the workspace is set to "Drafting & Annotation"

(bottom right corner)

turn OFF the View Cube, Navigation Bar, & UCS Icon

(This is optional but i find it is easier to work with a less cluttered screen)

Optional AutoCAD Personalization

Click on the in the top left corner

go to OPTIONS at the bottom

Make sure to set AUTO SAVE to 5 min just in case your computer crashes

here you will also find many other handy features to make your life easier:

pickbox size in the selection tab (makes you cursor selection box larger)

Grip size in the selection tab (makes grips on objects larger)

AutoSnap marker size & Aperture size in the Drafting tab

There are many other features in this options menu ... be

careful what you select as your instructor may not know

what you have done and will not be able to fix it!

Step 3: Creating Layers (in AutoCAD) (suggested time 15 min)

Read this whole page before creating your layers

Layers are a very important part of a complicated drawing like a floor plan

Layers are used to organize different objects in your drawing

Create the following layers to use throughout the Floor Plan Creation Process:

you may use any color at this point; however you must use the colors above when it comes

time to print

Create a new layers in "Layer Properties"

by clicking on "New Layer"

Step 4: Main Floor Walls (in AutoCAD) (Suggested time 2 classes)

Read this whole page before starting your Walls

Useful Commands:

Line L

Offset O

Trim TR

Fillet F

Stretch S

Distance DI

Criteria:

Walls must be created in your WALLS layer

Exterior walls must be 6" thick

Interior walls must be 4" thick

Exception: Interior walls that require plumbing need to be 6" thick

Garage walls are all 6" thick (interior & exterior)

Tip: start from one corner of your house and offset specific distances (found on your sketch) to create

horizontal and vertical wall lines. Then trim these lines to create rooms. Fillet & Trim corners to keep

everything nice and clean.

You can double check room sizes using the distance command

Step 5: Symbol/Block Creation (in AutoCAD) (Suggested time 2 classes)

Read this whole page before starting your Symbols

You should have already completed this step earlier in the course :)

All symbols MUST be originally drawn in the 0 (zero) layer

Once you have all the symbols created in the 0 layer and hatched appropriately with proper line types and

scales you can create blocks out of them.

To create a block go to the tab and click

Name your Block - TIP - The list will be in alphabetical order so organize your symbols in a convenient way

Pick point - This is the insertion point when you insert the block into your drawing (choose wisely)

Select Objects - Make sure to select the entire object

select "delete" (this makes the symbol disappear when you click ok so it is easy to tell which symbols you have turned

into blocks and which ones you still have to convert)

make sure the "Allow exploding" box is checked in case you want to modify the block in your drawing

You can also write a description of the block if you wish (optional)

Click "OK"

Step 6: Stairs (in AutoCAD) (Suggested time 30 min)

Read this whole page before starting your Stairs

Stairs can be complicated to draw

Useful Commands:

Line L

Offset O

Trim TR

Fillet F

Stretch S

Mirror MI

Copy CO

Array AR

Distance DI

Criteria:

Should be drawn in the STAIRS layer

Tread should be either 10" or 11"

# of treads is determined by height of ceiling

14 treads for an 8' ceiling

16 treads for a 9' ceiling

Top and bottom of stairs require a landing as long as the stairs are wide

stairs must be enclosed with either a hand rail or wall

minimum headroom is 6'-5"

up / dn notations with arrows & tread width and # of riser notations must be included for all sets of

stairs (we will do this later when we do dimensions)

there must be 2 stairs at all entrances to the house from outside to inside, including the garage

Common layouts include:

but can vary from these by a

great deal

Step 7: Creating 2nd Floor Walls (Suggested time 1 class)

Read this whole page before starting your 2nd floor walls

One of the easiest ways to create 2nd Floor walls is by copying your first floor walls so you have a duplicate,

then modifying the location of interior and possibly exterior walls to create the desired layout.

Useful Commands:

Stretch S

Copy CO

Fillet F

Trim TR

Offset O

Line L

Distance DI

Criteria:

Walls must be created in your WALLS layer

Exterior walls must be 6" thick

Interior walls must be 4" thick

Exception: Interior walls that require plumbing need to be 6" thick

Now that all of the walls are created we need to make sure that our appliances and fixtures will fit

appropriately in the home.

Step 8: Insert blocks for appliances and fixtures. (Suggested time 1 class)

Read this whole step before starting to insert your blocks

In step 5, you created a number of “Blocks” that you will be using for your floor plan. In this step you will

place all of your appliances and fixtures in your home. You will be doing this now so that you can make sure

that all of the room sizes are adequate with the actual sizes of appliances.

In the Insert tab, click on the Insert feature.

A list will appear of all of the blocks that you have created.

Select the block that you want to insert. You can also access your

blocks by clicking "More Options..."

Move the block where you want it and then click to place.

Make sure that the blocks are inserted in their respective LAYERS

Below is a list of the different blocks to place, and their specific requirements.

Cabinetry and Millwork.

Draw all kitchen, bathroom & closet cabinetry:

Kitchen counters are 24" deep

Upper cabinets are 12" deep (

Shelves in closets are 12" - 16"

Closet hanger rods are 10" - 12" from the wall

Toilets: Place them in a bathroom! The back of the toilet tank should be 2” from the wall. From the center of

the toilet there must be a minimum clearance of 14” on one side and 18” on the other side.

Bathtubs and showers: Place in the bathroom. The bathtub

needs to be surrounded by three walls. You may need to

adjust the wall or add one so the tub will fit.

Bathroom Basin (Sink): Place in the bathroom. You may

need to explode the original block if you wish to make the

counter larger or have a double sink

Fridge: Located somewhere appropriate in the kitchen area. Think about "flow" and working in the kitchen

when placing appliances

Stove: Located somewhere appropriate in the kitchen area. Think about "flow" and working in the kitchen

when placing appliances

Dishwasher: Located near the sink. This is so that the water supply and drainage are near each other. Place 2"

from the wall.

Kitchen sink: Placed 2" from the front of the counter.

Hot water heater and Furnace: Locate these in an area that is fairly close to the kitchen and bathrooms. The

hot water lines should travel as short a distance as possible.

Washer and dryer: Locate near the hot water tank. Most

houses may have a utility room that houses the hot water

tank, the washer and dryer and the furnace. At minimum

have a laundry room.

Laundry sink: Put near the washer and dryer. Most often

right beside the washing machine for plumbing purposes.

St

ep

9:

Cr

eate and Place Doors. (Suggested time 2 classes)

Read this whole step before starting to create and insert your doors

Now you will be creating and placing your doors. Follow the instructions below for door sizes and placement

instructions. Once you make one door, you can copy and paste or change it for other doors.

Note: you must have a 3” minimum space between a perpendicular wall and the door Jamb; A door

opening towards a wall should have exactly 3”.

Bi-folds do not need the 3” minimum as they are mounted on

rails at the top and bottom.

Common door sizes and symbols

Interior doors:

Interior doors are for creating privacy between rooms. They are

between 2’- 4” and 3’- 0” wide (Most commonly 2'-6").

To draw an interior door:

Draw two lines perpendicular to your interior walls

that are the width of the door apart; these represent

the jambs of the doorway.

Trim the wall lines between the jambs.

Draw a line at 45°, that is the same length as the

door size; this represents the swinging door.

Draw a circle with center point at door hinge and

outside edge at end of door, trim off the part of the

circle that is not required; this represents the doors path as it opens. You can also use the “Center,

Start, End” Arc tool (make sure to move in a Counter-Clockwise direction ).

Exterior doors:

Exterior doors are all of the doors that lead to the outside or an unheated space, like the garage. They are

generally wider and thicker than an interior door and have better insulation factors (R value).

Drawing an exterior door:

An exterior door is similar to an interior door with a few key differences.

The door must be at least 3' wide.

It has a 2” threshold on the outside of the door

The jambs are wider as they are on an exterior 6” wall.

Door opens into the house

Sliding glass doors

Sliding glass doors often lead onto decks or patios.

Drawing a sliding glass door:

6’ wide

2” threshold on the outside

3’ long lines, 2” apart depicting glass panel and

slider. The slider should be centered in the width

of the door.

Closet doors

There are two common types of closet doors:

Bifold Doors are doors that fold through a track and have a

hinged center.

Bifold doors come in many sizes. 1’- 6”, 2’- 0”, 2’- 6”, 3’- 0”.

There can also be two for an opening allowing you to have a

bifold closet 6’ wide.

They are represented by a pair of 45° lines that are each half

the width of one door.

Pocket doors are doors that slide into a hollow space in

the middle of a wall. They come in a range of sizes usually

in lengths ending with an even number. (ex. 24”, 26”, 28”

etc.) most commonly 2'-6", 2'-8", and 3'-0"

Pocket doors require a long enough wall beside the door to house the hidden door. The drawing shows a jamb

on one side, then a pocket extending into the wall a depth equal to the width of the door. The door slab itself

is centered in the opening.

Garage doors

Garage doors are wide doors that open by sliding up and

parallel with the ceiling. They come in the following sizes.

8’, 9’, 10’, 12’, 14’ or 16’. The most common sizes are 12’

and 14’. The plan view must show the closed and opened

door.

Door Placement

Interior doors should have at least 3” between its jamb and an inside wall corner.

There must be at least 2’- 6” between an exterior door and an outside wall corner.

Doors must swing into the room that they are leading into, from a hallway into a bedroom etc.

Doors should swing into an area that will allow easy access into and out of a room.

DON’T FORGET TO PUT THE DOORS IN THE CORRECT LAYER

Soon your plan will start looking similar to this one! :)

Step 10: Create and Place Windows. (Suggested time 2 classes)

Read this whole step before starting to create and insert your windows

Windows let light in from the outside at the same time as insulating the house.

Windows come in many different sizes. The most common sizes for windows include:

Bathroom – 2’ wide

Bedrooms – 4’ wide

Living rooms – 5’, 6’, 8’ or 10’ wide

Windows generally come in sizes with increments of 6”.

4’- 6”, 5’, 5’- 6”. Etc.

Draw your windows as such.

Draw one window, then Copy and Stretch it to make

others

Make sure to place your windows in the A-GLAZ Layer

Once you have place a window adjust the wall lines (using the object grips) to stop at the

edge of each window. You will have to draw new wall lines in place of ones that are getting

shortened.

Step 11: Insert Electrical, Heating and Plumbing Symbols. (Suggested time 2 classes)

Read this whole step before starting to insert your symbols

In step 5 you created all of your blocks for electrical, plumbing and heating. In this step you will place those

around the house.

Electrical

Lights:

This symbol represents standard ceiling hung or

wall mount lighting fixtures. Ceiling lights are

often placed in the center of rooms, like

bedrooms.

Wall mounted lights will have the same symbol, with one

of its quadrant lines touching the wall where it is to be

located.

Pot lights are flush with the ceiling surface and

do not hang down. These lights are most often

used in kitchens and dining rooms and other

common areas. They are often placed in a pattern on the

ceiling. They do not provide as much light as a hanging

light as they are recessed in the ceiling acting more as a

spot light. Place 2-4 pot lights where you would otherwise

have one hanging light.

Outlets

An outlet is the plug on the wall that you plug your Phone charger into. There are several different types each

with their different specifications. There should be an outlet at least every 12’ along the walls of every room.

Place them with the ends of the straight lines touching the wall that they go on.

Standard 110v outlet: This is the standard plug. They go in every room and are no more than 12ft

apart

220v outlet: This type of outlet is used for the range (stove) and dryer. Place one on the wall behind

these two appliances.

110v GFI Outlet: Use in the bathroom and within 3’ of any sink.

110v WPGFI outlet: Water proof to be used outside of the house

Switch controlled outlet: Used so that lamps can be turned on and off with a switch

Split circuit: Each plug in the outlet is connected to a different breaker. Use in Kitchens.

110v Special purpose outlet: Used for items like microwaves, dishwashers or garage door openers

where an outlet is placed specifically for one purpose.

Switches:

Turns the power on and off! Place these with the end of the

line coming from the “S” touching the wall. Place them near

entrance ways to rooms or near kitchen counters.

Standard switch: Use for lights, fans or

turning on or off outlets.

3-way switch: Used where you want two switches to control the same thing. These are used in living

rooms or similar areas with more than one entrance.

4-way switch: Used when 3 or more switches control the same thing.

Dimmer switch: Fades lights in and out.

Other Symbols

Exhaust fan used in bathrooms. Place centered on bathroom ceiling.

Smoke Alarm: Place at least one per floor to detect smoke from fires or potential fires. By BC code,

you need a smoke alarm in every bedroom and one per floor for every approx. 450sqft.

Telephone and Cable jacks: Place these anywhere that you

want to have phone and cable lines. The top of the triangle

should touch the wall.

Push Button: For the doorbell or garage door opener. Keep the

edge of the box away from the wall by 1”.

Chime: This is the doorbell ringer. Place in a central location

with the square placed 1” away from the wall.

Hose bib: This is where you connect your hose on the outside of the house. The end of the two lines

should be touching the wall.

Heating Symbols

Forced air vent (vertical): This is the warm air output

from the furnace. Locate one of these underneath a

window in every room that has an exterior wall.

Large rooms can have multiple. Put them 2” away from the wall.

Forced air (horizontal): Usually underneath cabinets in the

kitchen or bathrooms.

Return air: This returns cold

air to the furnace to be

filtered and re-warmed.

There should be one on every floor

and it should be centrally located on an

interior wall. Keep the line 2” away

from the wall.

Step 12: Label Main Room Sizes (Suggested time 1 class)

Read this whole step before starting to label your rooms

Your next step will be to label all of the main room sizes in the home. The labels will come in the

form of 6” high text in the middle of each room. The text should have the name of the room, with the

dimensions of the room underneath.

The size should reflect the basic rectangular size of the room, not including closets or small alcoves.

Dimensions should be written out like shown below (WITH OUT THE GREEN CIRCLE)

Step 13: Labeling doors and windows (Suggested time 1 class)

Read this whole step before starting to label your doors & windows

Every door and window needs to be labeled with its dimensions.

The standard way to label doors and windows is by using a 4 digit code. The first two digits represent

the width of the window or door. The second two digits represent the height of the window or door.

Each pair of numbers also consist of, first, how many feet and secondly, how many inches the unit is.

2668 = 2’- 6” wide x 6’- 8” tall

The numbers are to be placed on the outside of the

house on all exterior windows, centered in their width

and about 2” from the sill.

Exterior & Interior doors shall have their label centered

in the doorway.

Label bifold doors

Doors are generally 6’- 8” tall although special sizes

can be ordered.

Windows vary in height. this height is to be decided by

you as to what you want in your home

Step 14: Setting up your Dimension Style (Suggested time 15 min)

When you are ready to dimension your floor plan you will have to set up the dimension style first.

If you do not set-up your dimension style your dimensions will be entered in the following fashion:

… this is incorrect.

Go to the Annotate tab and click the arrow shown here.

Make sure you have selected the Standard Style and click the Modify button.

There are 5 tabs you will need to modify: Lines, Symbols and Arrows, Text, Fit & Primary Units. Alternate

units and Tolerances will not need to be modified.

In each Tab make the appropriate changes so yours matches the examples below.

Lines Tab:

Symbols and Arrows:

Only available after

“Arrowheads” has been

Changed to “Architectural Tick”

In the “Symbols and Arrows” tab

Text:

Fit:

Only available after

“Unit Format” has been

Changed to “Architectural”

In the “Primary Units” tab

Primary Units:

Nice work now you are ready to start placing dimensions on your plan turning it into a

"WORKING DRAWING"

Step 15: Placing Exterior Dimensions (Suggested time: 1 class)

Read this whole page before starting your Exterior Dimensions

There are 4 layers of Exterior Dimensions on a Floor Plan:

Layer 1 (closest to the building): Layer 2:

- outside corners - outside corners

- major breaks - major breaks

- middle of interior walls - middle of interior walls

- center of doors

- center of windows

Layer 3: Layer 4:

- outside corners - overall length

- major breaks

Before starting your dimensioning you will need to make a T at the midpoint of all interior walls where they

meet exterior walls to use as your snap point. You will also need to draw a temporary line across the Garage

opening in order to find its midpoint

Layer 1 should be set 4' outside the farthest protruding part of your plan on each side

Each layer thereafter should be 2' from the last

If there is a side of your building that does not need a specific layer ... skip that layer

decks and patios are dimensioned separately afterwards

Tip

Use the continue Dimension tool to make this process quicker

Step 16: Placing Interior Dimensions (Suggested time: 1 class)

Read this whole page before starting your Interior Dimensions

Interior dimensions are needed for any area of the home that is not dimensioned from the outside (lengths of

walls, locations of doors etc.)

Interior dimensions should be in a nice clean line horizontally and vertically through your home rather

than scattered around everywhere

Earlier when you created your STAIRS you were told that you would label the stair information when you did

the dimensions for your home ... it's now that time :)

Above in the picture you will see an example of this label showing how many risers you have and how wide

each tread is

As a reminder in case you have not done so yet you need to have stairs at all entrances to your home from the

outside to the inside (This is because of the height difference between the outside ground and the interior floor)

Step 17: Hatching the Walls (Suggested time: 15 min)

Read this whole page before starting to hatch your walls

Hatching walls gives them definition and distinction compared to other items in the drawing. (See the image on

the previous page for an example)

To hatch the walls you will need to be able to see the entire section of wall to be hatched (or almost all of it) If

you are zoomed in too far you may get an error and little red circles everywhere.

If you are able to see enough of the area a preview of the hatched area will show up before you click.

All wall Hatching will be done in your A-PATT layer using the hatch command

Be patient with the Hatch command as it can freeze AutoCAD if you try to do things too

quickly.

All segments of the walls that are hatched all at once are permanently connected (delete one section ... delete

them all) for this reason you may only want to hatch a few segments at a time. Definitely do your main floor and

upper floor separately.

Use the Solid hatch for your walls

Save your work before you start this step!

Step 18: Create your Roof Line (Suggested time: 1 class)

Read this whole step before starting to create your roof line

The main terms used when talking about a roof line are as follows:

Ridge: the high point of a roof line

Valley: The low point of a roof line

Overhang: distance from the outside of an exterior wall to the outer edge of the roof

Pitch (slope): rise / run (vertical height / horizontal distance) ex. 5/12, 6/12, 8/12, 12/12

There are also many styles of roof line: Examples on next page

Criteria:

must have a 2' overhang (common in bc)

for simplistic reasons all roof pitches will be the same. this allows us to draw all roof lines either vertical,

horizontal or at 45° on the overhead floor plan view

you must use a hip or gable style roof

all lines must be in the A-ROOF layer

Double check your roof line is correct with the instructor before moving on to the next step

Gambrel Style roof with shed roof dormers

Step 19: Layout (paper space) Set-up (Suggested time: 2 classes)

Read this whole step before setting up your layout space

Congratulations on your achievements! If you are this far into this tutorial you are almost done creating your

very first home plan.

Click and go to "manage plot styles" under the "print" area. Keep this folder open

Go to "Student Share" "Hipwell" "Drafting" "CTB Files" and copy the 10-11 floor plan ctb into the Manage plot

styles folder previously opened

Make sure the file has been copied and close both folders

Back in AutoCAD...

Left click on then right click and rename it to "Main Floor"

Right click again, go to the "page setup manager" click "modify" and set it up as follows:

Once it is all set up SAVE YOUR WORK and open the following file:

"Student Share" "Hipwell" "Drafting" Title Block

Copy this title block from where it is now to the layout space you just set up in your floor plan file using the

"copy with base point" function (Center it within the printable area (the dotted lines))

Change any information in the title block to make it appropriate for your home plan

click on the + next to the "Main Floor" layout tab and rename this new layout space "Second

Floor"

Right click it again, go to "page setup manager" then "modify" and set it up the same as the "Main Floor" layout

space

Using the "copy with base point" function copy your new title block from the "Main Floor" Layout space to the

"Second Floor" Layout space using one of the page corners as a reference point. Modify the title block again to

say "second floor" or "2nd Floor" and "Sheet 2 of 2" (the scale should be the same for both)

You should now have both layout spaces fully set up and ready for the insertion of your completed floor plans

(main floor & second floor)

Make your VEIWPORTS layer "current" and type MV to make a viewport

Create a viewport like seen below: (NOTE: your plan should show up BLACK & WHITE)

If your plan is not BLACK & WHITE go back to the “page setup manager” and make sure this box is checked

Go into the "model" space of your "Main Floor" Layout and change the scale to 1/4" = 1'-0" (bottom right

corner)

If your plan does not fit at this scale try 3/16" = 1'-0"

Center your plan within the title block and LOCK the display so the layout cannot be changed without unlocking

it. (Click on the viewport in paper space to give you access to its grips, right click and choose “Display Lock”

YES

Repeat these steps to make a viewport for your second floor in the corresponding title block

Step 20: Printing (Suggested time: 30 min - 1 class)

Read this whole step before printing

Congratulations on a job well done!

You are now ready to print

Before we finalize our work with a printed product double check these items in your floor plan as they are

common mistakes that get made:

All text is read from the bottom or right of the page (including symbols)

Proper switches & outlets are being used in the appropriate places

All necessary dimensions are labelled (exterior & interior)

Stairs have up/dn arrows & riser/tread labels

All items are in the correct layers

Layers have the proper colors

Your line type scale (LTS) is set appropriately so that you can visually see all dash type lines

Your "viewports" layer is set to NOT PRINT

Your entire plan is shown in BLACK & WHITE

Lastly go over the marking criteria (found on the website under this tutorial) and make sure you have all the

necessary components of the drawing.

Once you have checked all these items have the INSTRUCTOR CHECK over your final project one last

time before printing

Once you have had the instructor check your work and gotten the OK ... go ahead and PRINT!

WELL DONE!

&

CONGRATULATIONS!