What are blueprints?

Blueprints are a set of detailed scaled drawings or plans of a home, building, or structure. Blueprints provide the builder with two-dimensional instructions on exactly how to construct the home. Since, it was difficult to build homes from such a small scale, architects and home designers came up with blueprints, which are drawn on large sheets of translucent vellum. This made plans for home construction easier to read. The most common sizes of blueprints for the construction of a new home are:

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Common blueprint sizes

18" x 24" or 24" x 36"

Much time went into drawing and creating blueprints for a home twenty tears ago, however, with the technological advancement of computers, home plans have become easier to create and duplicate. Before computers were capable of producing house plans, blueprints were drawn by hand on vellum. Complete home plans were created by overlaying blueprint paper with vellum, which were then processed in ammonia through a blueprint machine, similar to the way film is developed. The ammonia reacts to intensified light, which transposes the drawing into a dark blue print, hence the name blueprint.

Original vellum drawings by the architect or home designer were considered to be very valuable, since many hours were spent creating one. Once again, computers have sped up the process of home design through the use of Computer Aided Design software. Designing home plans using a computer still takes some time, however, reproducing a plan is as quick as the plotter it is printed on. Now complete house plans can be stored electronically to disk and printed just as easy as printing this document from your computer.

How to read a blueprint

Scale:
A home plan is typically drawn to a ¼" scale of the actual size of the home. This way the builder will be able to scale the drawing of the home and come up with the correct measurement. As a general accepted rule a ¼" scale means that for every ¼" on the plan will account for 1’ of actual length. In some cases different parts of a plan may be drawn on a 1/8" or even ¾" scale. Any builder will know to look at the key provided on the plan to determine the scale of the home.

Elevations:
There are four elevation drawings of a home, the front, the rear and each side. These are drawings of what each side of the home will look like upon completion. The purposes of these drawings are so that measurements can be taken for any necessary aspect. Elevations should include ridge heights, exterior finishes, roof pitches and other design aspects to give a general idea of the finished home.

Basement Floor Plan:
Basement floor plans show how the structural integrity should be built. These plans feature the location of load bearing walls, locations of footings, rebar concrete reinforcement, and other structural features the home requires to support the walls and roof.

Floor Plans: ( Great examples of floor plans can be found at ( CDS Home Plans - DK Designs - Upright Design )
The floor plans of a home show the basic layout of the home from a bird’s eye view. These types of plans are simple to understand. Floor plans show the dimensions of every room, location of bathroom and kitchen fixtures, water heaters, stairs, etc…The builder will be able to determine interior finishes, method of construction, and even symbols for electrical and plumbing.

Electrical layout:
Electrical schematics can often be difficult to read. Therefore, drawings for electrical layout of a home are often a separate drawing. This makes it easier for the electrician to wire the home without reading through the building plan. From this plan, the electrician can determine the location of electrical outlets, fans, fixtures, light fixtures etc… Electrical layouts will have a key explaining the meaning of each symbol.

Framing Drawings:
Like every other drawing, the framing drawings are also drawn to scale. Framing plans include the basic skeletal structure of the home. Floor joist locations, walls, and roof trusses are the overall detail of these plans. Generally locations of each stud are not included, due to a recognized universal building code. However, in some cases there are instructions for particular wall construction methods.

Plumbing and mechanical systems:
Although plumbing systems are vital to a complete home, there is not much attention given to the design layout of them, other than locations of fixtures and main water lines. A plumbing specialist will be able to draw plans for a more complex plumbing system, such as radiant heating in the floor.

Cross sections and details:
Although home plans are drawn in detail, they often don’t provide information for successful construction of the home. Therefore in most cases, a cross section of the home is included in a set of home plans. A cross section of a home is drawing of the completed home as if it were sliced in half. This part of a home plan provides the builder with an even better understanding the relativity of floor heights, rafter lengths among other structural elements of the home.

Plot Plan:
A plot plan is a drawing of the site location or lot on which you new home is to be built. Plot dimensions are normally recorded by a surveyor, and are used to determine the location and maximum size of the home on the lot by an architect or home designer. Stock house plans generally do not offer these types of plans; since the size of the house plan has already been predetermined. Plot plans will typically include the location of utility services, set back requirements, easements, locations drive ways and walk ways. In some cases a topographical map may be included that will supply the architect with critical data on the slope and terrain of the lot he or she is design a home for.

This is a basic knowledge understanding a house plan or blueprint. Consider, however, that what is generally included in house plan is determined by the designer that drew them and may vary. Finding a great house plan for your new home is the most crucial step in the home building process. It is important to select house plans from home design professionals, or architects. After all they will know and have an experienced understanding of how homes are built.