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Elevations graphically provide information about the face of a building or interior features such as cabinets. Exterior and interior elevations are an important part of the construction documents. They provide information that cannot be found on other sheets in the set of documents. Elevations contain information such as the exterior building materials; overall dimensions not found on other drawings; and specific detailing elements, such as brickwork or cabinetry.
The following discusses the process of creating both exterior and interior elevations.
Elevations are typically created from the four main faces of the building: front, rear, right, and left. These views are typically named north, south, east, and west referring to the general direction the building faces.
The names of the elevations refer to the direction the building is facing, not the direction in which you are looking.
In some cases where the building is not a rectangular shape, such as a building with an angled wall, an elevation of the “skewed” side is drawn. The “skewed” side is also projected onto one of the cardinal direction elevations as an auxiliary view.
In these cases, the four cardinal elevations (north, south, east, and west) are drawn. Any odd-shaped sides are projected onto these elevations. In addition to the cardinal elevations, an eleva- tion is drawn so it appears to be perpendicular to the odd-shaped edge. This is shown in the diagram below.
In dimensional layout projection the floor and ceiling lines are laid out first. Then, referencing the dimensions from the floor plans, vertical lines are drawn over the top of the floor and ceiling lines representing the jogs in the building, this creates the basic shape of the building.
In some cases where the building is not a rectangular shape, such as a building with an angled wall, an elevation of the “skewed” side is drawn. The “skewed” side is also projected onto one of the cardinal direction elevations as an auxiliary view.
When choosing a scale for elevations, the largest practical scale that fits on the sheet should be selected. The following are the most common scales used in the construc- tion of exterior and interior elevations.
• Exterior Elevations. 1:50 for most plans, 1:100 or 1:200 for larger structures.
• Interior Elevations. 1:20, 1:50, and 1:100 are all commonly used. No matter which scale is selected, the determining factors for a scale should be how accurately and clearly the elevations can be presented on the size of paper selected.
In residential design, a scale of 1:50 is typical for small to average size homes. In commercial and industrial design, a scale of 1:100 is customary because the buildings tend to be large.
When starting to draw the elevations lines representing the subfloor (floor line) and the plate line (top of the wall) need to be drawn.
A line representing the plate is also drawn above the subfloor line. The distance between the two lines is the total height of the wall. A typical main floor to ceiling height is 2400mm with a roof slope of 27 degrees and standard 450mm eaves. This saves about 12% on material for studs, internal and external building material compared to a 2700mm wall height.
The roof of a structure is generally constructed in one of two ways—framed or trussed. Framed roofs are built with structural members known as rafters. When creating a framed roof, the rafters sit on top of the plate line. The rafter is notched so the bottom of the rafter is placed on the inside of the wall. The notch in the rafter is called a birdsmouth, which sits on the top plate.
Rafter construction is similar to floor joist construction, except the “joists” are elevated. The angle at which the rafter is placed is based on the roof pitch. Pitch is usually based on a run of 200 of horizontal distance. For example, a 1:2 roof pitch means that for every 200mm of horizontal distance, the vertical elevation of the rafter is 100mm higher. The roof pitch is commonly indicated on drawings with a roof pitch symbol.
Trusses do not use a birdsmouth. Instead, they sit directly on the top plate.Truss roof pitches are measured in the same way as pitches for rafters.
The following are some common roof designs:
The next step in the elevation layout is to place properly sized doors and windows in their correct locations. The line at the top of the doors and windows is called the header line. A construction member, known as a header, is placed over the opening. Typically, in a building with 2400mm high walls, the tops of doors and windows are placed 2100mm from the subfloor.
Doors and windows come in a variety of different sizes, although it is possible to get these in any size desired there are some standard sizes for doors and windows.
Standard Door Sizes:
2040x520x35mm
2040x620x35mm
2040x720x35mm
2040x770x35mm
2040x820x35mm (This is the most common size)
2040x870x35mm
2040x920x35mm
Standard Window Sizes:
Birdsmouth: A notch cut where the rafter bears on the top plate.
Dimensional layout: A method for laying out elevations in which dimensions are referenced from the floor plans.
Elevation: A drawing view representing an exterior face of a structure or an interior feature.
Framed roof: A type of roof that uses rafters as framing members.
Header: A construction member placed over a door or window opening to support the wall and roof above.
Header line: A line representing the location of a header on an elevation view.
Roof pitch: The rise in roof elevation for a given unit of horizontal distance.
Sill line: A line representing the location of a window sill on an elevation view.
Span: The distance between any two supports.
Subfloor: The bottom-most structural floor underneath the decorative or "finish" floor.
Truss: Preconstructed rafter that includes a ceiling joist and diagonal web member supports between the rafters and the joist.
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