Does anyone knows what's the "real" standard for text and dimensions?

[salf]

On constructions drawings....what's the "supposed" industry standard for :

 

- Text height/size (for everything from dimensions, door tags, room tags, etc, etc)

- Symbols (elevation call outs, section call outs, Finish floor levels, etc, etc)

 

Both of them in the US.

 

Some info first, I've been working in the US for like 2 years now, and this year the office wants to get their sh*t together and finally set an office CAD standard, it was suppose to be like this since quite some time ago, but it never happens, new layer colors, new plotters, new cad versions, new lineweights, etc, etc.

 

And all the symbols, blocks, dimension styles, etc, are using that new feature (don't recall the name, dynamic?) anyways, you insert a window tag, and it will allways resize itself depending on what's the plot scale.

 

Before this, we had a collection of sample blocks, each one for different plot scales, so you used them according to what would be the final drawing scale.

 

Now, here's my main problem with it:

 

Apparently the "US industry (or whatever) standard" says that all text heights should be 3/32" real size meaning that no matter what scale the drawing is pltted at, if you take a scale or ruler and measure the text it should be 3/32".

 

I find this absurd, this is what the office says, but I find it hard to believe, since this text height drives also whatever symbol that text is.

 

So lets say a floo rplan at 1/8" =1', when you place all the ROOM IDENTIFICATIONS, DOOR TAGS, WINDOW TAGS, and on top of that the dimensions, the drawing is unreadable, there's simple no place to put all that info within the drawing.

 

I'm not sure if you guys out there understand what I'm saying, but if you do, is it truthat 3/32" size rule?

[Gary Ledgerwood]

Our office uses all 3/32" text. We do all of our text and dimensions in model space so if you wanted your text to be 3/32" in paper space and your drawing scale was 1/8", the text height would be 9". 4 1/2" for 1/4" and so on. Room identification name heights should be a bit bigger @ 1/8" of an inch when printed. So for an 1/8" drawings scale, the height would be 12".Detail bubbles should have a diameter of 3/4" when printed. This includes section bubbles, elevation tags, etc. When working on a drawing that is 1/8" scale or 3/32" it is sometimes very difficult to fit all of the information within the restraints. Especially door tags. The diameter of the circle for that tag barely fits in a 36" door. Sometimes I have to fudge the scale of the tag to get it to fit. Or place the tag outside the door area.

 

I would say that the 3/32" rule is more of a rule of thumb. Sometimes it is necessary to bend the rules a bit to make everything fit.

 

I think the AIA website has general information for layers and that kind of thing. I hope this helps in some way.

[3dway]

There is no standard unless you have a client that tells you to follow a standard.

 

For example, here in Canada, if you want to do work with the government, you have to follow a document of standards called "Doing Business with Architectural and Engineering Services". In that document they specify the final printed size of any text, symbol etc. They even specify the shape symbols have to be for each use.

 

Conversely, if you are not working for someone who has a standard, you're probably striving to follow regular drawing "conventions". Things the drawing use should only have to read dimensions from either the bottom of the page or the right of the page. All text (except major titles) should be the same height, whatever that is.

 

The only other place I can think to look would be an organization like AIA, who have a flexible, sensible layer standard. They may have further reaching CAD standards.