Sheet Sizes
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This is not a direct Layout question but rather an output question. I have wrestled with large drawing sheets on the jobsite lots of times. I am just doing my first residential job on 11x17 paper(small house scaled at 3/16" @ 1'-0"). The local municipality desires house plans to be at 1/4" scale but almost all commercial plans are at 1/8" scale. I don't see a problem with 3/16". This is very readable, the total cost for printing is actually cheaper, and I can produce drawings at home with a reasonably priced printer rather than having to have a plotter. The client is somewhat dubious about the fact that the house plans aren't on real sized paper (Arch C or D). So, just wondering what other people are doing? Is there a move away from large sheets (if this is appropriate) or not.
KrisM
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Personally I've never had a building department reject plans on 11x17, as long as the submitted plans convey the gist of the house/addition(and never had a building inspector actually check any measurements on site). I've been at the building inspectors when homeowners sumit on grid paper, without a problem.
When I drafted by hand I used mostly 18x24, but I've only designed single family dwellings that fit that size fairly well.
I will add that mostly I do "shop drawings" as 80% of the time I am working from existing plans that just need things tweaked, like elevations of cabinets that are by no means "working plans".
I do however have a 44" printer that is mostly used for my photography studio or clients that need to be "impressed" with ARCH D or ARCH E plans, and most of the time they don't even know what they are looking at, until I build it.
Are smaller print's becoming the norm? Probably not for large projects. The plans for the project I'm on now are printed on ARCH E, all 40 or so pages.
Chris
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Even when plans are smaller (D size) you see the contractor printing 1/2 size sets. Actually with better SW and printing now, reduced sizes are still readable. That said, most plan checkers want a minimum size text, 1/8" high or so. With all the info that usually goes on a floor plan it can get crowded at smaller scales. You can help by utilizing the software to carefully arrange the info,use more plans: ceiling plans, separate power and lighting plans etc. to put the info on. Personally never gone below 1/4"-1'. If necessary. I have a 1/8"=1'scale overall plan then provide larger plans of sections of the house.
Just make sure it is legible under the Bldg. dept. standards and check if they'll take it.Ideally everyone would have iPads but that hasn't translated to ease of use at the site yet.
I heard in Europe--don't they use smaller format, sort of like a book?
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