2.3 Abbreviations

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Abbreviations are commonly used to help simplify a drawing and conserve space. Although many fields share common abbreviation conventions, there are also field- or trades-specific conventions that you will see as you become more specialized. Here is a common list of abbreviations that are used on drawings. Each trade will have specific abbreviations from this list, and therefore a set of drawings will usually include an abbreviation key.

AB	anchor bolt	HLS	holes	REF	reference
ABT	about	HSS	hollow structural steel	REQ'D	required
AUX	auxiliary	ID	inside diameter	REV	revision
BC	bolt circle	IN	inches	RF	raised face
BBE	bevel both ends	INT	internal	RH	right hand
BCD	bolt circle diameter	ISO	International Standards Organization	SCH	schedule
BOE	bevel one end	KP	kick plate	SI	International System of Units
BE	both ends	LH	left hand	SPECS	specifications
BL	baseline	LAT	lateral	SQ	square
BM	benchmark	LR	long radius	SM	seam
Btm	bottom	LG	long	SMLS	seamless
BP	base plate	MB	machine bolt	S/S	seam to seam
B/P	blueprint	MS	mild steel	SO	slip on
BLD	blind	MIN	minimum	SEC	section
C/C	center to center	MAX	maximum	STD	standard
COL	column	MAT'L	material	SS	stainless steel
CPLG	coupling	MISC	miscellaneous	SYM	symmetrical
CS	carbon steel	NC	national course	T	top
C/W	complete with	NF	national fine	T&B	top and bottom
CYL	cylinder	NO	number	T&C	threaded and coupled
DIA	diameter	NOM	nominal	THD	threaded
DIAG	diagonal	NTS	not to scale	TBE	threaded both ends
DIM	dimension	NPS	nominal pipe size	TOE	threaded one end
DWG	drawing	NPT	national pipe thread	THK	thick
EA	each	O/C	on center	TOL	tolerance
EL	elevation	OA	overall	TOC	top of concrete
EXT	external	OD	outside diameter	TOS	top of steel
F/F	face to face	OR	outside radius	TYP	typical
FF	flat face	OPP	opposite	U/N	unless noted
FLG	flange	PAT	pattern	VERT	vertical
FW	fillet weld	PBE	plain both ends	WD	working drawing
Ga	gauge	POE	plain one end	WP	working point
Galv	galvanized	PSI	pounds per square inch	WT	weight
HVY	heavy	PROJ	project	W/O	without
HH	hex head	RD	running dimension	XH	extra heavy
HR	hot rolled	R or RAD	radius	XS	extra strong
HT	heat treatment	RND	round