how to draw a reflected ceiling plan in autocad 3d
Reflected ceiling plans (oft called RCPs) can strike fear into the heart of new architecture students. What exactly are they reflecting? Are they just a reversed floor program? What's the point of them, anyway?
In this article, we'll explain exactly what a reflected ceiling plan is, what it should include, and how to read them. Nosotros'll as well talk most how they're actually put together. You demand never fear an RCP again!
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What is a reflected ceiling plan?
A reflected ceiling program (RCP) is a kind of architectural drawing. It shows features of the ceiling equally though they were beingness reflected onto a mirrored floor beneath – hence the name.
RCP'due south show things like electrical wiring, the ceiling treatment (due east.one thousand. drywall patterns), light fixtures, and other items that are mounted on or suspended from the ceiling. They are fatigued to the same scale as the floor plan, commonly a quarter of an inch to one foot (the scale should appear at the bottom of the RCP cartoon).
Reflected ceiling plans are initially produced by architects or interior designers, and then passed onto engineers for electric details to be added.
What is included in a reflected ceiling plan?
Y'all are probable to detect the follow things included in an initial RCP produced by an architect or interior designer:
- Dimensions, including the peak of the ceiling above the finished floor (frequently referred to as AFF)
- Specifications on the blazon of ceiling, e.grand. conventional, suspended, tray, beam
- Specifications for the ceiling cease, e.g. plaster, drywall
- Details of ceiling features, e.yard. bulkheads
- A key that explains the symbols used on the plan (east.g. a circle for a ceiling light)
- A primal that explains the identifying letters assigned to each fixture, giving specifications for items such as lights, fume detectors, sprinklers, speakers, cameras, monitors, grilles/diffusers for HVAC system
The kinds of details that are then added by an engineer are:
- Number, position and blazon of ceiling panels
- Specifications for electrical wiring
- Circuiting and switching for each feature of the ceiling
- For larger spaces, a circuit-billow layout
How do you lot read a reflected ceiling programme?
Often, the best way to read an RCP is to imagine that you are levitating just higher up the ceiling, which is transparent, and in that location is a mirror near a meter below that reflects everything on the ceiling back at you lot.
For clarity, some RCP's show only the details of the ceiling, and not the room below. When the room below is shown, article of furniture and fixtures are shown with dotted lines to betoken that they are on a lower plane.
Reflected ceiling plans utilise dissimilar symbols for different features, and these will be explained in a key which appears on the RCP itself. Each fixture will also have its own identifying letter, and so that additional information can be given elsewhere without cluttering up the plan itself.
How do you make a reflected ceiling plan?
An RCP tin exist produced by hand or by using architectural software such as AutoCAD and Revit. It is normally put together in the following style:
- The contractor establishes the ceiling type – traditional, suspended, and and then on.
- The architect establishes the scale and dimensions of the ceiling.
- The architect adds information about materials to be used.
- The builder adds calorie-free fixtures.
- The architect adds doors and door swings to the plan, using dotted lines.
- The engineer adds information about wiring and circuits.
- The builder and engineer add fixtures such as sprinklers and HVAC diffusers.
Tips for reading a reflected ceiling plan
RCPs have a reputation as being quite tricky to read, merely this needn't be the case. Call back, what's shown on an RCP is what you'd see if yous were floating just in a higher place the ceiling, looking through onto a mirrored surface below.
A reflected ceiling plan is often described as the mirror image of a floor plan, but this isn't quite right and tin can be confusing. What people hateful when they say this is that, if yous imagined yourself somehow levitating between the floor and the ceiling, the shape and orientation of each would be consistent with the other on a plan.
Finally, try non to exist overwhelmed by all the symbols, numbers and letters on a reflected floor plan. Keys must be provided on the document itself, so you lot can ever cross-reference their meanings.
Reflected ceiling plans vs floor plans
In a floor program, the imagined viewer is somewhere between the floor and ceiling of a room and looking downwardly (approximately 1200mm / 4ft in a higher place). In a reflected ceiling program, the imagined viewer is higher up the ceiling and looking through it into a mirrored surface beneath.
Exercise yous show doors in a reflected ceiling plan?
Doors and door swings should exist included in a reflected ceiling programme, only marked with dotted lines and then they are not dislocated with ceiling features. The reason they are included is to make sure that calorie-free switches and other items are non placed behind a door, which is inconvenient for the users of a room.
Summary
Reflected ceiling plans are an essential function of any set of architectural drawings. They show the scale, blazon, materials, finishes, fixtures and electrics of a ceiling, and how the ceiling relates to the floor (although an RCP is not a reflection of a floor programme).
They likewise show doors in the room beneath using dotted lines, and occasionally other features such equally piece of furniture. RCPs require input from architects / interior designers and from engineers.
While they tin be challenging to read at first, if you remember the 'levitation/mirror' analogy you lot should soon get the hang of them. Spend time studying a few examples online – and and then abroad you get!
archisoup.
Never search for a single CAD block ever again.
There is literally nil worse than wasting valuable drawing time trying to find the "right" block, symbol, hatch or correct line weight. This template kit eliminates all of the guesswork.
Source: https://www.archisoup.com/studio-guide/reflected-ceiling-plans
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