Construction Drawing Interpretation
Gold Seal: 6 Credits * BC Housing: 18.5 CPD Points
Description
The construction industry relies on various types of documents to create a clear understanding of rights and responsibilities with respect to a construction contract. One of those types of documents is what are commonly known as the plans. Unlike other contract documents, construction drawings are graphic in nature and are meant to portray the building showing the location, sizes, and relative relationship of the various components to one another. By interpreting these drawings, owners, prime contractors, trade contractors and other key stakeholders will understand how the building is to be constructed and how it should look upon completion. Understanding how to navigate and interpret these documents is a crucial skill that everyone involved in the construction industry must possess.
There are various types of drawings and viewpoints to understand. Differentiating between and understanding the content of Site, Architectural, Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical drawings is fundamental. The building to be constructed will be represented graphically using a technique called orthographic projection and will offer different views including plan and elevation views as well as cross-sectional views and “zoomed-in” details. Schedules, charts, and tables may also be used to further clarify or specify components of the building.
The drawings will be assembled in a certain order using certain abbreviations and will dovetail to the usual complementing specification manual. To depict and “fit” large objects onto reasonable-sized plans, the building will be drawn to various scales and will be dimensioned in either imperial or metric dimensions. Each drawing will have a title block which provides the reader with information respecting that scale, the type of drawing being seen, the date of the last revision, and the drawing number, as well as other pertinent information. Symbols, differing line weights, and types, and abbreviations are used to identify building components.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand and interpret most types of construction drawings.
- Define common drawing interpretation terminology and nomenclature.
- Identify the common components of a title block.
- List the common order of most construction drawings.
- Differentiate between plan views, cross sections, elevations, and details.
- Interpret items shown using two-dimensional drawings as three-dimensional objects by navigating between views.
- Discuss the relevance of varying line weights and types.
- Understand the principles and benefits of using orthographic projection vs perspective.
- Differentiate between scales in both imperial and metric systems of measure.
- Understand dimensioning and elevations in both imperial and metric systems of measure.
- Differentiate between nominal and actual dimensioning, as well as hard and soft metric to imperial conversions.
- Interpret common symbols and abbreviations.
How will you learn it?
Participants will receive a comprehensive booklet prepared by the course instructor to guide them through the general principles of drawing interpretation. Two different types of building drawings will be provided – one simple plan containing layered information and a full set of proprietary working drawings for a fictional two-story office building including a site plan, and various architectural, structural mechanical, and electrical drawings.
Delivery Method: Virtual Session – Zoom Meeting
Course Fee Includes Access to the course, course materials, and a digital certificate upon completion.
This course is delivered in partnership with local and provincial construction associations across Canada. You will be participating with a group of industry peers from multiple regions.
Sharing a single registration between two or more individuals is not permitted. Please register each person that will be in attendance.
Knowledge/Skill Level
Introductory (or Beginner): For those new to the topic or needing foundational knowledge.
Course Credit Information
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The course is eligible for 6 CCA Gold Seal education credits and 18.5 BC Housing CPD credits upon completion.
Registrants seeking BC Housing CPD credits for this course must complete all course components before a certificate showing BC Housing CPD credits earned will be issued.
Registrants seeking gold seal credits for this course will be required to complete an assessment during the course to qualify to have the gold seal credit endorsement appear on their certificate of completion.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Who Should Attend
All construction industry stakeholders need to understand how drawings work and how to correctly interpret them – especially before entering into contractual agreements based on them.
Technical Requirements
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Computer or laptop
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This course will involve on-screen interaction with your instructor and classmates, reading/viewing on-screen content (slides or videos), and interacting via typing with questions or responses. For this reason, cellphones may not be adequate.
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Windows 10 or Mac iOS.
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Webcam (Mandatory)– in order to engage and collaborate, participants will be expected to have their webcams on for the duration of the class
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Microphone (Mandatory)
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Internet connection- For best results, you will want to ensure you have an internet connection with an upload/download speed of 3-5 Mbps. You can test your internet speed here. The minimum recommended speed is 1.5 Mbps, but anything below 3 Mbps may result in loss of quality or buffering. Ideally hardwired connection versus wireless for stability - connect your computer directly to your router using an ethernet cable, rather than using your home wi-fi.
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A quiet space with minimal distractions –The microphone will be engaged for interactive sessions. Please plan to be fully engaged in the class and clear your work schedule just as you would for the in-class program.
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Comfortable chair