• Property Lines (PL): The exact legal boundaries of the lot, defined by bearings (angles) and distances, matching the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) or a surveyor's lot plan. They are usually drawn as a very thick dashed-and-dotted line (phantom linetype).
• Setbacks: Mandatory minimum open spaces required between the building footprint and the property lines, dictated by local zoning laws or the National Building Code (NBCP). E.g., a 2.0m rear setback for fire safety.
• Orientation: A North Arrow must be prominently displayed to indicate the building's orientation to the sun (critical for passive cooling and window placement).
• Topography: Existing and proposed contour lines indicating elevation changes and site drainage patterns.
• Vicinity Map: A small, simplified map (often at a very small scale like 1:10,000) showing the lot's location relative to major roads, landmarks, and barangays to guide contractors and deliveries to the site.
• Site Amenities: Parking layouts, driveways, sidewalks, landscaping, and connection points for utilities (water meter, electrical pole).

To reveal the interior walls, doors, and windows, the imaginary horizontal cutting plane is typically positioned at 1.20 meters (approx. 4 feet) above the finished floor level, looking straight down.

• Walls: Walls intersected by the cutting plane are drawn with thick lines and are often filled with solid hatching (poché) or specific material patterns (e.g., diagonal lines for masonry block, wood grain for timber stud walls).
• Doors: Drawn in the open position (usually 90°, sometimes 45°) with a thin arc indicating the direction of the "door swing." This is critical for checking traffic flow, ensuring doors don't block hallways (egress), and avoiding "door clashes" (where two doors open into each other).
• Windows: Drawn with thinner lines than walls to show the sill (the horizontal piece at the bottom) and the glass panes. Because the cut is at 1.2m, most standard windows (sill height ~0.9m) are clearly visible. Clerestory windows (high up near the ceiling) are drawn with hidden (dashed) lines because they are above the cutting plane.
• Stairs: Shown with an arrow indicating the direction of travel (always labeled "UP" or "DN"). Because the stair ascends through the cutting plane, a diagonal break line is drawn roughly midway up the flight; steps beyond the break line are drawn dashed or omitted entirely, as they belong to the floor above.
• Grid Lines: A system of alphanumeric bubbles (e.g., A, B, C for horizontal; 1, 2, 3 for vertical) and centerlines that act as the structural coordinate system. Every column sits on a grid intersection.
• Dimensions: Arranged in three distinct tiers (strings) around the perimeter:
  1. Overall Dimension: The total length of the building face.
  2. Structural Grid Dimensions: Distance between column centerlines.
  3. Detailed Openings: Distances to the centers of doors, windows, and partition walls.

Orthographic projections of the building's exterior faces. They are typically named by the direction they face (North Elevation, South Elevation) or their relationship to the street (Front, Rear, Left Side, Right Side).

• Vertical Heights: Define Floor-to-Floor heights (e.g., Finished Ground Floor to Finished Second Floor = 3.20m), window sill heights, door header heights, roof pitch, and the total building height (Apex).
• Material Finishes: Callouts indicating exterior cladding (e.g., "Painted Stucco Finish," "Brick Veneer," "Standing Seam Metal Roof").
• Grade Line: A heavy, thick line indicating the final ground level around the building's perimeter.

Vertical cuts straight through the entire building, revealing the internal vertical relationship of spaces, structural systems, and stairs. The location of the cut is indicated on the floor plan by a Section Line with arrows showing the viewing direction (e.g., Section A-A).

• Longitudinal Section: A cut along the longest axis of the building.
• Transverse Section: A cut along the shortest (cross) axis of the building.
• Details: Essential for determining complex vertical geometry, such as the headroom clearance above a staircase, the framing of a vaulted ceiling, or the drop in a concrete slab required for a bathroom floor.

A top-down view of the entire building showing the geometry of the roof structure.

• Slopes and Ridges: Indicates the direction of water flow (using arrows and pitch indicators like "Slope 1:4") and shows ridges, valleys, hips, and eaves.
• Drainage: Locates gutters, downspouts (DS), and roof drains (RD). This is critical for plumbing coordination.
• Overhangs: Dashed lines often indicate the exterior walls of the building hidden beneath the roof eaves.

An RCP shows the ceiling layout as if you were looking down at a mirror placed on the floor (hence "reflected"). It allows the ceiling to be drawn in the exact same orientation and scale as the floor plan below it.

• Ceiling Geometry: Shows changes in ceiling height (bulkheads, drop ceilings, coves) and materials (gypsum board, exposed concrete, acoustic ceiling tiles/ACT).
• MEP Fixtures: It is the primary coordination tool for locating recessed lighting fixtures, HVAC supply diffusers, return air grilles, smoke detectors, and fire sprinkler heads.
• Clash Detection: The architect must ensure a recessed light fixture does not "clash" (intersect) with a structural beam or an HVAC duct located in the plenum space above the ceiling.