Key Floor Plan Symbols & Architectural Abbreviations to Read Floor Plans Effectively

These floor function symbols are like a different language that you need to learn. Professionals in the construction and design industry use this language to communicate effectively. Most floor plans also include legends that describe the colors, symbols and text the floor plan uses to leave no room for miscommunication.

The legend is often printed along with the title block at the bottom of the right side of the sheet. This is because it houses several architectural notations, and many of them are standardized floor function symbols that would appear on every floorplan. There could be slight variations, but the basic outline would remain the same for all.

10 Main Types of Floor Plan Symbols

1. Compass Symbols

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This symbol will help you navigate through the floor plan and show you the property’s orientation concerning the cardinal directions. It is mainly represented by a circle with a north arrow pointing towards the north.

Read also – How to Draw a Floor Plan & Top Mistakes to Avoid

2. Door Symbols

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The doors are annotated by a large gap between the walls and a curved line that shows the direction of the swing. In addition, the path traced by the swing is shown in a dotted line showing the clear area the door would cover. However, there are different ways to show a door depending on the type of door that is to be installed.

For typical triple hinge door swings, the curved line makes a quarter circle arc indicating the extent of the swing (up to 90 degrees).

Double doors are indicated with a symbol like a letter M, with the two curved arcs meeting at the centre.

In closets that have bifold doors, it is always indicated as open doors. It is symbolised by two twin peaks and a space between them. The distance between them shows where they will meet when the door is closed.

When a sliding door or pocket door is shown, it is mainly indicated with a rectangle representing the door inserted into the wall and is attached to a dotted rectangle. The dotted area shows where the position of the door would be when closed.

Read also – How To Read Floor Plans: 8 Elements To Read A Floor Plan

3. Window Symbols

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Symbol for windows in the floor plan are shown as part of the walls. They are symbolised by an empty rectangle inserted into a wall with a solid hatch.

Sliding windows are symbolized by three parallel rectangles representing each sliding window panel joined at the edges below the other.

Casement windows look like mini doors, with an arc showing how much they protrude from the wall while they are open.

Bay window floor plan symbols are shown by breaking the straight line of the wall, and the face of the window is pushed outside.

Read also – 8 Best Window Treatment Ideas

4. Stair Symbols

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Like most symbols, staircases are seen parallel from the plan view. Simply put, stair symbol floor plan look like a series of rectangles attached from side to side. The rectangles can change to other geometric shapes depending on the design of the actual staircase.

Sometimes they are also indicated with a line running through the middle and an arrow at the top. This shows the direction of the staircase. The arrowhead indicates going UP.

Mid landings are shown as large slabs of rectangles or squares as per design.

A curved staircase looks like a bicycle tire with all the sections attached to the central circle or pole.

Read also – 14 Different Types of Staircases

5. Wall Symbols

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The most basic and typical element of the floor plan is the walls. They would have a much-standardized representation worldwide unless something unique, e.g. a wall made up of glass bottles.

The intensity of the lines indicates the location of the solid wall. Thicker lines indicate the interior walls of the architectural plan, whereas exterior walls are shown by double lines or a thin black outline.

The material of the wall also plays a massive role in their representation. Brick or concrete walls are colored with hatches at 45-degree angles. Items like wood are shown in a brief depiction of wood grains. Insulated walls are indicated in spring like a pattern infused in the walls.

Read also – The Guide to Choosing the Best Bathroom Wallpaper Designs & Ideas for 2024

6. Appliances Symbols

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Appliances like refrigerators and stoves are indicated as a simple outline of the item itself. In the case of built-in appliances, it is shown in dotted lines accompanied with a short text or an abbreviation, e.g. DW for dishwasher. The dotted lines, therefore, indicate they the appliances are hidden under the counter or inside a storage unit.

Sometimes floor plan kitchen symbols are additional details, such as a drawing of the four burners in the case of a stove in the kitchen, 

Read also – 15 Best 3D Floor Plan Software

7. Plumbing Symbols

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Plumbing fixtures are predominantly depicted as would be seen from the top in a parallel perspective. They include items like a bathtub, toilet floor plan symbol, shower symbols and sinks. The sink sizes can change depending on what type it is, such as single vanity sink, cabinet sink, double sink, kitchen sink, freestanding sink etc.

Uncommon fixtures include items like urinals. Sometimes bathroom features are also depicted, such as towel racks.

Read also – 10 Best Bathroom Design Apps and Software

8. HVAC Symbols

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The HVAC system, otherwise known as the central ac system, is depicted by various symbols for different system areas. These areas include wall vents, ceiling vents, air conditioning units etc.

The more detailed floor plan for HVAC would carry details of items like heaters, pumps, return air vents etc. The system’s piping can be seen in two parallel lines running through depicting the ducts to carry the air.

Items like a heating subcontractor may require separate drawings of their own since it could get too congested if you plan to show both heating and cooling on the same line.

Read also – How Can You Mitigate Electrical Hazards as an Interior Designer?

9. Electrical Symbols

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Electrical plans will carry a host of symbols that will signify the lighting points, locations of wall jacks, thermostats, TV and switch outlets. They will also have markings of electrical items like ceiling fans denoted by a circle and three lines originating from the center like a propeller. The light point is represented by a small circle and crosshairs extending beyond the circle’s circumference.

Electrical symbols on floorplans always include a legend since there are a lot of them that you would need to keep track of. Sometimes along with the item name, a small note on the feature is also written if it requires further explanation, such as the wattage of a particular light.

Read also – 20 Best Floor Plan Apps

10. Furniture Symbols

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Floor plan furniture symbols are almost always self-explanatory. Depending on the draughtsman, they can draw items like sofas and tables in simple rectangles or extensive details. Sometimes it becomes mandatory to consider the detailed furniture drawings of the couch and armchairs to overlay symbol for furniture in floor plans.

Sometimes draughtsman also draw plants and props on top of the table for artistic effect. This is mainly done when the floor plan is made for sale or marketing purposes.

Most commonly used architectural floor plan symbols in the common areas like the living room and dining room range from sofas, armchairs, dining tables, dining chairs, sideboards, cupboards to smaller items like tepoys, pouffes and side tables.

The bedroom can carry the bed and nightstand symbols and should be to scale. For example, the bed is denoted by two small rectangles inside the head of the larger rectangle, indicating the pillows. A line with a triangle below the two rectangles represents the blanket line.

This is a basic form of annotation. Many firms use more detailed drawings where the material and the folds of the cloth are also incorporated to make the drawing look better. The site plan generally sees outdoor furniture like garden seating or patio furniture. In addition, the site plan covers the landscaped area around the built space.

Read also – 10 Best Free Furniture Design Software

74 Most Common Floor Plan Abbreviations

Apart from just architect floor plan symbols, floor plans also carry a lot of characters in the form of abbreviations. Abbreviations are used when there is no space to show an architectural floor plan symbol, or there is a lack of space to denote it, especially in the case of some technical drawings. Some of the commonly used ones are listed below.

Why is Foyr Neo the Best Software to Create Floor Plans?

Before the turn of the century, draughtsman did all architectural drawings by hand in black and white. The introduction of computers gave rise to computer-aided design and drafting (CADD). But now, clients and designers request 3D perspectives to understand the space better. 

Most designers face the central problem of converting a 2D house plan to 3D. After drafting a floorplan, it takes more time to insert 3D elements and extrude the walls to make a 3D design.

But the introduction of Foyr Neo has changed the face of the game. With Foyr, you can make a 3D floorplan with the click of a button. And to add to that benefit, you can immediately get an automatically generated photorealistic floorplan in seconds. You can also make use of the readymade templates for a quick start. Most software cannot match the time and energy saved in making a floorplan in Foyr Neo anywhere. You can also choose to sign up for a 14-day free trial.

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Nichole Samuel

Interior Designer

Blog Reviewed By

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Goddess Interiors LLC

goddessinteriorss@gmail.com

www.goddessinteriors.com