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What practise Architects' Acronyms Mean?

While our policy at Board & Vellum is to avoid using acronyms whenever we tin, sometimes it's just unavoidable in architectural drawings. While contractors typically know what they all stand for, clients often exercise not. And then, hither is a handy (if express) guide to some of the acronyms you'll see the virtually frequently.

March 18, 2014

Architects love acronyms and abbreviations. No, that isn't quite truthful; we absolutely honey them, but nosotros also rely upon them. All of our drawings and documents are filled with them. Yet, as much every bit they're ingrained in this profession, I absolutely tin't stand them. They're confusing, mysterious, and do nix to aid u.s.a. communicate with the people we serve.

A typical architecture drawing showing acronyms and their actual meanings.
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Here's a typical architecture drawing with a smattering of abbreviations and their bodily meanings.

The interesting thing nigh compages, is that while everyone thinks nosotros are designers and detailers, what nosotros truly are when you look at the root of everything nosotros do, is communicators. Our drawings communicate our ideas to clients and contractors and our specifications communicate the myriad of other details we can't draft. Our job should be to make that communication as clear and straightforward as possible, but unfortunately, things like acronyms help build a wall. It ends up being very Us vs. Them, and if you lot take a timid personality, you're often likely to presume you know what an acronym means instead of asking. And you know what they say about bold things! As my mom was so fond of maxim, "Assuming makes an donkey out of u and me."

As much equally feasible, nosotros try and pull out as many acronyms as possible in our drawings. Sometimes they can't be pulled out (for a variety of reasons), or sometimes we just forget (equally they're so ingrained already in everything we practice that y'all tin can often gloss over them), simply our mission is to eliminate them from our discourse. In the concurrently, though, hither is a quick trivial summary of some of the more common acronyms used by architects so you tin beginning to feel a bit more informed when someone speaks to y'all in "Archi-speak"!

  • AFF – In a higher place Cease Flooring

    This is an acronym commonly used in dimensioning. If y'all see a note saying 8'-0" AFF, it ways that whatever is being referenced is 8 feet and zero inches above the surface of the finished floor (any you walk on, due east.g. the surface of the tile, not the underlay) in that room.

  • AIA – The American Constitute of Architects

    This is our professional system that supports the profession of architecture, lobbies for us in the halls of government, and supports a variety of local and national events. Yous'll see this after some architect's names (like mine) which signify that they are members of the system. Opposite to public opinion, while it does mean that the person with "AIA" later their name is a licensed architect, it doesn't hateful that someone without "AIA" after their name isn't licensed. You tin can still be a licensed builder without being a member of the AIA.

  • ALT - Alternate

    This means that something should be provided as a separate line item as an alternating to what is otherwise drawn.

  • CL – Centerline

    Oftentimes, the L is drawn overlapping with the C. This volition exist establish on dimensions and ensures that whatever is being referenced is aligned with the centerline of something.

  • CMU – Concrete Masonry Unit

    These are concrete "blocks" (did someone say LEGO?) that are stacked to grade walls both for buildings and landscape walls. They are typically reinforced with rebar during construction, and oft are a stand-in for poured concrete.

  • Be or E - Existing

    This means something is existing and not to be touched.

  • GC – General Contractor

    This is someone who builds your project and hires "sub-contractors" to perform specific work (electricians, plumbers, etc.).

  • OFCI – Owner Furnished and Contractor Installed

    This is an example where a client will purchase something, merely volition accept the contractor install information technology (like appliances or closet systems).

  • NTS – Not To Calibration

    Annihilation drawn with a "NTS" next to information technology means that whatever yous practise, yous should non get a concrete scale out to measure anything. Read the text and ignore the dimensions and relative relationships of what is drawn. This is oft washed on drawings where it isn't worth the time to revise them, only yous still need to convey the information.

  • RFI – Asking for Information

    A Request For Information is sent from the general contractor to the architect (usually) and is just what information technology sounds like. Typically, the contractor needs information to complete a particular, or order something.

  • RO – Rough Opening

    With things like windows and doors, the hole fabricated in the framing to accept it is ever bigger than the bodily window or door, allowing it to be put into place. The space between the window and the opening is then shimmed with picayune bits of wood to go far plumb. Typically, the rough opening is only 1" or so bigger than the actual dimension of the concrete door or window.

  • TYP – Typical

    This is ane that I do actually dear, fifty-fifty though I need to get rid of it, but it fits really nicely in our text for dimensioning. This stands for "typical" and means that if you see this listed once, everything else similar this has the same annotation or dimension applied to it.

  • WC – Water Closet (Toilet Room)

    Typically a powder room with a sink, but every now and so I see a true "WC," featuring a door and a toilet... and that's information technology. Well, probably a really nasty door knob, as well.

  • W/D – Washer and Dryer.

    Nice and unproblematic.

In that location are a slew more; a quick web search (finds over iii,300 of them! Whoa!). We include some in a listing on the comprehend sheet of our drawings, shown below. We'll never get rid of these pesky acronyms (which, of course, oftentimes mean dissimilar things in many different professions to add to the confusion), but hopefully, we can help broaden the understanding betwixt architects and anybody else to make this whole procedure far more transparent and attainable.

A partial list of acronyms used in architectural drawings.
Acronyms Used in Compages

Here'southward a partial list of some of the acronyms you lot'll meet in architectural drawings.