How to Make a Blueprint

blueprint is a type of construction drawings that visually depict how a building is designed by the architect, what materials the builder will use, the location of the building, and which special features the client or customer wishes to add to it. In simpler words, a blueprint describes a way of printing and duplicating drawings that were used years ago. Blueprints put everyone involved in the construction process on the same page, including the civil engineer, construction workers, architect, the home or building owner, building inspectors, and more.

In this elaborated guide, you will finally be able to make blueprint drawings using EdrawMax. At the same time, you will learn more about the types of blueprints and some of the most important preparations you have to do when you draw a blueprint.

A blueprint accumulates multiple drawings or plans, like HVAC plans, reflected ceiling plans, electrical plans, plumbing plans, floor plans, etc. Some of the most important parts of any blueprint design are:

• The entire outline of the area.
• Important legends and symbols.
• Information about the location, including address, engineer's details, information about the civil officer, contact details, etc.
• Some blueprint drawings also include the revision notes.

Elements of blueprint

Some of the most common elements of any blueprint drawing are:

• Title sheets
• Floor plans
• Elevation & sections
• Details
• Structural drawings
• Mechanical drawings
• Electrical drawings

Different types of blueprint lines

Some of the most common types of blueprint lines are:

• Object Lines: Object lines show the outer surface of any object in the blueprint drawing.
• Hidden Lines: As the name suggests, it shows the hidden part of an under-construction project.
• Dimension Lines: It shows the measurement of walls or the length of any window from one point to another.
• Center Lines: These define the central axis of a symmetrical object in any blueprint design.
• Phantom Lines: These blueprint lines illustrate the different possible positions of a movable object, like furniture or a vehicle in a garage.

Just like any other building plan, understanding blueprints are very important. If you have ever wondered how to make a blueprint, you must have found several articles on how to read a blueprint. The reason is very straightforward -- if you can read a blueprint or any other building plan, for instance, then you can easily go ahead and create one without any worry. In order to read the blueprint, you should always start from the site plan -- learn about the dimension, layout, and symbols used in it. Some of the basic features that you need to analyze in a blueprint are:

1. Understand the outline of the building.
2. Analyze the core concept of the construction. For example, is it going to be a mall or a shopping complex, or will it be a residential property?
3. Make a note of all the symbols and legends. It will help while you scale down the building in EdrawMax.
4. Make a list of all the important features you plan or have already added to a blueprint.

If you are going to construct any type of building or complex, you will need a set of blueprints that will provide you with the outlines and the details of the features required to create the blueprint. There are some important preparations that you should do before you start working on blueprint drawings, like:

• Your blueprint must include at least one measurement.
• Make sure your blueprint has the correct proportions.
• Take a note of all the other building plans that you will need.
• Consider using EdrawMax for better and more efficient blueprint drawing.

Now that you have understood the important benefits and symbols of a blueprint design let us help you understand how you draw a blueprint. Drawing a blueprint is the foremost step in the construction, and here we have laid out two important ways to draw a blueprint. The first process is the general method, and another one involves using EdrawMax. The general method will demand you to physically visit the site and take all the measurements before you start working on the blueprint drawings. The EdrawMax methods require you to sit in front of your system and work on the free blueprint templates.

• Create an outline:

You should physically visit the site and take all the measurements. If your working property is 30 feet wide and 50 feet long, then note such important details in your notebook. Also, take note of all the adjacent factors that you might need to add to your blueprint drawing.

• Dimension & Scaling:

Once you have transcribed everything on paper, you should consider the exact dimension and scale down the site's dimension. For instance, 2cm to 1m, which means 2cm on the paper, represents 100cm (or 1m) in real size (1:50).

• Draw walls & rooms:

Now that you have created the outline and finalized the dimensions, you can start creating the exterior walls and note down the location of the rooms. In this step, you can also note down the area allocated to the kitchen, garage, basement, balconies, and other such spaces on the property.

• Add interior walls:

After adding and labeling the exterior walls, you can start drawing the interior walls of the site. It will help you understand the exact size of each room.

• Add stairs:

Another important aspect that you can add to any blueprint is the location of the stairs. If you have added stairs, then ensure that you add another blueprint depicting the second floor or the roof of the building.

• Add other details:

You can add other important details in the blueprint, like electrical fittings, HVAC system, windows, furniture, etc.

• Discuss:

Once you have added the windows and doors and correctly measured the wall heights, you can make it a habit to discuss it with your architect or builder. They will provide you with useful revisions that will improve the blueprint.

• Finalize the blueprint:

After you are done with all the revisions, you can go ahead and finalize the blueprint that you and your architect will use to construct the building.

Now that you are wondering how to make a blueprint? Well, there are basically two ways that you can follow. The first method is to draw a blueprint from scratch using EdrawMax, and the other method is when you work smartly and choose templates provided by EdrawMax. Here we will walk you through the basic ways of making a blueprint.

4.1 Make a Blueprint from Scratch

Step1 Login to EdrawMax

If you are using the offline version of EdrawMax, then open the tool in your system. If you wish to have remote collaboration, head to EdrawMax Download and log in using your registered email address. If this is your first time using the tool, you can register yourself using your personal or professional email address. Go to 'Building Plan' and click on 'Floor Plans.

Step2 Open a New Canvas

Since you are creating the blueprint drawing from scratch, you can click '+.' Simultaneously, click on 'Floor Plan' to access free templates or sketches provided by EdrawMax. After clicking on '+,' It will open up the user-friendly EdrawMax canvas. Once you have your floor plan ready, take inspiration from it and start working on your blueprint drawing.

Step3 Find Blueprint Symbols

A blueprint's design starts with understanding the dimensions and your desire to add the features and elements. Once you have gathered the right information, you can create the outline. EdrawMax comes with dimension and scaling options to create the blueprint package as per the requirements. If you cannot find your desired blueprint symbol, create the shape using the Pen Tool or Pencil Tool, and then click '+' on the My Library section to save your symbol for future usage. However, in the symbol section, you can find almost all the types of blueprint drawing symbols. Learn more blueprint symbols and find symbols you want here.

Step4 Add Elements

Once you have imported all the symbols, you can start placing them in the blueprint drawing that you have created in Step #2. In your blueprint drawing, you can add elements from doors and windows, alarm and access control, bathroom, bedroom, garden, lighting, plumbing, etc. Then, use toolbars on the top or right side of canvas to change the color, font, size, theme, and more with one click.

Step5 Save & Export

After designing the blueprint drawing, you can export it into multiple formats, like JPEG, JPG, PNG, PDF, and other Microsoft formats, like MS Word, MS Excel, PPTX, etc. You can also share the blueprint on different social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Moreover, you can print your plumbing plan drawing for showing with others.

4.2 Make a Blueprint from Templates

Step1 Login to EdrawMax

If you are using the offline version of EdrawMax, then open the tool in your system. If you wish to have remote collaboration, head to EdrawMax Download and log in using your registered email address. If this is your first time using the tool, you can register yourself using your personal or professional email address. Go to the 'Templates' section on the left and type' blueprint.'

Step2 Choose a Template

In the Template Community, you will find hundreds of built-in templates readily available to use. Choose any templates that closely resemble your ideal blueprint drawing, like Warehouse Blueprint, Service Blueprint, Frontier Conflict Blueprints, Apartment Blueprints, Office Space Blueprints, Colorful House Blueprints, etc. All these templates are free for you to use.

Step3 Add Symbols

Head to the 'Symbols' section and click on the 'Predefined Symbol' section from the top toolbar. At EdrawMax, we have symbols for Wall Shell and Structure, Doors and Windows, Alarm and Access Control, Bathroom, Bedroom, Garden, Lighting, Plants, Plumbing, Sofas, Tables, and Chairs, Elevations, Video Surveillance, and more. If you cannot find your desired blueprint drawing symbol, create the shape using the Pen Tool or Pencil Tool, and then click '+' on the My Library section to use the symbol for future usage.

Step4 Change Details

Once you have imported the free built-in template to the EdrawMax canvas, you can change basic details. You can add or modify the blueprint details that you deem fit necessary for the current requirement from the imported symbols. Just choose the toolbars on the top or right side of canvas, and find the functions you want.

Step5 Export or Publish

Once your blueprint drawing is ready, you can export it to multiple formats or publish it to the template community for the other 25 million registered users to see and get inspired by your design. Click the "Publish" button on the top right area of the canvas, and fill in your template details, like template title, description, and tag to share your drawing with others.

Basically, it is simple to draw a blueprint plan in EdrawMax, just grab a template and keep customizing, drag and drop professinal blueprint symbols to make your plan better. If you are still confusing about how to draw a blueprint plan in EdrawMax, just check the video below, or learn more from our Youtube channel.

As you work on a blueprint drawing, there are a couple of important questions you should ask yourself. You should first list your technical expertise and how much time you have in hand. If this would be your first time creating a blueprint drawing, you can use the free templates provided by EdrawMax. If you have worked on blueprint drawings in the past and have ample time, then you can work on a blueprint drawing from scratch.

6.1 Comparison between EdrawMax Methods

The core difference between both of the mentioned EdrawMax methods are:

6.2 Comparison between General and EdrawMax Methods

Now that you have seen how easy and effective it is to create a blueprint drawing using EdrawMax let us show you some basic comparisons between the general and EdrawMax methods.

6.3 Benefits of EdrawMax and tips for using EdrawMax

Some of the amazing benefits of using EdrawMax to draw your blueprints are:

• You can create your blueprint drawing in just a couple of minutes using the free template and symbols.
• With EdrawMax, you can share your blueprint drawings instantly with your friends over multiple social media platforms.
• With EdrawMax, you can access the templates created by our 25 million registered users.

Unlike other tools that have some learning curve to them, EdrawMax is created by professionals who keep beginners or novice users in mind. Still, if you follow some of the following tips, then creating the blueprint design will become easier and simpler.

• Even if you have worked on multiple blueprint drawings, it is recommended to look at the template community. You will never know which template design will inspire you the most.
• Try to use the focus mode, as it will keep your focus only on the designing part.
• If you are using EdrawMax for the first time, sign in using your registered email address. This way, you will be able to save your blueprint design in your personalized cloud space.

6.4 Symbol Libraries

EdrawMax comes with 50,000 free built-in symbols. Since these symbols are vector-enabled, they can easily be resized, reshaped, and recolored. If you do not find the desired symbol, you can create a symbol that you can save in your library for future usage. Some of the most used blueprint symbols that are readily available at EdrawMax are:

• Material Symbols: These material symbols will include glass, cross-section symbols, metal symbols, sand symbols, tin symbols, titanium symbols, etc.
• Electrical Symbols: Electrical symbols that are available at EdrawMax are light fixtures, stacked switches, ceiling fans, control consoles, thermostats, etc.
• Plumbing Symbols: Some of the most used plumbing symbols are Boiler, Heating Coil, Convector, Shower Head, Electronic Serial, etc.
• Fire Alarm Symbols: Some of the most used fire alarm symbols are posted indicator valve, fire alarm terminal cabinet, smoke detector duct type, battery changer, fire alarm central console, etc.
• HVAC Symbols: Some of the HVAC symbols you can use in your blueprint drawings are pipe, eccentric, union screwed, flanged, bell, spigot, etc.

6.5 Template Community

EdrawMax is a proud 2D blueprint maker with over 25 million registered users. These users have uploaded thousands of templates to the Template Community. Whenever you start working on any drawing, be it a flowchart or a network diagram or science diagram or building plan, or anything else, head to the template section and type the diagram type.

The system will share all the pre-built templates readily available for you. As you saw in the how to make a blueprint section, all you have to do is duplicate these templates, and they will instantly be imported into your diagram canvas for your personal or professional usage.

Even though architects do not use blueprint designs these days, they heavily rely on floor plans, pre-construction plans, roof plans, and more, which become a solid blueprint design. You need a tool like EdrawMax that understands blueprints and lets you access blueprint designs. Some of the amazing features of this free blueprint software are:

• This free blueprint maker lets you create all the types of blueprints in one single canvas, allowing you to retain the dimension and scale of the house in every design.
• With EdrawMax, you will never have to worry about the technicalities of your blueprint design. The free blueprint examples & templates available in the template section are created by professionals and experts.
• If you wish to have real-time remote collaboration with your colleagues or friends, you can quickly shift to the online version of EdrawMax.
• This free blueprint software offers a free version to test the tool before spending your money.
• In the EdrawMax canvas, you will find a focus mode to concentrate only on the important drawing parts.

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Blueprint drawings are the first drawings that architects and builders create when they start working on any building plan. Even though blueprints are now obsolete and replaced by floor plans or site plans in general, it is good advice for every architecture student to learn how to make blueprints.

As you saw here, EdrawMax comes with free templates, symbols, great customer care support, and a free version that is backed by the trust of over 25 million registered users. With EdrawMax, creating and sharing blueprint designs is extremely simple and convenient. This is an experience, and we would love to have you and your team on board with us on this wonderful journey where we learn how to create blueprint drawings together.

Blueprint Complete Guide

Check this complete guide to know everything about blueprint, like blueprint types, blueprint symbols, and how to make a blueprint.

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