Illustrator Floor Plan Design Drawing Scale

Scale for Floor Plans

By Meg Escott

Understanding scale for floor plans is a really useful skill when y'all're edifice or remodeling your home.

Scale drawings are an indispensable part of your edifice or remodeling dwelling project. You'll demand to be able to read them to empathise and requite your approval for the pattern of your new home.

The focus of this page is on using scale to read floor plans. Bank check out how to describe floor plans for a discussion on using scale if you lot're cartoon your ain floor programme.

scale for floor plans

This folio forms part of the how to read business firm plans series.

On this page we'll embrace...

What units of mensurate is my floor plan using?
What scale is my floor plan using?
Printing your floor program to the right scale
Figure out the real size of something on your floor plan

Before we go started on scale for floor plans, we demand beginning to talk about units.

What units of measure is my floor plan using?

The first thing to figure out is if the scale on your floor plan relates to feet and inches (the royal organisation) or relates to millimeters, centimeters and meters (the metric arrangement).

This usually depends on the region of your home. If y'all're in the U.s.a. you're probable to be working in the regal arrangement. If you're in the Uk, Ireland or Australia, it'south probably the metric system. Canada is a bit of a mix but unremarkably metric.

Earlier you go any farther, effigy out what organisation, imperial or metric, your drawings are using. Look to run across what units the dimensions on the flooring programme are marked in.

What scale is my floor programme using?

If your flooring plan has a title block, the scale should be indicated at that place. Information technology should tell you what the scale is for a particular newspaper size.

The scale for floor plans can be shown in two different means:

As equivalent measurements, eg ane/eight" = 1' or 1cm = 1m, "an 8th of an inch represents 1 foot" or "1cm represents 1m"
As a ratio eg ane:96 or 1:100, "one to forty viii" or "one to i hundred"

scale for floor plans imperial scale 1:96 This title block is proverb the drawing is to scale 1:96 when printed on Arch Due east paper

scale for floor plans metric scale 1:100 This title block is saying the drawing is to scale one:100 when printed on A1 newspaper

Common scales for imperial flooring plans (feet and inches)

1/4 inch to a foot which means 1 inch on the paper represents 48 inches in real size (1:48).
i/8 inch to a foot which means i inch on the paper represents 96 inches in real size (1:96).
one/16 inch to a human foot which ways i inch on the paper represents 192 inches in real size (1:192).

Mutual scales for metric floor plans (mm, cm, thousand)

2cm to 1m which means 2cm on the paper represents 100cm (or 1m) in real size (one:l).
1cm to 1m which means 1cm on the paper represents 1oocm (or 1m) in real size (one:100).
1cm to 2m which means 1cm on the newspaper represents 200cm (or 2m) in real size (1:200).

Architects tend to work in millimeters, only this doesn't change the significant of the scales in a higher place. For instance, using the calibration 1:100, maxim 1mm represents 100mm is the same equally saying 1cm represents 100cm.

No scale in the title block? Look for a calibration bar

If there's no championship block, another mode to find the scale for floor plans is to wait for a scale bar.

scale for floor plans scale bars Examples of scale bars. Superlative is imperial, bottom is metric.

Working out the scale from an imperial calibration bar

Hither's what you need to do to work out the scale from the scale bar:

Measure the length of the scale bar - nosotros're looking at the summit bar and let'south say it measures 3 3/4 inches.

This tells us that 3 3/4 inches (or three.75 inches) represents 30 foot (the length of the bar).

30 foot = 30 10 12 = 360 inches.

So nosotros now know that iii.75 inches represents 360 inches.

Then 1 inch represents (360 / three.75) = 96 inches.

You can encounter above that nosotros demand to convert fractions of inches into decimals. To make that a scrap easier I've written them out here.

Working out the scale from a metric calibration bar

Measure the length of the scale bar - for the bottom bar, let'southward say it measures 10cm.

This tells u.s.a. that 10cm represents 10m.

So ane cm represents (10 / 10) = 1m.

Much simpler for the metric system!

What if there'southward no scale for the floor programme?

If yous're looking at a floor programme with no scale or dimensions marked hither's a trick. If the kitchen is marked in the floor program, a standard kitchen countertop is 2ft or 60cm deep. And so if you measure how deep the countertop is on the program, that'southward what 2ft or 60cm is equivalent to.

To summate what 1ft in real life is on the plan, split the kitchen countertop measurement on the plan by 2.

To calculate what 1m in existent life is on the plan, carve up the kitchen countertop measurement past 60, then multiply by 100.

This volition give you a rough idea of the dimensions and calibration that you're dealing with on the floor plan.

Printing your floor program to the right scale

When you're reading a floor plan you might be able to get about of what you want to know by looking at the floor plan on screen.

If y'all want to take accurate measurements your all-time bet is to become a print out of your floor plan. If you're looking at drawings that are meant to be printed on big format newspaper, this tin pose a problem because it'south unlikely y'all've got like shooting fish in a barrel admission to a large format printer.

Here's a few options for getting a print out of your floor plan.

Ask your architect or pattern professional to provide you with a set of drawings printed out.
Transport your drawings to a printer/graphics store - check that they accept a printer big enough to handle the paper size earlier you send the files.
Impress out a department of the floor plan to scale onto a size of paper that'southward convenient for the printer you accept access to. Impress a section of a pdf floor plan to scale.

Figure out the existent size of something on a flooring program

OK, so y'all know what units you're working in, and you know what the scale for floor plans is, you're ready to use calibration conversion to figure out the real life size of something on your floor plan.

There are ii options for this:

Using a uncomplicated ruler and doing a bit of maths.
Using an architectural scale

Scale conversions

Let'due south do a few examples of scale conversions.

Scale for flooring plans imperial conversion instance...

Let's say we're looking at a floor programme and the scale is 1:48.

We measure the length and width of the open plan living infinite on the floor plan.

Flooring plan length = ix and ane/8th inches or nine.125 inches
Floor plan width = 3 and 1/8th inches or iii.125 inches

Real size length = (three.125 ten 48) = 150 inches or 12 human foot vi inches
Real size width = (ix.125 x 48) = 438 inches or 36 pes six inches

Yous might notice this table to convert fractions of inches to decimals useful.

Top tip

Conversion in imperial scales takes quite a few taps on a calculator, and information technology's not much better on the bulk of online scale converters. I've set up some super quick, minimum click imperial scale converters that are available to HPH members. Discover out how to join.

Scale for floor plans metric conversion example...

Permit'southward say nosotros're looking at a floor programme and the scale is one:50.

We measure the length and width of the bedroom on the floor plan.

Flooring plan length and width (foursquare room) = six.8cm

Real size length and width = (half dozen.eight ten fifty) = 340cm or 3.4m

Cheque that the scale conversion makes sense

In one case yous've done a calibration conversion calculation simply accept a call up to brand certain information technology makes sense. Is your answer roughly what yous expected it to be?

Using an architectural scale

Allow's have a look at how to measure on a floor plan using an architectural calibration.

The beauty of an using an architects scale to read calibration for flooring plans is that you don't need to do calculations to measure dimensions on your flooring plan.

There'south a great video to explain how to utilise an builder's scale...

A tip for using your architect'southward scale

Architect's scales accept several scales and if yous put your architects calibration down it can be like shooting fish in a barrel to lose track of where the scale you're using is.

Endeavour putting a clip on your calibration with a piece of paper with an arrow towards the cipher of the scale yous're using. This makes it very quick to get right back to where yous need to be with your architects calibration.

how to read floor plans architectural scale with clip

You tin can see how this prune is pointing towards the naught on the 1/4 inch to 1 foot calibration.

how to read floor plans architectural scale with clip qaurter inch scale

Length in inches	Decimal equivalent
1/4 inch	0.25
two/four inch (same as 1/2 inch)	0.5
3/4 inch	0.75

Length in inches	Decimal equivalent
ane/8 inch	0.25
2/viii inch (same as 1/4 inch)	0.25
3/8 inch	0.375
4/eight inch (same every bit one/2 inch)	0.5
5/8 inch	0.625
6/8 inch (same equally 3/4 inch)	0.75
7/eight inch	0.875

Length in inches	Decimal equivalent
1/16 inch	0.0625
two/16 inch (same every bit one/eight inch)	0.125
3/16 inch	0.1875
4/16 inch (same every bit i/four inch)	0.25
5/16 inch	0.3125
6/sixteen inch (same equally three/8 inch)	0.375
7/xvi inch	0.4375
8/16 inch (same equally 1/two inch)	0.5
9/16 inch	0.5625
10/sixteen inch (same as 5/eight inch)	0.625
11/16 inch	0.6825
12/xvi inch (same as 3/4 inch)	0.75
13/16 inch	0.8125
14/16 inch (same as 7/8 inch)	0.875
15/16 inch	0.9375