Topic: Floor Plans - Where is base point?

[craigr]

The reason for the question first -

We often get floor plans from outside sources, then import them into our title blocks. When copying them into ours, we always use a base point of 0,0. The edges of the floor plan seldom are at 0,0 - and appear to be random. Sometimes when we recieve updated floor plans, the base point is different than it was in the previous version. When this happens, we snap to a corner of the building.

The question -
How do you decide where to start your floor plan from? Everyone seems to do it differently.
Is there a reason NOT to start at 0,0?

Just curious,
craigr

[Rob...]

craigr,

I feel your pain. I have to deal with archies that move floor plans on a regular basis. I've never been able to figure out why they move them. Although, using a corner of the building is usually OK with existing buildings, I've run into a couple of situations where the width or finish of the exterior walls has been changed. You might want to use a column line intersection, instead.

To address your question, some plans are pulled from larger plans with other buildings on them and the original location is kept in the new file for insertion back into the larger plan.

[jnieman]

I typically use the intersection of column lines A and 0 as "0,0", myself...

However I tend to really not care where the floor plan is, as long as it's CLOSE to the origin.  I don't draw floor plans using absolute coordinate input, and I expect no one else does, either.

However, once it -is- drawn, I don't move it, heck no.  That's too much screwing around that messes up all viewports, associated dimensions, blah blah blah blah

[mjfarrell]

If you look at the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle you will understand that one can never fully 'know' where the origin of some their plans are ever going to be.  

[Krushert]

I typically use the intersection of column lines A and 0 as "0,0", myself...

However I tend to really not care where the floor plan is, as long as it's CLOSE to the origin.  I don't draw floor plans using absolute coordinate input, and I expect no one else does, either.

However, once it -is- drawn, I don't move it, heck no.  That's too much screwing around that messes up all viewports, associated dimensions, blah blah blah blah

this is what we do with the exception of column line thing. 

No moving once "I get" started.  I think what happens is what goes in our office.  the Architect will rough out the floor plan in cad during his discussions with the client with out thinking about origin and all that stuff.  It is just not a priority in their thinking.  Sometimes during the project the architect will send the cad file to the Landscape architect (or civil peep) to rough it out the civil side of things.  I get the file and spend a half day beating on it to get it into conformity.  Keeps me employed.+

[jnieman]

I only do the column line thing if I'm doing a building where we already have a design in mind... real simple metal building stuff, or something like that.

That's mainly because I draw Steel/Center Lines first, and -do- draw them with absolute coordinates at times

0,0
0,1200

300,0
300,1200

etc, etc, etc... just habits.

[TimSpangler]

0,0 is always located at the front, bottom left corner of the base house (with out brick. stone, etc)  then all xrefs go in at 0,0 and everything "should" line up.