Floor plan symbols and what they mean

Walls

Walls are the heaviest lines on the plan, because the cut goes through them. Outside walls are usually thicker than inside partitions. Some drawings fill or hatch the walls to show what they're made of; a section shows that in more detail.

Doors

Swing door

A straight line for the door leaf and a quarter-circle arc for the path it sweeps as it opens. The arc shows which side the hinges are and how much floor the door needs. Single swing door symbol.

Double door

Two leaves and two arcs meeting in the middle of the opening. Double door symbol.

Sliding door

Two panels drawn side by side in the opening, overlapping, often with an arrow for the direction they slide. No arc, because it doesn't swing. Sliding door symbol.

Windows

A window is drawn inside the wall as a few thin parallel lines: the outer sill, the glass and the inner sill. Windows show up on a plan because the imaginary cut runs above the sill, through the glass. Window symbol.

Stairs

Stairs are drawn as a row of treads with a walking line and an arrow pointing up. The flight is broken by a diagonal or zigzag line where the cut passes through it; above that line you'd be looking at the floor above, so the rest of the stair isn't shown. Straight stair symbol.

Furniture and fittings

Furniture is drawn from above at its real size — a double bed, a sofa, a dining table. Bathroom and kitchen fittings like the toilet, bathtub and kitchen counter show how a room will actually be used. Typical sizes are in furniture sizes for floor plans.

Marks that help you read the plan

North arrow

Shows which way is north, so you can tell where the sun comes from. North arrow.

Scale bar

A ruler printed on the drawing. It stays right even if the plan is enlarged or shrunk, unlike a written scale like 1:100. Scale bar.

Section mark

A cut line with arrows and a letter, showing where a section drawing is taken and which way it looks. Section mark.

Trees and planting

Drawn as loose circles from above, mostly on site plans. Tree symbol.

Line types

• Thick solid lines — things the plan cuts through, mostly walls.
• Thin solid lines — things below the cut that you see from above: furniture, steps, floor edges.
• Dashed lines — things above the cut or hidden, like a beam, a roof edge or a high cupboard; door swings are often dashed too.
• Dimension lines — thin lines with ticks or arrows at the ends and the length written along them.

Questions

What does the curved line on a door mean?

It's the door swing: the path the door leaf sweeps when it opens. It tells you which way the door opens and how much space it needs.

Why is a stair cut off with a zigzag line?

A floor plan is cut about a metre above the floor. The zigzag marks where that cut passes through the stair; the part above it belongs to the floor above.

Where can I get floor plan symbols for free?

JotJam's plan symbols are free to download as SVG or PNG and free to use in personal and commercial drawings, without credit.

What height is a floor plan cut at?

Usually about 1 to 1.2 m above the floor, so the cut passes through doors and windows but above most furniture.