 is an orthographic projection drawing that

shows one side of the house. The purpose

of an elevation drawing is to show the
finished appearance of a given side of the
house and furnish vertical height
dimensions. Four elevations are customarily
drawn, one for each side of the house.
• Identification of the specific side of the
house that the elevation represents
• Grade lines
• Finished floor and ceiling levels
• Location of exterior wall corners
• Windows and doors
• Roof features
• Porches, decks and patios
• Vertical dimensions of important features
• Material symbols
 Two methods commonly used for
identifying elevations
◦ Front, Rear, Right Side, and Left Side
◦ North, South, East, and West

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Elevations 4
• The reference point for most elevations is
the grade line.
• All features, which are below the grade
line, should be drawn with hidden lines.
• Examples are: foundation walls, footers &
window wells
• Drawing a centerline through the house
where appropriate indicates the finished
floor-to-finished ceiling height.
• Common ceiling height in a garage is 8’-0”
• Most codes require that the top of the
foundation wall be at least 8” above the
grade.
 First Method:
◦ Indicate the finished floor-to-finished
ceiling distance.

 The floor and ceiling are represented using

a center line symbol.
◦ First floor finished floor to finished ceiling
is 8'-O"
◦ Second floor finished floor to finished
ceiling is 7'-6" or 8'-O”.
EDT 300 - Cabin Design Project -
Elevations 6
EDT 300 - Cabin Design Project -
Elevations 7
 • All visible wall corners are shown on the
elevation using object lines.
 • Windows and doors located on the exterior
wall must be included on the elevation.
 • It is customary to place tops of windows the
same height as the tops of doors
 . This height is usually 6’-10”
1. Place the floor plan directly above the
space where the elevation is to be drawn.
The exterior walls to be represented by
the elevation should be facing down
toward the elevation.
2. Project all points down to the free space.
3. Indicate the bottom of the footer and
draw a horizontal line. Now measure in all
vertical heights, basement ceiling height,
floor joist height, first floor, etc… from
this reference point.
4. Remove construction lines and determine
if changes are desired in the overall
design.
5. Add details such as railings, window
muntins, trim, window wells, etc…
6. Add dimensions, notes and symbols.
7. Check drawing and be sure to print one
copy to check.
8. Turn-in drawing
Front Elevation

A front elevation design is basically a part of

as scenic design which highlights the scenic
element or the entire set as seen from the
front view with or without measurements.
The front elevation of a home plan is a
straight-on view of the house as if you were
looking at it from a perfectly centered spot
on the same plane as the house.
 Front Elevation
 Rear elevations present the back side of the
house, with yet another straight-on view.
As with the other drawings, notes regarding
features that can't be seen from straight-on
views may be included on this drawing.
Other notes included on elevations may
indicate the materials contractors should
use for certain areas, such as window or
door type, siding materials and exterior
insulation.
 Left Elevation
To draw the initial baseline for the main floor,
 Using your floor plan drawings and starting at the
extreme left end of any walls on this side of the
house on the ground floor, measure the horizontal
distance of this wall. Make sure you are including the
thickness of any siding material for the exterior side
walls for this level. This siding can be very thin in the
case of parging or thick in the case of stone or brick.
 Draw a faint line the same length of this wall towards
the bottom left third of your page. This faint
horizontal line will later be erased since it will not be
visible from the outside of the house (unless the
exterior finish of the house changes at this exact
point). It is drawn now only as a reference from which
to measure to the top of the next floor or roof line.
 Make a small upward tick mark at the end of this
wall.
 If there is another exterior wall at the same
elevation to the right of this wall (for example a
wall that bumps out or recedes in from this first
wall), measure this wall in the same way as the
first.
 Draw this next line as a continuation of the first
line. Do not erase the tick mark that indicates the
division between these walls.
 Continue on marking walls in this way until you
reach the end of walls on this side of the house.
Next you will draw the vertical lines for the
exterior walls on this side. For each of the
wall bases:
 Determine how high the wall will be above
its unfinished floor height. To do this you
will need to consider the height of the
ceiling of the rooms within this section of
the house and add to that the height of any
floor or ceiling joists above it. Also add on
the height of any sub-flooring, if there are
floors above.
 Draw faint vertical lines up from each of the wall base
lines to the height you have determined in the previous
step. (Later you will draw a darker line which includes
the finished material on the outside of the home.)
 Draw a faint horizontal line at the level of the upper
ceiling joists or subfloor above this level.
 If there is another floor above this level, continue
on to the step 5. Otherwise move on to the next
section, Draw Window and Door Outlines.
 Using the floor plans for the next level up,
perform steps 1 through 3 again making tick
marks where you will need to draw any vertical
walls. Once again determine the heights of these
walls then draw a faint horizontal line to show
the level of the top of the sub-flooring or ceiling
joists for the next level.
 Continue repeating the above steps until you
have no floors above the current level. Then
move on to the next section, Draw Window and
Door Outlines.
 For all of your windows and doors, measure
from the horizontal lines of your floors to
position the exterior doors and windows.
Your construction drawings, usually the
cross-sections, will detail the height at which
each window should be placed. A separate
window and door schedule gives the
dimensions for all your windows and doors.
 At this point, using your architect's scale for
accuracy, draw just the outline of the window
and door outside dimensions to the same
scale as your walls, floors and roof. Later you
will draw the exterior window and door trim.
 The roof lines can be of many styles: gable,
shed, hip, gambrel, etc.
 To draw the roof for each elevation view,
first consider whether your roof will
overhang and drop below the exterior wall
on the elevation plan you are currently
drafting. For a shed or gable roof with
eaves, the roof on two sides will drop lower
than where it connects with the wall. From
the view of the other two sides it will stay at
one level. Take a look at the elevations at
the very top of this page to see an
illustration of this
 If this level has an overhanging roof that
slopes down over the wall, you will need to
do some calculations for roof overhang
before you draw the horizontal line for the
wall top.
 If there is a roof overhang at this level
which drops down over the wall, calculate
how much the roof will drop in the actual
overhang area. To do this,
 Take the slope or pitch of your roof, which
is usually described as the rise over run in
the form of 5:12, 6:12, 14:12, etc. The first
number refers to how many inches (or
centimetres) the roof will rise (or drop) over
a horizontal distance indicated by the
second number (which in North America is
usually 12 inches).
 Take your horizontal roof overhang to
determine what the vertical roof overhand
drop will be. For instance if you have a 5:12
roof pitch and a 12 inch horizontal roof
overhang, the roof will drop a total of 5
inches. If your horizontal roof overhang was
18 inches, the roof would drop 18/12 x 5 =
1.5 x 5 inches = 7.5 inches.
 Now you will need to subtract this drop
from the height of the wall that you
previously calculated since in the elevation
drawing this roof line will drop below the
top of the wall height. Using this new
calculated height, draw the line showing the
lower edge of the roof line.
 Now draw in any decks or porches, their
railings and stairways. This can be fiddly
work, especially drawing the railings. Use
your scale to make sure your drawing is
accurate.
 Then add on any other architectural
features such as fascia, gutters or
downspouts.
 Next do an accurate measurement of what
you plan to have as the difference of your
main floor height to the final level of the
landscaping around the house. This may be
fairly flat around the whole house or it may
leave a portion of the basement or
foundation completely above ground with
another part almost completely buried.
 Draw this finished landscaping line along
the walls of this elevation view.
 Finally, clearly label the drawing to indicate
exact finishing materials to be used on
exterior surfaces, this includes roofing
materials and siding.
 Repeat this process for the other three sides
of the home.
 As with the floor plan drawings, it is
necessary to include a title block on the page
which specifies the house name, the date,
and the scale used. The title block is
generally in one corner of the drawing.