Careers Business Ownership Common Abbreviations Used in Construction Blueprints Share PINTEREST Email Print Pixabay/cocoparisienne Business Ownership Industries Construction Retail Small Business Restauranting Real Estate Nonprofit Organizations Landlords Import/Export Business Freelancing & Consulting Franchises Food & Beverage Event Planning eBay E-commerce Operations & Success Becoming an Owner By Juan Rodriguez Juan Rodriguez LinkedIn University of Puerto Rico DeVry University Juan Rodriguez is a former writer with The Balance who covered large-scale construction. He is an engineer with experience managing and overseeing large civil works construction. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 10/26/20 Construction blueprints, also called construction plans or drawings, are full of abbreviations and acronyms to save space and neaten the overall appearance of the presentation. Remembering all of this shorthand can be tricky, especially when this is added to the challenge of reading all the symbols and deciphering the conventions that might be used by a particular draftsperson or designer. Fortunately, many blueprint abbreviations have widely accepted meanings and are used in all sorts of blueprints, from framing plans to engineering drawings. A/C: Air Conditioner ACI: American Concrete Institute ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 A.F.F.: Above Finished Floor A.F.G.: Above Finished Grade AIA: American Institute of Architects or American Insurance Association AIEE: American Institute of Electrical Engineers AISC: American Institute of Steel Construction AISI: American and Steel Institute ANSI: American National Standards Insitute APCIA: American Property Casualty Insurance Association ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials AWG: American Wire Gauge B.O.F.: Bottom of Footing B.O.M: Bill of Material BOT: Bottom B.O.W.: Bottom of Wall BP: Blue Print (or B/P) Brz.: Bronze BV: Butterfly Valve CAD: Cadmium or Computer-Aided Drafting CBORE: Counterbore C.C.: Center to Center C.D.: Construction Document C.F.M.: Cubic Feet per Minute CFS: Cubic Feet per Second C.I.: Cast Iron CL.: Closet CL: Center LIne CLG.: Ceiling CMU: Concrete Masonry Unit C.O.: Cleanout Cont.: Continuous CRES: Corrosion-Resistant Steel CSINK: Countersink CU. FT.: Cubic Feet CU. YD.: Cubic Yard D.S.: Downspout Dia.: Diameter Dim.: Dimension DN.: Down DP: Damp-Proofing, Dew Point, or Distribution Panel DWG: Drawing Ea.: Each ED: Edge Distance E.F.: Exhaust Fan EQ: Equal, or Equally Exc: Excavate E.W.: Each Way Ext.: Exterior FACP: Fire Alarm Control Panel FAO: Finish All Over F.C.O.: Floor cleanout F.D.: Floor Drain Fin.: Finish F.F.L.: Finished Floor Level FL: Floor Level FRPF: Fireproof FS: Far Side FTG: Fitting Galv.: Galvanized G.C.: General Contractor G.F.C.I. or G.F.I.: Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter GPM: Gallons Per Minute G.T.: Glazed Tile Gyp.: Gypsum H.B.: Hose Bib HDCP: Handicapped (better if referred to as "Accessible") HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene HRS: Hot Rolled Steel HV: High Voltage H.V.A.C.: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning H.W.: Hot Water IAW: In Accordance With ID: Inner Diameter IE: Invert Elevation IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers In.: Inch Insul.: Insulation ISO: International Organization for Standards Int.: Interior Inv.: Invert J-Box: Junction Box Jct.: Junction Jst.: Joist kW: Kilowatt LDD: LImited Dimension Drawing LFT.: Linear Feet LH: Left Hand LL: Live Load LM: List of Materials Lt.: Light Ltg.: Lighting L.V.L.: Laminated Veneer Lumber MH: Manhole Mas.: Masonry MAX: Maxiumum MBW: Measurement Between Wires Mtl.: Material MFG.: Manufacturing Min.: Minimum MOW: Measurement Over Wires NEC: National Electrical Code N.I.C.: Not In Contract NOM: Nominal N.T.S.: Not to scale OAL: Overall Length O.C.: On Center O.D.: Outside Diameter OPNG.: Opening or Rough Opening PCC: Portland Cement Concrete PCI: Property Casualty Insurers Association of America PCS: Pieces PL.: Plaster P.L.: Property Line (or Parts List) Plywd.: Plywood P.S.F.: Pounds per Square Foot P.S.I.: Pounds per Square Inch Ptd.: Painted PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride QTY: Quantity R: Radius RC: Reinforced Concrete RD: Roof Drain, Round, or Receptacle Distribution Panel R.D.L.: Roof Drain Leader REBAR: Reinforcing Bar REQD: Required RH: Right Hande R.O.: Rough Opening R.O.W.: Right of Way Reinf.: Reinforced San.: Sanitary SC: Sharp Corners S.D.: Smoke Detector Sect.: Section Sht.: Sheet Sht'g.: Sheathing Specs.: Specifications SQ. FT.: Square Feet SQ. IN.: Square Inches SS: Stainless Steel, Setscrew, Soil Stack, Service Sink, or Slop Sink Std.: Standard Stl: Steel S.Y.: Square Yard T&B: Top and Bottom T&G: Tongue and Groove T.O.: Top of T.O.B.: Top of Beam T.O.C.: Top of Curb or Top of Concrete T.O.F.: Top of Footing T.O.J.: Top of Joist T.O.M.: Top of Masonry T.O.W.: Top of Wall TTC: Telephone Terminal Closet UON: Unless Otherwise Noted VA.: Voltage V.B.: Vapor Barrier V.I.F.: Verify in Field W.C.: Water Closet (Toilet) Wd.: Wood Wdw.: Window W.I.: Wrought Iron W.I.C.: Walk-In Closet WL: Water Level W/O: Without Wp.: Weatherproof WS: Weatherstripping or Water Stop Wt.: Weight Wtr. Htr. : Water Heater Featured Video