Architect's Scale - Metric Units

Metric Units

Architect's scale rulers used in Britain and other metric countries are marked with ratios without reference to a base unit. Therefore a drawing will indicate both its scale (ratio) and the unit of measurement being used.

In Britain, and elsewhere, the standard units used on architectural drawings are the (SI) units millimetres (mm) and metres (m), whereas in France centimetres (cm) and metres are most often used.

In Britain, for flat rulers, the paired scales often found on architect's scales are:

  • 1:1/1:100
  • 1:5/1:50
  • 1:10/1:100
  • 1:20/1:200
  • 1:1250/1:2500

For triangular rulers, the paired scales are:

  • 1:1/1:10
  • 1:2/1:20
  • 1:5/1:50
  • 1:100/1:200
  • 1:500/1:1000
  • 1:1250/1:2500

Less common scales are:

  • 1:25/1:250
  • 1:331⁄3

Read more about this topic:  Architect's Scale

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