Floor Plan Symbols
Floor plan symbols are the small set of marks a plan uses for walls, doors, windows, stairs and fittings, plus a handful of abbreviations. A plan from an architect, a builder or an estate agent reads as a page of lines and arcs until you know them. This guide shows the common ones, explains how to read a plan with them, and notes where conventions differ, so a legend makes sense when you meet one.
Common floor plan symbols
Walls
Solid bands drawn at the wall’s real thickness. Outside walls are usually thicker than the partitions between rooms.
Hinged door
The straight line is the door leaf and the dashed arc its swing. The hinge is where the leaf meets the wall; keep the arc clear of furniture.
Window
A box across the wall with a line for the glass. Its width, height and sill height are written on the plan or in a schedule.
Opening
A gap with no door, such as an archway: short lines across the wall for the jambs, dashed lines for the wall above.
Stairs
Each line is a tread. The arrow starts with a dot at the bottom step and points up the flight, marked UP.
Columns
Solid round or rectangular shapes, often crossed, for posts and piers that carry the structure.
Dimension line
Extension lines from the two measured points, a line between them with ticks at the ends, and the length written beside it.
Room label
The room’s name and floor area, placed in the middle of the room.
North arrow
Shows which way the plan faces, so you can judge sunlight and match the plan to the site.
Bed
Furniture is drawn from above at its real footprint. A bed shows its pillows at the head end.
Toilet, sink and shower
A toilet is a cistern and an oval bowl, a sink an oval basin, a shower tray a square with a cross to its drain.
Kitchen run
Counters along the wall, a stove with its burners and a fridge, each at its real width and depth.
How to read a floor plan
A floor plan is the view from above of a horizontal slice through the building, usually about 1–1.2 m (3–4 ft) above the floor so it cuts through the windows. Thick lines are the walls the slice cuts, and gaps in them are openings. Arcs show which way doors swing and how much floor they sweep. Stairs carry an arrow pointing up the flight.
Read a plan in this order: find the title, scale and north arrow; trace the outside walls to get the overall shape; walk in through the front door and follow the route room by room; then read the dimensions and room labels. Plans from different offices vary in detail: some hatch the walls, some add sockets, switches or radiators. Most include a legend; check it when a symbol is unclear.
What each symbol tells you
| What it tells you | In the editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Wall | Position and thickness | Each wall has its own thickness; new walls start at 150 mm (about 6 in) |
| Door | Width, hinge side and swing | Default 900 mm (about 35 in) wide; flip the swing in its properties |
| Window | Width, plus height and sill on schedules | Width, height and sill height set per window |
| Opening | A doorway with no door | Dragged from the library onto a wall |
| Stairs | Direction of travel up | Straight, L-shaped, U-shaped or spiral, with risers and tread depth |
| Column | Structure that stays | Round or rectangular |
| Dimension | A measured length | Attached to corners, so it follows wall edits |
| Room label | Name and floor area | Added to every enclosed room; the area updates as walls move |
| North arrow | Orientation | Optional on PDF exports, pointing to the top of the sheet |
| Furniture | Footprint of each item | Library items at real width and depth, resizable |
Symbols you will meet on other plans
Many plans show more door types than a plain hinged door. A double door has two leaves and two arcs meeting in the middle. A sliding door is drawn as two overlapping lines along the wall, often with a short arrow, and a pocket door as a leaf that disappears into a dashed slot inside the wall. A bi-fold door shows its leaves as a zigzag. Windows are sometimes drawn with an arc or a small triangle to show a side-hung casement.
Electrical plans add their own layer: small circles or half-circles with lines for sockets, an S for a switch, a circle with a cross for a ceiling light. Thick walls may be hatched or filled to show load-bearing construction. None of these are universal, so check the legend on the sheet.
Common abbreviations
| Means | Where you see it | |
|---|---|---|
| UP / DN | Stairs going up or down from this floor | On the stair arrow |
| WC | A toilet room | UK, Europe and Asia |
| BR / BD | Bedroom | Mostly North American plans |
| CL / WIC | Closet / walk-in closet | North American plans |
| W/D | Washer and dryer space | North American plans |
| DW / REF | Dishwasher / refrigerator | Kitchen layouts |
| FFL | Finished floor level | On sections and level changes |
| NTS | Not to scale | In the title or next to a sketch |
Worked example: reading a bedroom corner
Picture the corner of the symbols chart above. A heavy band runs along the top: an outside wall. Part of it is replaced by a thin box with a line through the middle, so that is a window, and a schedule elsewhere on the sheet gives its width, height and sill. Lower down, a gap in the partition has a straight line hinged at one end and a quarter-circle from its tip: a hinged door that opens into the room and sweeps the floor inside that arc. The rectangle with two smaller rectangles at one end is a bed, drawn with the pillows at the head. The label in the middle gives the room name and its area.
From those few marks you know where the light comes from, which way you walk in, and that nothing tall should stand inside the door arc.
Common misreadings
Reading the arc as a wall
The quarter circle is the door’s path, not a curved wall. Keep that area clear.
Taking a dashed line as a wall
Dashed lines usually mark something above the cut or hidden: a beam, cupboards or the floor above.
Measuring a “not to scale” plan
Estate agent and brochure plans are often marked NTS. Use their written sizes, not a ruler.
Assuming every office draws alike
The same symbol can mean different things on two plans. Check the legend each time.
A legend on every exported plan
The editor’s PDF export can add a legend for the wall, door, window, opening, stair, column, furniture and dimension symbols, and a room schedule with each room’s area. Anyone reading the plan then has the key on the same sheet. The editor draws hinged doors, plain openings and windows; other door types can be shown with an opening and a text note.
Frequently asked questions
What does the arc next to a door mean?
It is the path of the door as it opens. The straight line is the door itself, hinged where it meets the wall. Keep that quarter circle free of furniture.
How are windows shown on a floor plan?
As a break in the wall with thin lines for the frame and glass. In the editor a window is a box across the wall with a line through the middle.
How is a sliding door shown on a floor plan?
Usually as two thin overlapping lines in the wall opening, one for each panel, sometimes with an arrow showing the direction of slide. There is no arc because it does not swing.
What do dashed lines mean on a floor plan?
Usually something above the slice or hidden from view: wall cupboards, a beam, the edge of the floor above or the head of an opening. The plan’s legend says which.
Is there one standard set of floor plan symbols?
The conventions are widely shared, but details differ between countries and offices. Plans carry a legend for that reason.