How to Read Commercial Blueprints
The combination of lines, abbreviations and symbols in commercial blueprints create a whole new language, but comprehending blueprints need not be the mind-boggling task it seems it is. Blueprints are designed to show every detail of a building, such as electrical layouts and finish selections. If you're in the construction business, or even in real estate, you can't avoid reading commercial blueprints. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Begin with the title page. Also known as the index, this part tells you the type of drawings you will look at and the order they are in. The index also contains all the symbols and abbreviations that are used throughout the commercial blueprint.
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Familiarize yourself with the symbols used. Most architects use the standard abbreviations (see Resources), but it pays to read through the index just to make sure that you have the right understanding of the document.
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Determine the scale of the drawings. Building plans are usually designed so that 1/8 inch on paper is equal to 1 foot of the physical space. Each page of the commercial blueprint will give you information about the scale used. Be aware of the scales, because some blueprints use 1/4 inch to designate 1 foot on the actual space.
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Go over the floor plans. These are usually the first drawings that come up in the architectural section of the blueprints. Floor plans show you which part of the building will be located where, and understanding this part will help you visualize how the structure will look like after construction is done.
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Check the blueprints for blow-ups. There are certain parts of the building that are too complicated, so architects and engineers usually draw a blown-up version of these areas. These will show more details on how the area has to be constructed. References to these blow-ups usually come as page numbers enclosed in circles with arrows pointing to the area that is enlarged.
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Go over the column lines. Most commercial blueprints are created following a grid system. Reading the coordinates in the same way you read a map helps you find specific features on the building plan. They can also come in handy when you're doing comparisons with other drawings in the same blueprint.
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Understand the elevations. The elevations refer to frontal view drawings of what the walls are going to look like. They can help you figure out how the building is supposed to turn out.
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Tips & Warnings
If reading commercial blueprints is part of your job, do not get used to just one type of design. Architects use various types of blueprint legends, even though they mean practically the same thing.
