Understanding Scales

For the purpose of planning events and competitions there are some basic terms that need to be understood.

The first is “scale” - which has a few meanings depending on how it gets used...kind of like their / there / they’re but the spelling doesn’t change. 

Sadly it doesn’t mean growing your competition from a 10 person throwdown to a 1,000 person stadium event.

In Architecture and Engineering “scale” is basically another word for a ruler. The big difference is that instead of being a flat stick that measures 12 inches a scale typically has 3 sides and each face represents a different relationship of measurements.

Overall there are 2 common scales that get used - Architectural, and Engineering. Outside of the US they use a Metric scale and you should have a rough idea of how that one works after this post.. 

An Architectural scale consists of the following scales:

• 1/8” = 1’-0”
• 1/4” = 1’-0”
• 3/8” = 1’-0”
• 3/4” = 1’-0”
• 3/16” = 1’-0”
• 3/32” = 1’-0”
• 1/2” = 1’-0” 
• 1” = 1’-0”
• 1-1/2” = 1’-0”
• 3” = 1’-0”

An Engineering scale consists of the following scales:

• 1” = 10’-0”
• 1” = 20’-0”
• 1” = 30’-0”
• 1” = 40’-0”
• 1” = 50’-0”
• 1” = 60’-0”

Choosing the right scale is done by understanding the size of the space or project being drafted and the size of the drawing you’re working on. A general rule of thumb is that Architectural Scales work better for interior spaces (like a room, office, or gym), and Engineering Scales work better for exterior site spaces (like a football field, property, or parking lot).

For example - our first gym space was 4,000sf in a space that was 80’ long by 50’ wide. 

• If I was trying to draft this using the Architectural Scale of 1” = 1’ then I would be drawing a 80” x 50” rectangle. 
• If I was trying to draft it using the Architectural Scale of 1/2” = 1’ then I would be drawing a 40” x 25” rectangle.
• If I was trying to draft it using the Architectural Scale of 1/8” = 1’ then I would be drawing a 10” x 6.25” rectangle.
• If I was trying to draft it using the Engineering Scale of 1” = 20’ then I would be drawing a 4” x 2.5” rectangle.  

If a drawing is done “to scale” it means it was created at some scale, either Architectural or Engineering. 

So to recap - a drafted or technical drawing is a drawing that was created at a given scale. Scales are also the specialized rulers that Architects and Engineers use to measure and understand how the information on the drawing relates to the real world.