# Surface documentation: from material choice to buildable instruction

> Finish plans, finish codes, hatches, elevations, reflected ceiling plans, schedules and junction details.

Source: https://guide.rayon.design/knowledge/surfaces/surface-documentation · Surfaces · Updated 2026-10-23

© 2026 Rayon. Quote short excerpts with a link to the source page. Full terms: https://guide.rayon.design/about

## Introduction

Once finishes are chosen and their layouts resolved, the designer must say where each material goes, how it is installed and which product it is. Finish plans locate materials, elevations explain vertical coverage, details resolve junctions and schedules collect the specifications; a finish code ties them all to one material.

## The finish plan

Materials, located.

A finish plan is a floor plan given over to surface materials. It leaves out most of what a general plan shows and concentrates on where each finish goes, where it stops, and what it is: timber in the living areas, tile in the bathroom, a resilient floor in the service rooms, each with its code and, where it matters, an arrow for the laying direction. At every change of material it fixes the exact extent of each finish and refers to the detail that builds the junction.

The walls are cut at 0.9 m so every floor reads, and their faces carry the wall finishes. Boards are drawn with their end joints and arrows give the laying direction; double lines at the doors mark the transitions.

## Finish codes

One code, one material, everywhere.

A finish code identifies a product without repeating its specification on every drawing. A simple convention separates floors, walls and ceilings. These codes are an example, not a standard: offices use their own prefixes and numbering. Once adopted, a code stays the same across drawings, schedules, specifications and revisions, and never names two products in one project.

| Code | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **F-01** | Engineered oak flooring |
| **F-02** | Porcelain floor tile |
| **F-03** | Resilient sheet flooring |
| **W-01** | Matt painted plaster |
| **W-02** | Ceramic wall tile |
| **W-03** | Decorative timber panelling |
| **C-01** | Painted plasterboard ceiling |
| **C-02** | Acoustic ceiling panels |

*Choose a code, a room or a schedule row: the same finish lights up in the plan, the elevation and the schedule.*

| Code | Surface | Material | Finish / colour | Location | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| F-01 | Floor | Engineered oak | Natural, matt | Living, bedroom, hall | Laying direction per plan |
| F-02 | Floor | Porcelain tile | Warm grey | Bathroom | Wet-area suitability to be confirmed |
| F-03 | Floor | Resilient sheet | Light grey | Kitchen, utility | Coved at the walls |
| W-01 | Wall | Interior paint | Off-white, matt | General | Prepare substrate |
| W-02 | Wall | Ceramic tile | White, satin | Bathroom, kitchen splashback | Extent per elevations |
| C-01 | Ceiling | Interior paint | White, matt | General | Coordinate substrate and lighting |

## Representing materials in drawings

Line weights, hatches, legends.

Drawings separate surfaces with line weights, hatches, symbols and notes. A hatch may suggest timber, stone or tile, but state its meaning in a legend wherever it could be misread: projects and drafting standards differ. Line weights set the hierarchy between boundaries, finish patterns, dimensions and background construction, and notes must stay legible at the printed scale. Above all, be consistent, and never rely on colour alone.

***F-01** Timber*

On screen

***F-01** Timber*

***F-02** Ceramic tile*

***F-04** Natural stone*

***F-05** Concrete*

***F-03** Resilient*

***F-06** Carpet*

Printed in black and white

***F-01** Timber*

***F-02** Ceramic tile*

***F-04** Natural stone*

***F-05** Concrete*

***F-03** Resilient*

***F-06** Carpet*

## Dimensioning finish plans

Locate the boundaries, not the building.

A finish plan needs no repeat of every building dimension. Its dimensions locate finish boundaries, patterns, transitions and special features: where a material changes relative to a wall or opening, the extent of a tiled area, the centreline of a pattern. Measure from fixed architecture, never from movable furniture, and avoid chains and duplicates that drift apart in revisions.

## Wall finish elevations

What a plan cannot show.

Elevations show the vertical extent of finishes: tile, panelling, bands, splashbacks and changes of paint or wallcovering. A bathroom [elevation](https://guide.rayon.design/lexicon/elevation) sets where tiling starts and stops, whether it runs behind fixtures, and how it meets the ceiling, doors, niches and exposed edges. Give heights from a defined finished floor level, with notes or details where tolerances affect the result.

*Interactive diagram:* Drawings of floors, walls and ceilings: their layers, how they are laid, where they meet, and how they are documented.

*A bathroom wall, its heights from the finished floor and its finish codes; the key plan shows which wall.*

## Reflected ceiling finish plans

The ceiling, seen from below.

Ceiling finishes are usually set out on a reflected ceiling plan, together with lighting and other ceiling equipment. Where the ceiling changes material or level, the plan shows the extent of each; suspended acoustic systems may also need their grid, access panels and coordination with services. Never specify a ceiling apart from its acoustics, lighting, ventilation and maintenance access.

## The finish schedule

Every finish, in one place.

The finish schedule gathers material information so it can be reviewed, priced, ordered and installed: each code, its manufacturer or source, product, colour, size, surface treatment, location and remarks. For construction it may add performance criteria, substrate requirements, installation method, approved alternatives, maintenance and references to the specification. The example is illustrative: a project schedule must be precise enough to order from without ambiguity.

| Code | Surface | Material | Finish / colour | Location | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **F-01** | Floor | Engineered oak | Natural, matt | Living, bedrooms | Laying direction per plan |
| **F-02** | Floor | Porcelain tile | Warm grey | Bathroom | Wet-area suitability to be confirmed |
| **W-01** | Wall | Interior paint | Off-white, matt | Living, bedrooms | Prepare substrate |
| **W-02** | Wall | Ceramic tile | White, satin | Bathroom | Extent per elevations |
| **C-01** | Ceiling | Interior paint | White, matt | General | Coordinate substrate and lighting |

On projects with many rooms, a room schedule sits beside the material schedule. The room schedule answers *where each finish is used*; the material schedule, *what each finish is*. They serve different purposes and must agree.

| Room | Floor | Walls | Ceiling | Skirting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Living room** | F-01 | W-01 | C-01 | S-01 |
| **Bedroom** | F-01 | W-01 | C-01 | S-01 |
| **Kitchen** | F-01 | W-01 / W-02 | C-01 | S-01 |
| **Bathroom** | F-02 | W-02 | C-01 | S-02 |

## Detailing critical junctions

Enlarged where it matters.

Not every interface needs a detail, but junctions with unusual thicknesses, movement, waterproofing, exposed edges or high visibility often do: tile-to-timber thresholds, skirtings, wall tile terminations, shower transitions, recessed ceiling edges. A detail names the adjacent materials, the build-up, the fixing or bonding where specified, the critical dimensions and the interfaces other trades must coordinate.

*Interactive diagram:* Drawings of floors, walls and ceilings: their layers, how they are laid, where they meet, and how they are documented.

*1 · Tile to timber, flush: F-02 meets F-01.*

*Interactive diagram:* Drawings of floors, walls and ceilings: their layers, how they are laid, where they meet, and how they are documented.

*2 · Skirting: S-01 over the floor’s expansion gap.*

*Interactive diagram:* Drawings of floors, walls and ceilings: their layers, how they are laid, where they meet, and how they are documented.

*3 · Wall tile termination: W-02 stops, W-01 continues.*

*Interactive diagram:* Drawings of floors, walls and ceilings: their layers, how they are laid, where they meet, and how they are documented.

*4 · Ceiling shadow gap: C-01 stops short of the wall.*

## Coordinating and reviewing

Before the package goes out.

Check the finish drawings against the plans, elevations, services drawings and specifications. A floor transition must not clash with a door threshold; a tile pattern must allow for plumbing fixtures and openings; a suspended ceiling must take lights, detectors, ventilation outlets and access panels. Schedules often feed quantity take-offs, but allowances for cutting, waste, spares and pack sizes depend on each material and layout. Before issue, check that codes are unique, legends complete, extents unambiguous and revisions carried through everywhere.

## Checklist

Before you issue the drawings.

Run through the package as a whole. Your ticks are kept in this browser.

### Surface documentation

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