HOW TO DRAW HOUSE CROSS SECTIONS

1. Introduction
A set of house construction drawings will include several cross sections. Floor Plans are drawn
for see the inner parts, thickness of walls and other details when looking from top side. Due to
these plans, Elevation at four main directions should be drawn to show the outside surfaces of
structure. The cross sections are to be drawn to show the inner surfaces of structure. You can see
the size and location of all structural walls, posts and beams.

2. What are Cross Sections?

A cross‐sectional view portrays a cut‐away portion of the object and is another way to show
hidden components in a building. Imagine a plane that cuts vertically through the part of the
structure as shown below. Cross section drawings show views of the home as though you had
sliced down through the house from the top with a saw and looked in from the resulting opening.
This view will help the builder better understand your interior and exterior construction details.

Cross section views which’s been cut with horizontal and vertical cross section planes to show
the things that can’t be seen in views and dimensions of inner parts as roof, foundation, slab.
A
A
The more complex the home design, the more cross sections is required. Cross sections in general
do not show finished wall or flooring materials

3. Presenting cross sections:

- The number of cross sections needed completely depends on the complexity of the design, but
there should be at least two cross sections drew for all different structure. One cross section should
be from stairs and the other one should be from different part of structure which is give most
information about it. Number of cross section should be increased if necessary.
- Codes and names of sites should be written that are pass from cross section plane.
A A

example Section A-A

- Floor elevations of rough work should be written on a measurement line from one top point of
slab to another.
- Thickness of slab cover, parapet wall, height of window, door and partition wall, interval between
lintel and ceiling, height of low slab are located in second measurement line. These measurements
are given for all different level
2nd floor line

4. Features included in the cross section

In general, you should create cross section that includes the following:
 Scale 1:100
 Exterior wall layers 6” thick (.15 m)
 net heights of each floor 3m floor to floor
 Height and elevations of door & windows 2.1 h x.9w main door , 0.80 for bedroom
0.65-.70 for T&B
 Structural walls, posts or beams

 System of slab for each floor (plate, hollow tile floor slab etc.)
 Dimensions and elevations of low slab if exist
 Stair construction and framing details
 Floor and ceiling heights and variances
 Cross section of stairs (Plate system of stair)
 Elevation of slab, window, door, dripstone etc.
 Soil elevation
 Shape, dimensions and slope of roof, type of tile & chimney if roof exist
 Type and thickness of materials for both water and heat insulation
 Cross section and elevation of base if elevation room exist
 Visible parts which fell behind of cross section plane should be written by suitable for desired
points.
 Measurements are given that can’t be seen in plans.
  Molding and trim work (only one is required for the house interior of all doors, windows and
baseboards are to be trimmed in the same way)
 Cabinetry or custom built furniture (even if the construction crew is not responsible for this
work it is good to include these so that they understand where cabinetry or furniture will need
to be attached to the framing)
 Inner wall cross section and surface
 roof framing details,
 Window details such as dimensions, exact locations with respect to interior walls and their
heights relative to the ceiling or floor.
 Any other details that will help the builder understand the home design

5 Steps to Drawing a Cross Section

1. Choose a Cross Section Line
To create a cross section, first draw a line on your floor plan that cuts through a section of the
house for which you need to show cross section detail.

On the floor plan drawing above, at the upper and lower left there are two "A"s surrounded by
circular icons with an arrow. These icons indicate that the construction drawings will contain a
detailed cross section for this slice of the house. The arrow indicates in which direction the cross
section "looks". Note that cross sections are also indicated for sections B-B, C-C and D-D.
The drawing below is the resulting A-A cross section.

The purpose of the A-A cross section is to show the basic shell of the house, the structural posts
holding up the roof beam, the rough opening height of the windows and ceiling heights, including
a lowered ceiling in the entrance. These structural posts, beams and windows will show up in other
drawings but from a top-down view. These views combine to make the house more understandable
as well as give further design details.
2. Draw the House Envelope
Start by drawing the width of the outer envelope of your house design through a given cross section
line. Use the measurements on the floor plan drawings, house elevations and your other design
notes to create accurate and to scale lines. Include the:
 Wall footings
 Column footings
 Foundation walls
 Above ground exterior walls
 Any windows that the section cuts through
 Exterior roof lines
 On fill

Bedroom kitchen see truss detail

3. Draw Floors , beam and Ceilings

Next draw both the upper and lower lines of all floors and ceilings. You need to know the thickness
of the flooring or ceiling joists and any attached flooring (usually plywood, oriented strand board
or chip board). The heights from each floor to the ceiling or floor joists above must be accurately
drawn to scale. Only include the framing materials in this drawing, not the finished ceiling and
floor materials.
4. Side Wall Windows, Doors and Framing
For the two side walls at either side of the drawing, draft in any exterior window or door headers,
sills or wall plates as well as the inside dimension of all of the above elements in the first step. See
the drawing above.
5. Interior Walls and Structural Elements
Next draft interior walls, including their plates and any structural posts or beams visible in the
section see cross section above

6. Facing Wall, Windows and Doors

Next draw the rough openings of all the facing doors and windows. The cross section above shows
window glazing as well but not the trim.

7. Variances in Ceiling or Floor Heights

Add in any dropped or raised floors or ceilings. See the drawing in the next step below.

8. Labeling

Finally label the rough openings for all doors and windows. Label the height of the windows, either
from the floor or ceiling. Also detail ceiling heights, area names and any other elements to lend
clarity to the drawing. See the figure above.
It is important that all elements are accurately drawn to scale since builders at the job site will
often use an architect's scale to determine where to situate rough openings of windows or doors,
ceiling heights, etc. It is not good enough to label these numbers. They need to be accurately drawn.
9. Add a Title Block
Add a title block in the lower right hand corner which indicates the:
 Name of the house or project
 Date
 Designer's name
 View name
 Drawing scale

Additional Cross Section Examples

Use the same technique to create your remaining cross sections. For cross sections spanning the
entire width or length of the house, start with the building envelope and work your way in. The
drawing below shows section D-D shown on the floor plan from Step 1 "Choose a Cross Section
Line".
For wall layers, simply start from either the left or right hand side and work your way across,
drawing each layer exactly to scale. You will want to use a much larger scale for wall layers. It is
not necessary to show the entire height of any given wall. A single segment with all layers is
sufficient. The drawing below shows a cross section detail for the walls, roof and the house
foundation of a different home than our example above.
 - Floor height between bottom face of ceiling floor and slab is given with another measurement
line.
- Roof members are drawn by real shapes and sizes that are suitable with details. Names and sizes
of all of the using materials, elevations of elevator, chimney and other asperities with roof angle
should be showed.