Planning approach

There is no universal standard for sheet order, however the following describes a common approach:

• General Information : The first sheets in a set may include notes, assembly descriptions, a rendering of the project, or simply the project title.

• Site : Site plans, including a key plan, appear before other plans and on smaller projects may be on the first sheet. A projects could require a landscape plan, although this can be integrated with the site plan if the drawing remains clear.

• Specific plans : Floor plans, starting with the lowest floor and ending with the roof plan usually appear near the beginning of the set. Further, for example, reflected Ceiling Plans (RCP)s showing ceiling layouts appear after the floor plans.

• Elevations : Starting with the principal, or front elevation, all the building elevations appear after the plans. Smaller residential projects may display the elevations before the plans. Elevation details may appear on the same sheets as the building elevations.

• Sections : Building sections that describe views cut through the entire building appear next, followed by wall sections, then detail sections.

• Details : Details may appear on any of the previous sheets, or may be collected to appear on detail sheets. These details may include construction details that show how the components of the building fit together. These details may also include millwork drawings or other interior details.

• Schedules : Many aspects of a building must be scheduled on larger projects. These include schedules for windows, doors, hardware, landscaping elements, rooms, and areas.

More aspects are, for example:

• Structural : While smaller projects may only show structural information on the plans and sections, larger projects have separate sheets describing the structure of the building.

• Mechanical : Mechanical drawings show plumbing and heating systems.

• Electrical : Again, many electrical layouts are shown on the floor plans, however larger projects have this information on separate sheets.