| Architectural Plans |
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An architectural drawing includes all components, dimensions, and the location of services such as plumbing, electrical, and ventilation. This is the plan that your local building department and even your materials supplier will use. If you are using a remodeling contractor, he or she will need this drawing. In fact, most contractors will help you turn your sketches into architectural drawings. Scale is important to drawing your bathroom plans. The typical scale used is ½ in. = 1 ft. That is, a 10 ft. X 12 ft. bathroom will be drawn on paper as 5 in. x 6 in. Using graph paper (available at stationery stores) marked out in ½ in. grids, the room will be drawn as 10 grid boxes by 12 grid boxes, one grid box per foot. This makes measurements much easier. Write the scale you are using on the drawing somewhere. When drawing your bathroom plan to scale, remember to allow for walls. That is, if the interior of the room is 10 ft. X 12 ft., make sure that your drawing shows that as the interior dimension and adds wall thicknesses to it. If you’re not sure of the final placement of a few components, make a scale drawing of everything you are sure of then photocopy it and make variations on the copies. Once you have things the way you want them you can revise the main drawing. Make sure you show the dimensions of all walls and areas on the drawing. If the remodeled bath is 12 ft. long with a short wall in the middle, indicate the total space (12 ft.) as well as the compartments (for example, 8 ft. and 4 ft. less wall thicknesses). Your drawing also should include the location of primary plumbing (water, drain, waste) and electrical services. To avoid confusion, draw the wiring that runs from a switch to a fixture as a curved dotted line. If you are thorough and careful your own architectural drawing will be adequate for the building department, contractors, and suppliers. If you’d rather not do the final drawing take it as far as you can and hire an architect to produce the final drawing. You’ll learn new things and save money.
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