What is a Section?

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It is a vertical view through the building. The direction of section lines or arrows is usually shown on the plan to help interpret the sectional view.

Sections may be required to indicate:
• overall height of the building
• position of piers, beams, openings etc.
• floor to ceiling heights
• distance between finished floor and existing ground levels or proposed ground levels
• construction details
• scales same as plan

In most cases elevation and plan views cannot show sufficient information to enable a builder or tradesman to see exactly how the various structural parts of the house are to be built or assembled. The section is a view of the house after it has been cut vertically at some point. Like the floor plan it shows the size and thickness of structural members and relationships between spaces. For example, it shows the height from the ground to the floor, the height between the floor and the ceiling, and how the roof is to be constructed.