CHAPTER I

Introduction to Architectural Drafting

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:
1. Identify the different tools used in architectural drafting,
2. describe the different media used in architectural drafting,
3. learn some architectural techniques in drafting, and
4. draw with speed and accuracy in performing the required activities.
INTRODUCTION AND GOOD PRACTICE

Drawing – is a graphic representation of an idea, a concept, or a thing which actually or potentially exists
in life. It is a way of communicating all necessary information about an idea or a concept, or it
could be a graphic representation of a real entity, such as a machine part, a house, a tool or a
proposed design.
In engineering and technical work, being a universal language, drawing is called the
language of the industry. Any engineering construction whether it be engine design, product
design, construction design, or any component part of any object requires a well-prepared
drawing or plan before it is constructed. This drawing should convey all the needed information
for its construction otherwise, the projected outcome or may not be accurately produced.
Technical Drawing - also known as drafting is the practice of creating accurate representations of
objects for technical, architectural and engineering needs. It is the process of producing
engineering drawings, and the skill of producing them. A practitioner of the craft is known as a
draftsman
Engineering Drawing – type of drawing that is technical in nature, used to fully and clearly define
requirements for engineered items, and is usually created in accordance with standardized
conventions for layout, nomenclature, interpretation, appearance (such as typefaces and line
styles), size, etc. The end goal of an engineering drawing is to convey all the required
information that will allow a manufacturer to produce that component.
Architectural drafting – refers to the making and production of working drawings/ documents of either
residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, religious, storage and other structures for
evaluation and construction purposes.

TYPES OF DRAWING
1. Artistic Drawings- range in scope from the simplest line drawings to the most famous
paintings. These drawings are used to express the feelings, beliefs, philosophies, or abstract
ideas of the artist.
2. Technical Drawings- means of clearly and concisely communicating all of the information
necessary to transform an idea or a concept into reality. It contains more than just a graphic
representation of its subject, where it contains dimensions, notes, and specifications.
3. Illustrations or Renderings- sometimes referred to as the third type of drawing because
they are neither completely technical, nor completely artistic; because they combine some
elements of both the artistic and technical drawings.

All students and practitioners should be able to produce drawings, and related information such
as schedules, to a good standard. It is important for them to remember that drawings, particularly
production/ working drawings, have two purposes:
1. to convey information to others with minimum confusion, and
2. to enable them to clarify their own visions.

According to a Building Economic Development Committee report entitled Achieving quality on

building sites: “Poor production drawings have too often been the cause of a low-quality finished product,
poor cost control and failure to meet completion dates. Well-organized, complete and coordinated
production drawings are a pre-requisite for the management of construction.”

DRAWING SKILLS

A. Pencil Drawing
Line drawing in pencil is the most difficult of the skills to master and requires devoted practice.
With mastery, one will be given the ability to produce design drawings which exhibit depth and provoke
the imagination, to produce complete working drawings, and also to construct the skeleton for detailed
drawings completed in ink.
The grade, or softness, of pencil lead determines the density of line and so the correct choice is an
important contribution to the quality of drawing produced. There are three grades of pencils: H, HB or F
and B. H stands for hard, which is a pencil grade used in lay-outing and mechanical drawing. HB or F
stands for medium, which are used for lettering and sketching. A B-grade pencil is a soft pencil used in
freehand drawing specifically in charcoal painting and pencil rendering.

HARD – The hard leads are used for

construction lines on technical drawings.

MEDIUM – The medium grades are used for

general use on technical drawings. The harder
grades are for instrument drawings and the
softer for sketching.

SOFT – Soft leads are used for technical

sketching and artwork but are too soft for
instrument drawings.

Clutch pencil leads. These are approximately 100 mm long with a diameter of 2 mm, and they
require sharpening; however it is a simple process to maximize the life of the sharpened point by rotating
the pencil from side to side as the line is drawn, using a relaxed grip.

Fine-line pencils (mechanical pencils). Line drawing is being simplified with these. Unlike the
clutch pencil, the leads vary in diameter to satisfy the type of line being drawn (0.3mm, 0.5mm, or 0.7mm
are the most popular).

When drawing with pencil (and with pen), ensure that the hand is relaxed and the grip is
provided by the fingers; failure to follow this principle will result in the hand becoming tired and strained,
and may even cause long-term injury to tendons. Regardless of the final purpose of the drawing, it is a
good practice to use pencil ‘guidelines’, which should be light, clear and accurate. A sharp point to the
lead must be maintained.

a. Conical a. Chisel a. Elliptical

B. Ink Drawing
Pencil guidelines should be drawn with minimum pressure (say, with the use of 2H). A lead
softer than this will deposit more graphite on the paper making it difficult to achieve a consistent, dense,
ink line. Maintaining a good point on the lead is essential (avoid ‘chisel’ ends at all costs) so that the
minimum width of pencil line is produced and maximum adhesion between ink and paper is achieved; if
the ink simply sits on a broad pencil line, it will easily be removed when cleaning-up the drawing with a
soft eraser on completion.
Angle the nib across the straight-edge to achieve two purposes:
1. to enable clear sight of the guideline, and
2. to avoid the danger of ink being drawn under the straight-edge by capillarity.
TIPS:
1. To avoid back strain while line drawing, have the board tilted at a steep angle (45°- 60°), but
at a lower angle (20°- 30°) for any freehand detail or lettering, as support is then needed for
hand, wrist, and forearm.
2. Aim to draw all horizontal lines, working down the sheet, and then all vertical lines, working
left to right (if right handed), to avoid smudging and the constant swapping of T-square and
set- square. There are two accepted ways of producing the junctions of straight lines:
a. crossing them very slightly (1 mm) to give crispness at the junction, and
b. drawing the lines so that they meet exactly at the junction. This is the traditional
engineering technique and gives a neat, clean finish (if executed well), but it is
marginally slower than the crossing and introduces the danger that the lines may not
quite meet, so giving a rounded effect.

a.

b.

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C. Lettering
All construction drawings require supporting titles and descriptive notes. More comprehensive
descriptive notes may be required to support detailed construction, including subtitles for the principal
components of the drawing. It is important, and vital, that a good standard of lettering is mastered; poor
quality lettering can spoil what may otherwise be a good drawing.
Lettering is important in any drawing because it gives other pertinent information necessary to
depict the object under construction which the drawing or the graphical representation fails to show.
The lettering used in drawings is simple and consists of single strokes which are uniform in width.

STYLES OF LETTERING
Roman Letters
All letters having “accented” strokes or consisting of heavy and light or thick and thin lines. This
Is usually drawn using styles C or D speedball pen. Roman letters are either of the old or modern Roman
which is usually used for map tiles and names of countries and cities.

Gothic Letters
This is the plainest and most legible style and is the one from which our single-stroke
engineering letters are derived. All letters having the elementary strokes of even width are classified as
Gothic.

Italic Letters
All slanting or inclined letters are classified as Italics. Sometimes they are referred to as either
Roman Italics or Gothic Italics and the like. Like the Roman letters, this is drawn with the use of styles C
or D speedball pen.

Text Letters
These include all styles of old English, German text, Bradley text or other various trade names.
This is made with the use of style C speedball pen. This style is often used on diplomas and certificates.

LETTERING
Figure 1.1. Parts of theSECRETS
Modern Roman letter A
Beginners should practice their lettering with these secrets, as collected by draftsmen who use
Commercial Gothic lettering.

1. Guidelines - when lettering, professional draftsmen always use guidelines, to serve as aid
in forming uniformly sized letters. These lines are not erased since they are not
seen when held at an arm’s length but are visible when lettering.

The different parts of guidelines are:

Cap line – the uppermost line which serve as a reminder that uppercase letters and
ascenders should not be beyond this line.
Waist line – the guideline in between the cap and the base. This is the basis for the x-
height of normal letters.
Base line – this is the guideline that serves as the ground for all letters, whether
uppercase or lowercase.
Drop line – the guideline that indicates the extent which the stems of descender letters
should reach.

Uppercase - letters that are capitalized which are also known as majuscules in lettering
manuals.
Lowercase – letters that are not capitalized and are also known as minuscule in the books.
Ascenders – are small letters with stems that reach the cap line (b, d, f, h, k, l, t).
Descenders – small letters with stems that fall down to the drop line ( g, j, p, q, y).
Normal – letters confined in the x-height (a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z).
x-height – the height of small letters from the base line to the waist line.

Note: The distance of the drop line from the baseline is always 1/3 of the height of the uppercase
letters. This is also true with the distance from the waistline to the cap line of the ascender

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 letters. Inclined guide lines should be about 67.5° from the horizontal. ANSI (American
National Standards Institute) recommends a slope of 2 in 5 ( or 68.2°) with the horizontal.

2. Form – the exact form of every Commercial Gothic letter is much simplified if you notice that
all capital letters (except S) are based upon straight and circular lines. The
numerals and the letter S are based upon straight and elliptical lines.

Figure 1.2. Basic Strokes in Lettering

3. Stability – this means that the letters and numerals should be able to “stand on their own
two feet.” That is, letters and numerals should appear stable whenever possible.
Stable lettering must be observed.

Top-Heavy Letters

Correct Letters

Figure 1.3. Stability of Letters

4. Proportion – most important lettering secret which is done by making letters much wider
than they should be. Fat lettering should be considered for proportion.

General Proportion of Letters:

Letters may be classified according to its proportion as follows:
a. Normal Letters – when the letters are drawn neither too narrow nor too wide.
Proportion of Normal Letters:
I – the narrowest and is the foundation stroke of all letters.
W – the widest letter
O Q M – the second widest letters
A C D G K U X Y – the third widest letters while others are of average width.
b. Compressed/ Condensed Letters – these letters are narrow in width in proportion to the
height and are used when space is limited.
c. Extended Letters – these letters are wider than the normal letters and are used when the
space is very wide.

5. Density – black lines should be used for lettering in order to improve the appearance of the
lettering and to improve its readability and legibility so that it will show up well when
reproduced. If lettering is not that black, simply use a softer pencil such as H or F.
Black lettering should be considered for readability of letters.

6. Spacing – proper spacing of letters to form words, and proper spacing of words to form
sentences, is essential. The spacing of letters is not measured directly, but is done by
the eye so that areas between letters are visually equal. Consider close spacing of
letters.

A general rule for optical spacing is that there is the most space between two straight strokes, less
between a straight stroke and a curved stroke, and the least space between tow round ones.

In mechanical spacing, the spaces between letters are equally measured regardless of shape.

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.

Figure 1.4. Spacing of Letters

TIPS:
1. Establish ranking of lettering so that the eye is easily directed through the various components
of the drawing. This is done by varying the size and/ or the style, and when drawing in ink,
using varying sizes of pen.
a. Main titles. 6 mm roman uppercase, in size 0.8 pen
b. Subtitles. (plan, elevation): 4 mm roman, uppercase, 0.5/ 0.7 pen.
c. Other titles. (room names): 3 mm roman, uppercase, 0.4/ 0.5 pen.
d. Detailed notes: 3 mm (overall) roman lower case, or 3 mm italic, 0.35 pen.
2. Always use guidelines with the use of a light pencil, or can be the lines on gridded paper (with
varying square grid sizes) under the tracing paper.
3. Complete the line drawing before starting lettering.
4. If you are not comfortable writing at an angle presented by a drawing fixed to a board, remove
the drawing on completion and turn it to a comfortable angle.

D. Dimensioning
Dimensioning is one of the most important elements of a construction drawing. Dimensions
should be clearly and correctly presented, leaving no doubts about size and position of the building and
its components. Adopt a disciplined system of dimensioning throughout a set of project drawings so that
all parties recognize a consistent pattern of presentation.
Dimension lines can take various forms:
a. The head of the arrow forms a right angle.
General use, particularly
coordinating dimensions

b. For speed and neatness, this has become a popular technique for both overall and
element dimensions; the oblique stroke should be kept a consistent length (3 mm).
General use

c. This is normally used for dimensions of elements. Disadvantages include: difficulty in

achieving consistency, slight variation in the size of the head tend to show up, and is
time-consuming.
General use, particularly
element dimensions

d. This is recognized as an acceptable method for elements, but it is traditionally used

on engineering drawings and is not popular in construction drawing as consistency is
difficult to achieve and hence may cause the appearance to become rather untidy.

General use, particularly

elements

ARCHITECTURAL DRAFTING TOOLS

To do a particular job properly and efficiently, one must be familiar and have the proper tools to
use. This is true of all trades and professions, where one must keep in mind that he has to select the
basic drawing tools or add more advanced and special equipment of good quality.
Students should be familiar with the following basic tools of a draftsman:

1. Drawing board. This has the advantage of portability. Take note that the ends should be true
and square, and this should have a smooth surface and without any warpage.

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 2. T-square. Make sure that the blade of the t-square is perfectly straight and free of nicks. For
accuracy, the blade must be fastened securely to the head (for fixed T-squares) or is capable of
being fastened securely (for adjustable t-squares).
3. Triangles. These are used in sets of two and are usually made of clear plastic: 30°-60° and the
45° triangles. Like the T-square, the outer edges should be flat and free of nicks. Some
draftsmen prefer the adjustable triangle for ease.
4. Scales. The more commonly used scale, at present, is the triangular scale in metric system.
Some other types of scales are available in the market both in English and metric systems.
5. Drawing sets. This contain (at a minimum) dividers, pencil compass, pen compass, and drafting
pen or technical fountain pen. Some may also contain mechanical drafting pens.
6. Drafting pencils. Some drafting pencils are designed to hold leads that require sharpening, but
thin-lead drafting pencils hold leads of such small diameter that no sharpening is needed. Thin
leads are available in diameters of 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm (recommended for architectural drafting), 0.7
mm, and 0.9 mm.
7. Lead pointers. A mechanical lead pointer provides an easy method to obtain perfectly formed
conical points.
8. Erasers. A satisfactory eraser should be capable of completely removing pencil and ink lines
without roughing the surface of the paper or leaving colored marks. The artgum eraser is
designed to remove smudges rather than lines.
9. Kneaded eraser. A soft, pliable eraser that can be molded into any shape you need. This is
used to lift charcoal or graphite in shadow areas to indicate reflected light, remove smudges in
highlights for the final cleanup for a drawing, create unique textures by rolling or stroking in
blended charcoal, and clean excess media from the ends of the other erasers.
10. Lettering guides. This is a device used to assist in drawing guidelines for lettering.
11. Technical fountain pen. This is preferred since they give a variation in line weight by changing
the speed of the stroke, and is the most useful in preparing presentation drawings.
12. Proportional dividers. This is very useful for enlarging or reducing a drawing.
13. Templates. The architectural template simplifies the drawing of kitchen and bathroom fixtures,
and the furniture template helps in the preliminary design stage to draw furniture the proper size.
14. Lettering sets. Ink lettering can be improved by the use of lettering stencils, with a variety of
sizes, and styles of letters.
15. Drafting machines. May be used in place of the standard drawing board, T-square, triangles,
scales, and protractor.
16. Parallel-rule drawing board. May be used in place of the standard drawing board and T-
square. The straightedge can be moved up and down, and it is designed to remain perfectly
horizontal.
17. Drafting tables. Automatic drafting tables are used for large scale commercial drafting whose
surfaces can be adjusted for height and tilted up to 90° by means of electrical, mechanical,
hydraulic, or pneumatic actuators.
18. French curve. A tool used as an aid in drawing irregular curved lines. It is also used for
connecting series of dots to produce smooth curved lines.
19. Erasing shield. A tool used in erasing inked or penciled lines, blots, slurs, and so forth. Located
in areas where there are other lines.
20. Compass – an instrument used to draw large arcs and circles in pencil.
21. Drafting media. Different drafting media are used for different stages of architectural design.
Preliminary architectural designs (schemes) are sketched on inexpensive tracing paper, but
finished working drawing are drafted on tracing vellum or drafting film.
a. Tracing vellum is a durable medium with good translucency. It is manufactured from 100%
rag stock treated with high-impact resins to prevent graphite from penetrating so that
erasures are ghost-free.
b. Drafting film is a polyester film commonly called by the trade name Mylar. It may be used
with graphite lead, plastic lead, o ink. It has excellent transparency and is dimensionally
stable, unaffected by temperature or humidity.

ARCHITECTURAL TECHNIQUE

The technique of line work on architectural drawings is of a nature completely different from that
used on other forms of mechanical drawing. In fact, the difference is so great that it is difficult for a
draftsman trained in another field , engineering drafting, for example, to make the switch to architectural
drafting, since doing so means ‘unlearning’ many accepted rules and practices. The reason for this
dissimilarity is the difference in the goals of the two fields.

Line Character

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 The first point to remember is that you are also an artist, and not just a mere draftsman/ drafter.
Do not be afraid to let your lines run past each other at their intersections.
Use a soft pencil. It is impossible to obtain line quality in a drawing done with a hard pencil. The
two skills to be mastered with a soft pencil are the slight twisting to keep the point sharp and the extra
care required to keep the paper clean. Recommended grades are shown below:

Line Type Recommended Pencil Grades

1. Cutting Plane Line F, H
2. Outline F, H, 2H
3. Invisible Line H, 2H, 3H
4. Section Line 2H, 3H, 4H
5. Dimension Line 2H, 3H, 4H
6. Center Line 2H, 3H, 4H
7. Construction Line 4H, 5H, 6H
8. Guide Line 4H, 5H, 6H

ALPHABET OF LINES

These are conventional lines, each with definite purpose, which must be properly drawn or
sketched in order not to be misinterpreted.

LINE
LINE SYMBOL USES/ DESCRIPTION
WIDTH
Border Lines Very Serve as boundary of the drawing. Used in
thick drawing templates.
To show the main outline or edges or contours
of an object . View visible lines so that the
Object/ Visible
Thick views they outline stand out clearly on the
Lines
drawing with a definite contrast between these
lines and secondary lines.
To show areas that are not visible on the
Hidden Lines Medium surface but which exist behind the plane of
projection.
To indicate symmetry about an axis and
Center Lines Thin location of centers. This line consists of
alternating long and short dashes.
Thin, solid ruled lines with freehand zigzags
which are used to reduce or shorten the view of
Long Break Lines Thin
long uniform sections or when only a partial
view is needed.
Short Break lines Thick Solid freehand lines used to indicate a short
break in a detail and assembly drawing.
Phantom Lines Medium To show alternate positions of related parts,
adjacent positions of related parts, and
repeated detail. They consist of long dashes
separated by pairs of short dashes. The short
dashes may vary in length, depending on the
size of the drawing.
Stitch Lines Thin To show a sewing and stitching process. This is
or made of short thin dashes and spaces of equal
lengths of approximately 0.016, and the second
is made of dots spaced at 0.12 inch apart.
Extension Lines Thin Thin unbroken lines used to indicate extent of
dimensions
Dimension Lines Thin To indicate distance measured
Leaders are used to connect a note or
Leader Lines/
Thin dimension to part of an object; to indicate part,
Reference Lines
dimension or other reference
To designate where an imaginary cutting took
place; to indicate direction of sight when a
Cutting Plane or partial view is used or to show the location of
Thick
Lines cutting planes for sectional views.

Section Lines Thin Used to indicate the surface in the section view
imagined to have been cut along the cutting-
plane line.
Guide Lines Very Used as horizontal and vertical guides in
Thin lettering.
Construction line Very Barely Visible to the eye which are used to lay

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 thin out a view or to project between views.

The following are some suggestions in order to keep your drawing clean and smudge-free:
1. All drafting equipment should be cleaned frequently.
2. Wash hands, and try to keep the hands off the face of the drawing.
3. Do not sharpen the pencil over the desk top.
4. Cover the portion of the drawing (un-worked-on) with a clear paper shield so that it is not
smudged and dirty before starting to draw.
5. Do not slide the triangles and t-square across the drawing; lift them slightly.
6. Keep all lines (especially construction lines) sharp and accurate to reduce the amount of erasing
to a minimum.
7. Either blow or brush off any excess graphite from your drawing after drawing each line.
8. If possible, use a special cleaning powder (known under various trade names such as Dry-Clean
Pad, Draft-Clean Powder, Dust-it Scumex) that will aid to keep drawings smudge-free.
9. Change pencil grades. A harder pencil grade will not smudge as readily as a soft pencil grade.

Line Technique
Line work consists of a combination of light and dark lines. That is, to avoid lines of all one,
monotonous weight. Some of the used styles of line techniques are as follows:
1. Cutting-plane technique. This technique is used for section views. The lines formed by the
cutting plane are darkened.
2. Distance technique. This is to show depth in an architectural drawing by emphasizing the lines
closest to the observer.
3. Silhouette technique. This technique is emphasized by darkening the outline. One of the oldest
techniques but is still used at present.
4. Shadow technique. Recessions and extensions can be shown by darkening the edges away
from the light source. The light is usually assumed to be coming from the upper left.
5. Major-feature technique. The commonly used technique where the major elements are
outlined, and the elements of lesser importance are drawn with finer lines.

SKETCHING
It should be noted that we control our hand, and not the other way. All that is needed in
sketching is an understanding of what is required and what is not to produce an excellent sketch.

Lines
A freehand sketch should not look like an instrument drawing with perfectly straight and accurate
lines. The unevenness of a properly sketched line is more attractive and interesting than a mechanically
perfect line. The weight, direction, and proportions of sketched lines are important, and the following
rules should help. But one should remember to concentrate on the desired results rather than on the
rules.
1. A soft pencil (such as an F grade) is best for sketching, where the point is slightly rounded rather
than needle-sharp. After sketching each line, twist the pencil slightly to avoid developing a flat
portion, which will also reduce the number of necessary sharpening.
2. A right-handed person sketches short horizontal lines from left to right and a left-handed person
sketches from right to left. Short vertical and inclined lines are sketched from top to bottom.
3. To sketch a line, rest the hand on the drawing surface and pivot only your fingers. Sketch lines
longer than 1” in short intervals, with a small gap left between each interval. Do not omit these
gaps because they add a professional touch to a sketch.
4. The correct direction of a sketched line is very important. Horizontal lines should be horizontal
and not inclined while vertical lines should be vertical and not leaning. This is done by placing
the tracing paper over the graph paper.
5. When graph is not used, sketches are blocked by using very light construction lines.
6. Good proportion is important t all design and immediately distinguishes an excellent sketch from
a mediocre one. Proportion is simply a matter of relating one length or area to another.

REFERENCES:
1. Manual of Engineering Drawing 2nd Edition by Collins H. Simmons and Dennis E. Maguire,
Elsevier Newnes, Burlington, 2004

2. Technical Drawing 3rd Edition by Goetsch, Nelson and Chalk, Delmar Publishers Inc., Albany,
N.Y., 1994

3. Technical Drawing 10th Edition by Giesecke, et al., Prentice Hall International, Inc., London, 1998

4. Drafting vols. 1 & 2 by German M. Manaois, Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., Quezon Ave., Q.C.,
1983.

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 5. Architecture: Drafting and Design 6th Edition by Hepler, Wallach, and Hepler, McGraw-Hill, New
York, New York, 1991

6. Architectural Drafting and Design 6th Edition by Ernest R. Weidhaas, Prentice Hall, Simon and
Schuster (Asia) Pte Ltd., Singapore, 1989

7. Technical Drafting 1 by Elpidio J Cardenas and Felizardo Y. Francisco, National Book Store,
Mandaluyong City, 1992

8. The Architect’s Handbook by Quentin Pickard, Blackwell Publishing Company, 2002, United
Kingdom

9. Residential Architecture: Design and Drafting by Ernest R. Weidhaas and Mark d. Weidhaas,
Delmar Publishers,1999, USA

10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_drawing

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