How to Draw Mechanical Plans

If you attempt to include all building systems on the same drawing, it becomes cluttered with information and hard to empathise. For instance, consider that offices have lighting fixtures, electric wiring, air conditioning ducts and communication networks to a higher place the dropped ceiling. A smarter approach is to create separate drawing sets for each building system - this makes design requirements easier to understand, while preventing interpretation errors.

As you might expect, the number of drawings needed to describe the building and its systems increases in proportion with project scale. To make construction plans simpler, they are divided into cartoon sets such every bit the following:

• Architectural
• Structural
• Electrical
• Mechanical

All building designs must be submitted to a local authority, to be checked for lawmaking compliance and zoning requirements before a edifice permit is issued. In the example of New York City, only a Professional Engineer (PE) or Registered Architect (RA) tin can submit plans for approval, and the authority in charge is the NYC Department of Buildings.

---

Practice you need professional MEP design services for a new project?

---

Architectural and Structural Drawings

Architectural drawings prove the appearance of the building: floor plans, interior and outside elevations, sections, and any details required to provide the contractor with a clear image of how the completed project must look like. By working with a qualified builder, y'all tin can make sure the drawings are piece of cake to understand and compliant with building codes.

The structural drawings depict how the edifice is physically supported. At a glance, these drawings appear like to architectural drawings, since they display the aforementioned flooring plans, elevations, sections and details. Yet, the main difference is that structural drawings specify the construction elements needed to support the expressionless load of the building, plus the alive load of its contents and occupants. Buildings must also have enough forcefulness to withstand weather conditions like wind and snow, and extreme events such as tropical storms and seismic activeness.

All structural designs are subject to federal and local edifice codes, and there must be an exact match of shape and dimensions between architectural and structural drawings.

Electrical Drawings

These drawings draw the ability organisation that delivers electricity to building appliances and equipment, and they are prepared by electrical engineers.

• Electrical layouts indicate the location of visible elements such as power outlets, lighting fixtures and switches.
• They likewise specify the wiring and conduit for the circuits that evangelize voltage to these elements, which are normally hidden in walls or above ceilings.
• In addition, electrical drawings provide a detailed description of the distribution boards from which circuits obtain ability, including the capacities of circuit breakers and main feeders.

Even combustion-based heating systems accept electrical components like fans and pumps, and their power supplies are specified in electrical drawings. If the building uses heat pumps or resistance heaters, the electricity demand associated with heating increases, and circuits must be sized accordingly.

All electric installations are subject to standards and codes, and only compliant designs are approved past the NYC Department of Buildings:

• The NFPA 70 National Electrical Lawmaking provides the requirements for all electric installations in the Usa. In the case of New York City, there is an NYC Electric Lawmaking that includes the entire NEC with specific requirements and amendments.
• Electric components must be labeled by either Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or the Intertek Electrical Testing Laboratories (ETL). The marks from these labs prove the component has been rigorously tested for safety.

The electricians working in the project must be familiarized with codes, materials and equipment to ensure they can install the electrical system equally described in the design documents. If the building is affected by a fire and the electric system is not installed according to lawmaking, insurance companies do non provide coverage.

Energy efficiency marks such as Energy STAR and NEMA Premium Efficiency are not mandatory, but yous can achieve a pregnant reduction in operating costs if y'all buy equipment with those marks. Also consider that most free energy efficiency incentives only apply for labeled equipment - for example, Con Edison lighting rebates are merely for lamps and fixtures with the Free energy STAR or DesignLights Consortium (DLC) mark.

Mechanical Drawings

As implied by their name, mechanical drawings provide the layout and technical specifications for mechanical work, which includes plumbing, heating, ventilation, ac, canvass metal and fire protection. Since various systems and equipment types are involved, many of these drawings are provided by subcontractors, with approving from the architect.

Plumbing drawings provide the layout for drink h2o and wastewater pipage. These drawings likewise cover domestic hot water (DHW) systems, which typically use natural gas as a oestrus source. In improver, they encompass aspects such every bit vents and storm drains.

• The Uniform Plumbing Lawmaking is the national standard to follow during the pattern process, and there are also city-specific regulations like the NYC Plumbing Code.
• For hot h2o systems based on combustion, the NYC Fuel Gas Code also applies.

Plumbers must study the corresponding drawings in detail before proceeding with the installation. Since many plumbing elements are embedded in walls and floors, more than hard to modify than electrical and HVAC installations.

Since a plumbing system delivers make clean h2o and removes wastewater, malfunctions can create health hazards in a very curt time. There are hefty penalties for NYC plumbing code violations, and plumbing contractors undergo a rigorous licensing process before they tin work in bodily projects.

HVAC drawings specify the location and installation details of all heating, cooling and ventilation equipment. They also provide the layout for sail metal ducts used in air distribution systems.

• Canvas metal design must be highly detailed to ensure a correct installation:ducts have many turns and connections, and must be supported at multiple points.
• Depending on how HVAC systems are designed, they may involve hydronic or steam piping.
• Both air ducts and pipes must be properly sized, to deliver the required infinite heating or air workout output for each building expanse.
• Since sheet metal and hydronic piping design are dependant on heating and cooling loads, a precise load calculation is very important. Unfortunately, a correct pattern procedure with inadequate data does not lead to a satisfactory design.

Installation of exposed equipment like furnaces, boilers and chillers is not the main claiming in HVAC systems. The most difficult function of the installation is hydronic piping and ductwork, which must travel long routes with management changes and accessories. Mechanical drawings must clearly indicate the layout and mounting details of these systems.

HVAC design is strongly related with edifice envelope performance: if the construction is well insulated and airtight, both heating and cooling loads are reduced. Adding a high-performance building envelope for a new project is much simpler than upgrading existing holding where the walls are already built.

Sheet metal piece of work is mostly associated with the air ducts of HVAC systems, but also includes the post-obit edifice elements:

• Flashing, to protect components from h2o damage
• Gutters
• Canopies and decks
• Conveyors
• Machinery guards and hoods

Additional Documentation: Store Drawings and As-Built Drawings

Shop drawings depict work that is performed away from the construction site, and they are normally prepared by subcontractors.  Store drawings must be highly detailed, with a large enough scale to indicate all relevant features. These drawings must be canonical by the project architect earlier any of the corresponding work is fabricated.

As-built drawings indicate exactly how all building systems are installed later on projection completion. Many components can be installed in slightly different positions without affecting functioning, and contractors brand small-scale changes for ease of installation or convenience. Nevertheless, these changes must exist indicated in every bit-built drawings, and submitted to the builder.

The following are some examples of components that tolerate small changes in their location:

• Secret pipe
• Conduit, junction boxes and conductors
• Cleanouts
• Overhead valves

As-built drawings provide a reference for maintenance and alterations. These drawings are important for all building systems, only especially for electrical, plumbing and HVAC installations.

Conclusion

Structure drawings are important throughout the entire life cycle of a building. Forth with technical specifications, they allow effective advice of projection requirements to contractors and their staff.

Once the project is completed, blueprint documents are used to inspect the building and its installations. When buildings are already in operation, construction plans are very useful for maintenance activities or system upgrades - just make certain the drawings are updated accordingly after every alter.

folkertscovest.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.ny-engineers.com/blog/how-are-drawings-used-in-a-construction-project

Share this post