A section drawing is a drawing that shows the vertical section that cuts through a building. This vertical cut typically occurs along the primary axis, but can be done anywhere. The drawing will show the interior and exterior profiles, as well as the interior spaces, the walls that separate the interior from the exterior and much more. Basically, it's all the information you need to see that you wouldn't otherwise see in other drawings.
Perspective projection is what happens when you look at the interior elevations of primary architectural surfaces. This allows you to see the depth of the interior as a space rather than a basic one-dimensional drawing.
While this is an excellent option, a section drawing is better as it allows you to see the interior elevations of walls and surfaces. This is much better than seeing everything from top to bottom, because top to bottom doesn't show much.
You can also cut designs horizontally, but this way you will cut walls and not floors. When you do this, you are basically seeing the inside of the walls and not the information you actually need.
You might think that creating section drawings is easy, but you can't just cut a sheet of paper in half and get the information you need. Instead, you must draw each required section drawing. While simple cross-sections are sufficient for some buildings, any complex construction will require multiple cross-section drawings.
There is no specific number of section drawings required, but you should have at least a few specific items included in them. These section drawings must include the following:
- The layers of the outer wall
- Structural walls as well as beams and posts
- The details of the staircase structure
- The heights and variations of floors and ceilings
- The molding and finishing work – If all the doors and windows and baseboards are made the same, this will only be necessary for one. Otherwise you will need them for all the different
- The Details of Custom Cabinets and Furniture – Construction workers may not be responsible for these, but it's still good for them to have the information.
- Any additional details that might help a construction worker understand the design of the house or building
You will never complete section drawings until all floor plans and elevations are completed.
Steps for a Section Drawing
- Choose your line
First you need to choose the line where you will cut the section details. It's important that you have this line and know where it is so you don't confuse one section with another.
- Draw the outside of the building
Once you know where your section line is, you will need to draw the outside of your building. This is just the shell, so you don't need to add doors or windows yet.
- Add floors and ceilings
This is the point where you will add the floors and ceilings of your building. This is where you will need to know the thickness of your floor and ceiling joists, as well as the attached flooring. You must draw them to scale, or the entire section drawing will be wrong.
- Add all side windows, doors and moldings
The dimensions of all windows, doors, and moldings must also be accurate, and you will draw them after you have finalized the ceilings and floors.
- Interior walls and other structural elements
All posts and beams need to be added to the section drawing at this point, as do all interior walls.
- Add all facing windows and doors
Now that you've installed the interior walls, you can finally add the facing windows and doors. This will make the drawing look like a real house or building and it will begin to come to life.
- Add dropped ceilings and raised floors
Since all the ceilings and floors are not always at the same level, you will need to add the false ceilings and raised floors at this point.
- Label everything
Now that you have all this information in place, you should start labeling everything. This will ensure you know what everything is, as well as the measurements of everything. This is also the time to make sure everything is at scale, because if something isn't, you have to start all over again or the entire project is at risk.
- Section drawings must have a title block
Title blocks are necessary for section drawings because they let you know who made them, when they were made, and what version they are. This ensures that you always look at the most recent section drawing. Basically, the section design should include the following:
- Project name
- The date
- The name of the person who designed the section
- The name of the view
- The scale of the drawing
Wall layers can be a little more complicated to draw, but they are easy if you simply draw from one side to the other. The scale for wall layers is much larger than for other section drawings.
As you can see, section drawings are really necessary when it comes to building anything in the construction industry. These drawings will allow you to see exactly how everything should look when it's finished, and they can also help you notice problems before you get too far into the project.
In fact, you should carefully study any section drawing before starting a project so that you can immediately spot these minor or major problems. After all, it's much better to fix them before a lot of work has been completed than to try to fix things later when you need to start tearing things down and starting over.
Basically, follow the section drawings as you work through the construction process and you won't have any problems along the way.
