Discover the intricacies of scale drawings in architectural plans, including how to interpret and apply scale factors accurately. Understand the mathematical principles that underpin architectural scale drawings and the role they play in representing real-world dimensions on paper.
Key Insights
- Scale drawings in architecture are not merely illustrations but convey exact dimensions represented through ratios, where each measurement on paper corresponds to a specific real-world distance. For example, a quarter inch on the drawing could equal a foot in reality.
- The understanding of scale factors is critical in architecture as they specify the ratio between the size of the drawing and the actual size of the object. A commonly used scale factor is a quarter inch equivalent to a foot, symbolizing a ratio of 1:48.
- Scale factors vary based on the level of detail required in the drawing. For instance, for detailed drawings, the scales might range from 1 inch represents a foot up to 6 inches is equivalent to a foot. Having a reference of architectural scale factors can be valuable in professional practice.
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When we draw plans, we draw information on paper, but we don't just draw it. We draw it on a scale so that someone can take the sheet of paper and measure a distance, and say how long a wall is, how long a display is, and so on. We have different scales that we use all the time.
This sheet that we are seeing here has four drawings on it. In the upper left corner there is a general view of a kitchen and a dining room. To the right of that, there is a close-up of the kitchen area.
The lower left corner is a close-up of the sink, and to the right of that, there is a close-up of the drain. In the upper left corner, this drawing is drawn a quarter inch equal to a foot. Which means that, in the printed piece of paper, each quarter inch represents a foot.
So, this sink, the sink cup, has a foot wide. Since the scale factor is a quarter inch equal to a foot, the physical rectangle that is drawn on the sheet of paper is a quarter inch wide. In the expanded area of ••the kitchen, where the scale is half an inch by foot, the same sink cup, which has a foot wide like a real sink, in the drawing of the plane is reduced to a scale in a factor of 1 to 24.
It would be a half-inch wide printed line. This extension of the sink, which is one and a half inches, is equivalent to a foot. This cup of a foot wide, actually, in the piece of paper, would be one and a half inches wide.
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And this drain, which turns out to be drawn one by one, the drain is two and a half inches in size. So, as it is a one-to-one drawing, it measures two and a half inches wide in the real world, and the drawing that is printed measures two and a half inches wide. Now let's take a few minutes to review the math behind the creation of the drawing scale factors.
Here on the left is a list of scale factors, and I'm going to start at the bottom and go up, and then we're going to come here and talk about the math behind the scale factors. We can draw a full-size drawing, which is a 1 to half size, a 2 to a quarter size, a 4, and the numbers go up. Probably, the most commonly used scale is a quarter inch is equivalent to a foot.
A quarter inch is equivalent to a foot is a ratio of 1 to 48 and a scale factor of 48. So let's look at the math. So, we have a quarter inch is equal to a foot.
Architecturally, this is written as a quarter inch is equal to a foot, zero inches. To find out the scale factor, we need to do some simple math. The first thing we do is write it as a fraction, a quarter inch is equal to a foot.
But now we need to convert it to the same units. We all know that there are 12 inches in a foot. And as a fraction, it is shown as 12 over 1. What we do is multiply crossed, numerator, denominator, denominator, numerator.
That's saying one represents 48, so there's the scale factor. The same math would apply for a three-diagonal 16-inch is equivalent to a foot and a half-inch is equivalent to a foot. The difference is that we only have to take this 13 to 192 and decompose it so that we have a scale factor of 1 on this side.
So, we have the same thing happening in three-diagonal 16 and a half-inch is equivalent to a foot. Again, the most commonly used scale factor, we will see that it will be a quarter inch equal to a foot. This is what you will see in your floor plans, elevations, building sections and wall sections.
The portions of a building section will be even larger, so they will be at a scale factor of 1 to 24, and when we start to get closer to the detailed drawings, we will reach the scales of 1 inch represents a foot up to 6 inches is equivalent to a foot. I really recommend that you take this table of architectural scale factors, and make a copy of it, and keep it in your wallet, because it will be really useful to you sometimes.
