Topic: Question for Floor Plan Creators

[craigr]

When you create a floor plan, then put your scale on the bottom of your drawing, eg - 1" = 50'

How do you come up with this?

Since this scale would only pertain to a particular size paper, do you somehow set the dwg to figure this out?

craigr

[Bob Wahr]

First step is to decide what size drawings your finished product will be. Next step, figure out the approximate size of the building/site/gear/part/etc.  Start with the scale that you would most like to have.  We'll go with 1/4"=1'-0" for the sake of argument check the approximate out to out dimensions divided by 48 (the inverse of the scale).  If the number is smaller than the sheet size, you are golden, otherwise, try a different scale.  Can also do it by trial and error by changing the viewport scale on a viewport.

[Keith™]

This is simple thing to do .. If you plot on standard DSize paper your drawing will likely be 1/4" = 1'-0" .. but it depends upon how you scale your viewports.

Try this ... I presume for house plans you are using DSize paper ... now we know the paper is 24x36 (less the margins) ... create a viewport that is 24x36, set the scale of that particular viewport to whatever you want, then verify all of your geometry is within the boundary of your paper.

[cad-waulader]

If 1/4 inch of paper space equal to 1'0" MS, I have a ratio of paper space to model space of
.25" to 12", which is the same as
.5" to 24" and
1" to 48".
So, I have a scale of 1 to 48, or 1/48.  To "tell" Autocad to zoom to this scale, you need to tell Autocad how much model space length is represented by one inch of paper space.  I go to layout (I hope you have layout in your version- weren't you using LT?), activate the viewport of the layout, get into model space, and type at command prompt:
   
    "zoom (enter)
     s (enter)
     1/48xp (enter)"

this achieves the zoom scale of 1/4 inch PS = 1'0" MS for the viewport.  
other scales:
if 1/8 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1/96xp
if 1/4 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1/48xp
if 1/2 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1/24xp
if 3/4 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1/16xp
if    1 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1/12xp
if  12 inch PS = 1'0" MS, type 1xp

hope this helps & uses features your version can use.

[jwisherd]

Generally use a standard D size sheet (36X24) Architectually speaking, most plans and elevations are at 1/4 or 1/8" scales, this is about as small of a scale as you want to go,as the framers in the field will throw anything under an 1/8" away and round it off.

[CAB]

As an aside, I had a 3 unit condo which would not fit on the D size sheet at 1/4" scale.
So I created the drawing using 3/16" scale which fit nicely. I only see 1/8" scale on
comical jobs and they use a lot of enlarged areas to show the details. But back to the
3/16" scale drawing, you never heard so much grumbling for the guys in the field.
My advice is to avoid these in house construction and to use a larger sheet if 1/4" will
not fit on a D size sheet.

And I used to work in the field, I was a plumbing contractor in my former life.
We would get a chuckle if we saw drawings with anything other than  1/2" in the dimensions.
That was because most used a lumber crayon to do the layout which has a mark of width of
1/4". Although with the new wind codes things are tightenings up & most have gone to lumber
pencils now.

BTW I dimension using 1/32 precision & draw so that there is no dimension fraction other
than 1/2". That way if there is a rounding error it won't start with me.

[Bob Wahr]

I only see 1/8" scale on
comical jobs...

I'd like to do more comical jobs.  It would relieve the daily boredom.

[CottageCGirl]

Our architectural crew plots on D paper at 1/8"=1'0" but since my plans show furniture with item #'s I plot on 36x48 at 1/4" scale usually these are 15k to 20k stores.  Occasionally I will plot at 3/16"=1'0" when my building is really long (plotting on 54" paper is a pain)  but since my boss wants 1/4" and the cad guys and my visual wants 1/8" and some of my managers want an 8-1/2x11 prints, I use a different tab with varying sized borders in paper space for each scale.

[CAB]

Thanks Bob, slap me around, I can take it.

[Royalchill]

Here is a pdf file with most scale factors. I keep it pinned next to my desk

[PDJ]

Hey Craigr, did these guys and dolls hit on your answer or did they go off on the wrong tangent.  From what I can tell, you know about scaling and all that.  It looks like you're asking whether the scale remains the same on different paper sizes.  Basically, 1/4" = 1'-0" is the same on all sheets.  On the larger sheets, you'll see more of what's in modelspace than you would see on an 11x17 sheet.

Picture it like back in the old days.  Say you drew up a condominium floor plan on a sheet of velllum and it was 1/4" = 1'-0" scale.  You now take your standard company border sheet in 11x17 and lay it over the drawing.  Well, maybe only one part of the condo will fit.  Now take your standard company border sheet in 24x36 and lay it over the drawing.  You can fit a lot more on it. 

With AutoCad, you can go a few steps further.  We draw everything at real world scale in model space.  Then we go into paperspace with out standard borders and make a viewport.  Double click in the viewport and do the scale factor for 1/4" = 1'-0".  Pan the view around a bit to see how much fits.  If it's really small, scale it up, too big, scale it down..

There, that's your lesson on scales and paperspace for the day.

[craigr]

PDJ - Nice explanation, thanks.

Thanks to all that replied.

craigr