A blueprint is a guide for making something; it's a design or pattern that can be followed.

Draw
up a blueprint and follow the design carefully. The literal meaning of a blueprint is a paper that is
blue with plans for a building printed on it. You can also call other guides or plans blueprints.

How does a blueprint work?

A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing using a contact print process on

light-sensitive sheets. ... The blueprint process was characterized by white lines on a blue
background, a negative of the original. The process was not able to reproduce colors or shades
of grey.

The main sections of a blueprint are:

Title Sheets and Site Plans.

Floor Plans.

Elevations and Sections.

Details and Schedules.

Structural Drawings.

Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEPf) Drawings.

One of the most important aspects of a blueprint is reading the specifications (or specs). They
could include the project schedule, particular requirements for clean-up, or required material.
Acquiring all project documents and specs will ensure the project is completed as planned.

Blueprint drawings are the native language of the construction industry. It’s how workers
communicate – studying sketches, evaluating design, and picturing the final product. To some,
the lines, angles, and symbols make perfect sense. To others, it may look like gibberish.
Whether you’re looking to excel in the construction industry, or simply expand your knowledge,
reading blueprints correctly is essential.

The first concept is that there are three types of prints – plan, elevation, and section. A plan
shows the project as if you’re looking down on it, a horizontal display. The elevation is looking
sideways at the project, a vertical display. A section is a cut-through of the project or a view that
will show how it’s going to be built. When you first look at a blueprint it’s important to first identify
what type it is.
Basic knowledge also calls for an understanding of the scale. An engineering scale is used
when dimensions are in feet and when measurements have a scale ratio that’s a multiple of 10.
An architectural scale uses feet and inches, with a certain length set equal to one foot. The
scale can range from 1/8 inch to three inches that’s equal to one foot.

One of the most important aspects of a blueprint is reading the specifications (or specs). They
could include the project schedule, particular requirements for clean-up, or required material.
Acquiring all project documents and specs will ensure the project is completed as planned. The
consequences of not reading the specs can be devastating.

There are two major phases of creating drawings – design and construction. In the design
phase, the architect and engineer envision the project and roughly sketch the concept. They
collaborate to decide on methods, materials, layout, and system designs. The prepared
architectural and engineering sketches will act as a handbook for the preparation of construction
drawings.

Remember, it’s important to gather all paperwork, drawings, contracts, and specs to fully grasp
what the project will look like and how it will be carried out. Here and here are two great outside
resources with more detailed information on blueprint reading and sketching. You can also
search for classes at local schools or organizations such as Associated Builders and
Contractors.

Whether you're a homeowner with a hands-on approach to home renovation or a professional

contractor, knowing how to read blueprints is an essential skill.

Learn From the Best

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is a two-dimensional set of drawings that provides a detailed visual representation of

how an architect wants a building to look. Blueprints typically specify a building's dimensions,
construction materials, and the exact placement of all its components.

The word "blueprint" originated in the mid-nineteenth century when engineering drawings were
printed on blue paper with white lines. In the modern construction industry, physical blueprints
typically aren’t blue. Construction drawings, construction plans, building plans, house plans,
floor plans, and working drawings are all types of blueprints.

Why Are Blueprints Important?

Blueprints put everyone involved in the construction process on the same page, including the
contractor, construction workers, fabricators, the home or building owner, and building
inspectors. You need blueprints to estimate the cost of labor and the bill of materials, to create a
construction schedule, and to obtain building permits. A set of blueprints must show that your
building design is in compliance with your local building codes, or the building inspection
department won't approve your permit to begin construction.

3 Types of Views in Blueprints

When looking at a construction blueprint, it's important to understand the perspective of the
viewing angle. There are three views that architects typically use to depict a structure in a
technical drawing.

Plan view drawing: A plan view is a drawing on a horizontal plane depicting a bird's eye view of
a structure from above. Each floor in the building has its own plan view drawing.
Elevation view drawing: An elevation view is a drawing on a vertical plane that depicts how the
building looks when viewed from the front, back, left, or right side. There are both interior
elevation drawings and exterior elevation drawings.
Section view drawing: A section view is a drawing on a vertical plane that slices through solid
space to depict the inside of a certain section of the structure. A cross-section view shows
elements such as insulation, wall studs, and sheathing.

10 Types of Blueprint Lines and How to Read Them

Knowing what the different types of lines represent in a construction drawing is one of the most
basic blueprint reading skills.

Object line: Also known as visible lines, objects lines indicate the sides of an element that are
visible when looking at the element in person. Visible lines are completely solid and are the
thickest type of line.
Hidden line: Also known as invisible lines, hidden lines show object surfaces that are not visible
when looking at the object in person. Hidden lines consist of short dashes that the architect
draws at half the thickness of object lines.

Center line: This type of line indicates the central axis of an element. Centerlines consist of
alternating short and long dashes that the architect draws with the same thickness as hidden
lines.
Dimension line: Dimension lines indicate the distance between two points in a drawing. When
dimensioning, the architect draws two short solid lines with a gap between them and two
arrowheads pointing in opposite directions. The architect then writes the dimension number in
the empty gap between the two lines.
Extension line: These short, solid lines at each endpoint of a dimension line indicate the exact
limit of the dimension. Extension lines always pair with dimension lines and should never touch
the object lines.
Leader line: A leader line is a finely-drawn solid line that labels a specific point or area with a
note, number, or other written reference. Leader lines usually contain an arrowhead pointing to
the area they are describing.
Phantom line: This type of line indicates elements of an object that can move into alternate
positions, or it indicates adjacent features of an object. For example, an architect might use
phantom lines to draw how a closed door looks in the open position. A phantom line consists of
one long dash that alternates with two short dashes.
Cutting-plane line: A cutting-plane line is a U-shaped line with arrowheads on each end. It
bisects an object to display its interior features.
Section line: Section lines indicate when the surface of an object in the sectional view is cut
along the cutting-plane line. A sectional line consists of multiple short parallel diagonal lines.
Break line: Architects use break lines to shorten the view of long uniform sections of an object in
order to conserve drawing space. Short break lines are thick, solid freehand wavy lines, while
long break lines are thin, solid ruler-drawn lines with interspersed freehand zig-zags. Architects
use break lines in both detail drawings and assembly drawings.

4 Tips for Reading Blueprints

If you're new to reading blueprints and are preparing to work on a building construction project,
familiarize yourself with these blueprint reading fundamentals. The tips here should provide you
with a basic understanding of how to read blueprints, but if you want the knowledge of a
construction professional, it may be worth looking into a hands-on blueprint reading course.

Begin with the title block. The title block is the first piece of information you'll see in construction
site plans. It contains important details like the project's name, plan number, drawing date,
location information, contact information for the architect, company name, and the required
government approval information. Lastly, it contains the plan index, which is a reference list of
all the drawings contained in the entire set of plans. Any changes made to the blueprints are
listed in a revision block that's typically located in the title block or in the top right corner of the
actual revised drawing.
Study the plan legend. The legend is your key to decoding and understanding basic symbols in
the drawings. For example, electrical drawings have symbols that indicate the placement of an
outlet and a roofing plan may have symbols showing the placement of skylights. There are
industry-standard symbols for specific types of projects, but some architects and construction
companies use their own custom symbols. Familiarizing yourself with the legend right off the bat
will make understanding the blueprint symbols easier.

Find the blueprint's scale and orientation. All blueprint drawings are drawn to scale. A drawing
scale indicates the difference between the size of the finished structure and the size of the
drawing. For example, one common drawing scale for a quarter inch in the drawing to equal one
foot in the finished project. If anyone involved in the construction process uses the incorrect
scale, there will be serious problems when materials come in the wrong sizes. In addition to the
architect's scale, you'll want to look for a north arrow or a compass symbol that establishes the
orientation of the drawings. You'll typically find the blueprint orientation near the plan legend,
and the scale should be indicated on each separate drawing page.
Look for notes from the architect. Architects may include general notes to provide additional
context on aspects of the blueprints that would be difficult to interpret otherwise. Be on the
lookout for these notes, which are written directly onto the drawings or attached in a separate
document.