How to read a Philippine house plan
A house plan is a set of sheets, each drawn and signed by the professional whose licence covers it. This is what each sheet shows, who signs it and the law that says so, and what the symbols on a floor plan mean.
The sheets, and who signs each
Section 302 of the National Building Code asks for the application to come with “at least five sets of corresponding plans and specifications”. Section 302(3) and (4) of its 2004 implementing rules say who signs each kind of document and what the architectural sheets must show. The rows below are the sheets a house set usually carries; the office's own checklist decides the final list.
| Sheet | What it shows | Signed by |
|---|---|---|
| Lot survey plan | The lot's boundaries, bearings and distances from the survey | Geodetic engineerIRR Section 302(3)(a); under RA 8560 Section 20(b), survey plans not prepared and submitted in full accord with that Act are not to be accepted |
| Vicinity map | Where the lot sits, within half a kilometre for a house, with landmarks or main roads for reference | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Site development plan | The house on the lot: boundaries, orientation, the access road, driveways and public utilities | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Floor plans | Each storey seen from above at 1:100 or larger, with gridlines and every room named | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Elevations | At least four faces of the house: finished grade, floor-to-floor heights, door and window marks, exterior finishes | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Sections | At least two vertical cuts: natural ground and finish levels, the structure cut through, doors and windows with the way they open | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Door and window schedule | Every door and window by its mark, with type, size, material and how many | ArchitectIRR Section 302(4)(a), reinstated in DPWH v. PICE (2023): only registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign and seal it |
| Structural plans | Foundations, columns, beams, slabs and roof framing, with sizes and reinforcement | Civil engineerIRR Section 302(3)(c), for civil and structural documents |
| Electrical plans | Outlets, lights, switches, circuits and the panel | Professional electrical engineerIRR Section 302(3)(d); RA 7920 Section 34 requires electrical plans to be signed and sealed by one, and Section 31(a) gives the professional grade the sole authority to seal them |
| Sanitary plans | Where waste water goes: the septic tank or sewer connection, and storm drainage | Sanitary engineerIRR Section 302(3)(f), for sanitary documents |
| Plumbing plans | Water supply, drainage and vent piping, and the fixtures | Master plumberIRR Section 302(3)(g), for plumbing documents |
| Mechanical plans | Mechanical equipment, where the office's checklist asks for this sheet | Professional mechanical engineerIRR Section 302(3)(e); RA 8495 Section 35 requires plans for mechanical equipment to be signed and sealed by one |
Why the architect signs the plans and elevations
The decree itself, as published in the Official Gazette, asks for plans “prepared, signed and sealed by a duly [sic] mechanical engineer in case of mechanical plans, and by a registered electrical engineer in case of electrical plans, except in those cases exempted or not required by the Building Official under this Code”. A copy kept in the National Library, which bears President Marcos's signature, adds “a duly licensed architect or civil engineer in case of architectural and structural plans”.
Civil engineers challenged the implementing rules for reserving the architectural sheets to architects, and the Court of Appeals voided them to that extent. In DPWH v. PICE (G.R. Nos. 200015 and 205846, 15 March 2023) the Supreme Court reversed it. It held that the Official Gazette text is “the controlling and official version”, reinstated the trial court's ruling upholding Section 302(3) and (4) of the rules, and resolved that “[o]nly registered and licensed architects may prepare, sign, and seal” the architectural documents, including the vicinity map, site development plan, floor plans, elevations, sections and door and window schedule. It read the Architecture Act as having “impliedly repealed Republic Act No. 544 insofar as it permits civil engineers to prepare, sign, and seal architectural documents”. Civil engineers still sign the structural sheets. The first two sheets have guides of their own: the vicinity map and the site development plan.
A sheet signed by someone whose licence does not cover it is one of the reasons a permit application comes back, as the building permit guide explains.
The symbols on a floor plan
A floor plan is the house seen from above, cut part of the way up the walls so that doors, windows and stairs show. These are the marks you will meet most often. The floor plan symbols guide has the full legend, from line types to electrical marks and door and window tags, and the stair, sliding door and window symbols each have a page of their own. If the site talks in Tagalog, the Filipino building terms guide gives the English for each part.
- Door The arc is the path the leaf sweeps as it opens; it shows which side the hinges are on and which way it swings.
- Window Thin parallel lines set into the wall, often with a mark such as W1 that points to the window schedule.
- Stair Treads drawn as lines across the flight, with an arrow from the lower floor marked UP. The zigzag break line shows where the plan cuts it.
- North arrow Which way is north. It tells you where the morning and afternoon sun will reach the house.
- Section mark A cut line through the plan with a label, such as A, that matches a section drawing on another sheet. The arrows show the direction you are looking.
- Dimension A line with ticks at each end and the distance written above it, in millimetres or metres; the sheet states which.
- Grid line A thin line through the column centres with a numbered or lettered bubble, used to cross-reference the structural plans.
- Level mark A height above a reference point, such as the finished floor or the road. Useful for checking the floor sits above flood level.
Three checks worth making on your own plans
- The rooms. Take a bedroom's length and width from the dimensions and test it in the room size checker. The section sheets give the ceiling heights.
- The stair. The sections give the floor-to-floor height; the stair dimensions checker shows how many steps it needs.
- The lot. The site plan gives the footprint and the distances to each boundary; the lot coverage calculator checks them against Section 708(a).
Drawings that no one checked against each other are how a set gets returned, which is why custom house design and permit and documentation assistance coordinate every sheet before it is signed.
What this page does not cover
- Each office's checklist. The office decides the full list of sheets and forms, and it can ask for more than this page shows.
- The rest of the list. The rules also name a perspective, a reflected ceiling plan, details, a schedule of finishes, and accessibility and fire safety documents among the architectural sheets, and an electronics engineer for electronics documents. Which of them a house needs is for the Building Official: Section 302 excepts the cases the Building Official exempts or does not require.
- Structural adequacy. Reading a structural sheet is not the same as checking it; that is the engineer's work.
Sources: DPWH v. PICE, G.R. Nos. 200015 and 205846, 15 March 2023, as published by the Supreme Court E-Library, which quotes Section 302(3) and (4) of the 2004 Revised Implementing Rules in full; Presidential Decree No. 1096, Section 302, as published by the Official Gazette; and, as published by the Lawphil Project, RA 9266 (the Architecture Act), RA 7920 (the Electrical Engineering Law), RA 8495 (the Mechanical Engineering Act) and RA 8560 (the Geodetic Engineering Act).