Last reviewed 16 Sept 2026 · 8 min read
Overview
A building drawing set typically includes a site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, door/window schedules and details. In AutoCAD, these are drawn full size in model space (1 unit = 1 mm) and plotted from layouts at standard scales (plans/elevations/sections 1 : 100, details 1 : 20 or larger).
Step 1 — Drawing setup
- New drawing from acadiso.dwt (or an office template).
- UNITS — Decimal, precision 0, insertion scale millimetres.
- Layers (example):
| Layer | Colour | Linetype | Lineweight (plot) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-GRID | Red | CENTER | 0.18 |
| A-WALL | White/Black | Continuous | 0.50 |
| A-DOOR / A-WIND | Cyan / Blue | Continuous | 0.25 |
| A-STAIR | Green | Continuous | 0.25 |
| A-FURN / A-FIXT | Grey | Continuous | 0.18 |
| A-HATCH | Grey (8) | Continuous | 0.13 |
| A-DIMS | Green | Continuous | 0.18 |
| A-TEXT | Yellow | Continuous | 0.25 |
| A-HIDDEN (chajja, beams above) | Magenta | HIDDEN | 0.18 |
| A-SECT (section line) | Red | PHANTOM/CENTER | 0.35 |
| G-TITLE, VIEWPORTS (no plot) | — | — | — |
- Text style (e.g. romans.shx / Arial), dimension style (architectural ticks or closed arrows, text 2.5 mm, annotative or DIMSCALE 100).
- LTSCALE/PSLTSCALE settings for linetypes.
Step 2 — Grid and centre lines
- On A-GRID, draw a horizontal and vertical line; use OFFSET by column/wall centre spacings (e.g. 3600, 3000, 4200) to create the grid.
- Add grid bubbles (circle + attribute block) labelled A, B, C… and 1, 2, 3….
Step 3 — Walls
Method A — OFFSET:
- Offset centre lines by half the wall thickness on both sides (e.g. 115 for a 230 mm wall) using OFFSET → Layer → Current with A-WALL current.
- Clean corners and junctions with FILLET radius 0, TRIM and EXTEND.
Method B — MLINE:
- MLSTYLE — define a wall style (two lines at ±115 offsets).
- MLINE with Justification = Zero, Scale = 1, snapping to grid intersections.
- Clean junctions with MLEDIT (tee, corner, cross joints) or explode and trim.
Method C — PLINE/RECTANG for simple outer walls, then OFFSET inward by wall thickness.
Step 4 — Openings
- Locate opening jambs from grid/wall corners with OFFSET of a temporary line or object snap tracking/From snap (e.g.
FROMcorner@600,0). - TRIM or BREAK wall lines between jambs; close jambs with short lines.
- Draw lintel/beam above and sunshades (chajjas) as hidden lines on A-HIDDEN where appropriate.
Step 5 — Doors and windows
- Create blocks on layer 0:
- Door — leaf (rectangle or line) + quarter-circle swing arc; base point at hinge side jamb; drawn for 1000 mm (or 1 unit for scaling) or as a dynamic block with width and flip parameters.
- Window — frame lines across wall thickness (e.g. two or three parallel lines) with sill line; width parameter.
- INSERT at openings with appropriate scale/rotation/mirror.
- Add attributes (D1, D2, W1, V1) or text tags for schedules.
Step 6 — Staircase
- Draw the staircase outline (flight width, landing).
- Draw the first tread line and use ARRAY (rectangular, 1 row × n columns) or OFFSET with tread width (e.g. 250 mm) to create treads.
- Draw the handrail and the gap (for dog-legged stairs).
- Add a break line (zigzag at the cutting plane) and an "UP" arrow (PLINE with width or leader) with numbered risers if required.
Step 7 — Fixtures and furniture
- Insert blocks for WC (Indian/European), wash basin, sink, kitchen platform, bed, sofa, dining table, wardrobe from DesignCenter/Tool Palettes or office libraries.
- Keep them on A-FIXT/A-FURN layers so they can be frozen for structural or submission drawings.