Understanding Construction Drawings

This proven, uniquely practical text provides your students with a thorough guide to reading, understanding and working with construction drawings. Now updated to reflect the 2012 International Building Coder and 2012 International Residential Coder, the Sixth Edition includes accurate, up-to-date information on current materials, practices, and standards to prepare students for career success in modern building trades. The text is designed from start to finish for real-world relevance, with topics organized by actual construction processes. It has realistic construction drawings integrated into chapter content, hundreds of practical questions and activities, and full-size residential and commercial construction prints. The author covers fundamental concepts including views, lines, basic dimensioning, and symbols, as well as more advanced principles and practices such as orienting and cross-referencing drawings, interpreting complex drawings, and working with commercial construction elements like structural steel, masonry, and reinforced concrete. A new feature highlights information on environmental considerations such as energy efficiency, sustainable materials, and green building practices, emphasizing the growing importance of these concepts to students entering the modern construction industry.…