Architecture

Beginner’s Guide to Understanding a Set of House Plans

Depending on how much detail your builder or local building inspector requires, the minimum set of plans should include the floor plan, exterior elevations, foundation or basement plan, and a roof plan drawn to scale. Just so you’ll know, a scale is nothing more than a shrunken ruler so that 1′ -0″ (12 inches) is • Read More »


As Built Remodeling Drawings

When we need to make alterations or additions to an existing building, the drafter finds that they need an accurate drawing of the structure as it stands. This is called an As-Built drawing. If the original drawings of the building aren’t available, it is then necessary that we measure and recorded it in some quick • Read More »


Finding a Suitable Barn to Convert Into a Home

There is a trend lately to find unique and affordable housing and many have turned to converting a barn into a home. In my area of East Tennessee, there are some fine examples of this including the one I converted. It’s needless to say that there are many barns in various shapes and sizes all • Read More »


Chief Architect Home Designer Suite 9.0 Review

This software is one of the easiest of all the home designer software around. It can be used with just about any project like landscaping, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, deck construction, interior design, remodeling. It also has a cost estimation option to find out how much such projects will cost. Novice and professionals highly recommends • Read More »



The Creation Of An Architectural Rendering

To manually render a drawing is to make a still life of an exterior elevation or view of a building requires either a natural gift for art or a great deal of practice. It’s a subject most usually only taught in a university or higher learning technical school. Some high schools attempt to teach it, • Read More »


Creating House Plans

The field of technical illustration known as architectural draftsmen or drafters are the specialists who draw the architectural and structural features of a building for new construction. These professionals may specialize in various types of building, like residential, structural, or commercial. A major part of these people use a tool called a CAD or Computer • Read More »


Creating a Residential Electrical Plan

An electrical plan is a plan view similar to the floor plan in that all the walls, doors, and windows are shown along with the electrical symbols that describe service to the house. It also includes what is known as a legend which defines what each symbol represents. There are several considerations that have to • Read More »


Preparations For Drawing A Floor Plan On A Drafting Board

What’s needed: * A drafting board of Course. Probably best to use one that will hold a twenty four inch wide by eighteen inch high sheet of paper. * A Tee Square or Parallel Bar. This way you can draw the floor plan square. Accuracy is important. The Tee square is used on the left • Read More »


How to Build an Architectural Model

There are several methods of building a model of a house or building. When I designed modular homes in the early nineties, they had to be built quickly so that the client could get a better feel for their proposed home. The method I used was to take a 1/4″ scale plan view of the • Read More »