Construction drawings vary from architect to architect – and even from project to project – but generally consist of the same basic components. The Cover Sheet should outline how the set is organized, provide an overview of the project, and explain the key for understanding the subsequent drawings. Below is a cover sheet from a small residential project that I completed last year.
It is relatively simple due to the scope of the project, which is perfect for this introduction: it has all of the components needed to direct the reader through the document but isn’t as overwhelming as a complex set . Let’s take a closer look at each of these components.
The upper portion of this Cover Sheet provides the title of the project, the type of project, and the project location (street address and parcel number). The parcel number – often abbreviated as PID (parcel ID) or PPN (permanent parcel number) is a unique identification number assigned to each property by the county or city it is in (you can learn more about parcel numbers here).
Below the title information, the left side of this Cover Sheet is reserved for general project information including a symbol legend, list of abbreviations, and general notes.
Symbols used throughout the drawing set, such as wall section tags and drawing labels, are shown for reference with a description of their various components. This legend also contains various building components (such as 2x framing), wall hatches and line types used in the drawings. Each type of wall used in the plans is also shown, but for more complex projects (especially commercial ones) specific wall types may be tagged and a wall type section provided for each with greater detail.
The abbreviation list, naturally, provides a definition of any abbreviations used in the drawing set (which can be immensely helpful, though difficult to keep up-to-date).
The general notes typically provide information to the contractor regarding the expectations for the project and can cover everything from the responsibility for verifying existing conditions to defining what is to be included in the scope of work for trade contractors.
The right side of this Cover Sheet is reserved for project-specific information including project scope, zoning and building code requirements, area calculations, site information and drawing index.
The scope outlines the general work to be performed by the contractor (in this example an attached screen porch addition to an existing house). A list of design team members is often provided adjacent to the scope as well (not shown here). This can include the owner, architect, contractor, and consultants (e.g. engineers, landscape architect, etc.).
Zoning information is often included on the Cover Sheet as it is here (but can also be included on a separate sheet with the architectural site plan). This section generally outlines the zoning jurisdiction, district, site use and lot setbacks (both existing/required and proposed).
Applicable codes are typically required to be listed on the Cover Sheet and should include the various codes governing each discipline involved (e.g. building, energy, electrical, plumbing, etc.).
A list of area calculations indicating the footprint (typically measured to the exterior of the foundation, but sometimes including the roof overhang) and/or conditioned area (typically measured to the exterior side of the sheathing and excluding openings between floors) of existing and proposed structures is also important. Note that the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) may have specific definitions for how these areas are to be calculated.
General site information is typically provided on the Cover Sheet. This can include a vicinity map or site location key showing the relationship of the project site to the surrounding community (typically oriented with north to the top of the sheet and noted on the plans – though the north arrow is omitted on this drawing). Project north can also be defined on the Cover Sheet, if it will differ from true north. For simple projects an architectural site plan can also be included on the Cover Sheet as it is here.
A drawing index should be included to list each sheet in the drawing set. I also like to use this index to note subsequent revisions to the drawings, providing a column for each revision and marking each sheet that has been revised.
Lastly, let’s review the title block for this drawing set.
The title block will be visible on every sheet of the drawing set and contains three types of information: sheet-specific, project-specific, and general. The sheet-specific information is generally located in the bottom right corner of the sheet.
The sheet number (“CS-1” in this example) is typically the largest text on the title block and very close to the corner of the sheet. Below this in this example is the drawing origin date (the date this specific sheet was first issued) and the copyright information. Above the sheet number is the sheet title (often the second largest text on the title block).
Above the sheet title and number lives the sheet revision schedule (not to be confused with the set issuance schedule above, which is for the entire drawing set). The sheet revision schedule will indicate every time this sheet is re-issued due to revisions made to this sheet. Each revision will be given a sequential number. This provides a quick summary of the history of this sheet and helps make sure the latest sheet is being referenced.
Above this comes the project-specific title block information.
This often consists of the project number and a duplication of the project title, type and location located on the upper portion of the Cover Sheet. A list of set issuances will also be provided giving the date and name of each issuance. Bulletins (changes issued after the start of construction) and/or addenda (changes issued after the start of pricing/bidding) can be found here. As mentioned previously, I like to include this information on the drawing index as well. Also note that while bulletins and addenda are typically numbered (i.e. Bulletin-1, Bulletin-2, etc.) this numbering will not necessarily correspond to the sheet revision numbering discussed above.
Above this, at the top right corner of the title block, can typically be found the general title block information.
This title block contains the architect’s logo at the top, the architect’s contact information, a space for the consultant’s contact information (if this sheet were to be for one of the consultant’s drawings) and the seal of the design professional responsible for the information on this sheet (the architect in this instance, or the consultant in the instance of a consultant’s drawings).
In the coming weeks we will take a closer look at the drawing index – including sheet numbering conventions and the types of drawings that one can expect to find in a set of construction drawings – and walk through the rest of this example set.
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