Section symbols and hatches

What the hatches mean

Concrete

Scattered triangles and dots for the aggregate. Slabs, walls and footings cut by the section.

Brick

Parallel 45° lines. Cut masonry walls.

Earth

Groups of short diagonal strokes below the ground line.

Insulation

A continuous looping curve, like a stretched spring, for soft batts in walls, roofs and floors.

Timber

End grain with a diagonal cross: joists, posts and beams that are cut through.

Gravel

Loosely packed pebbles for sub-base and drainage layers.

Details in this set

• Floor slab — concrete with screed and a floor finish on top.
• Cavity wall — brick outer leaf, insulated cavity, block inner leaf.
• Stair — concrete, 8 risers, with the sloping waist slab and a landing.
• Strip footing — a wall on a wider concrete footing, set in earth.
• Flat roof — slab, insulation and membrane turned up a parapet with coping.
• Section mark — the cut line you draw on the plan, with arrows for the view direction.

Read more

Section hatch patterns explained covers when to use each hatch and how to keep a section readable.

Questions

What is a hatch in a section drawing?

A pattern that fills the parts of the building the section cuts through, and tells the reader what they're made of: concrete, brick, earth, insulation and so on.

Is the brick hatch the same as a general cut hatch?

Diagonal lines are used for brick in many offices and for any cut material in others. Pick one meaning, keep it for the whole set, and put it in the legend.

Can I use these hatches in CAD?

Place them in a JotJam design and export a DXF, or import the SVG into a CAD app that supports it.