diff --git a/docs/src/reference/grid.md b/docs/src/reference/grid.md
index f553167d0c..f8c0a51175 100644
--- a/docs/src/reference/grid.md
+++ b/docs/src/reference/grid.md
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 DocTestSetup = :(using Ferrite)
 ```
 
-# Grid
+# Grid & AbstractGrid
+
+## Grid
 
 ```@docs
 Node
@@ -14,7 +16,7 @@ FaceIndex
 Grid
 ```
 
-## Utility Functions
+### Utility Functions
 
 ```@docs
 getcells
@@ -23,18 +25,85 @@ getnodes
 getnnodes
 Ferrite.nnodes_per_cell
 getcellset
+getcellsets
 getnodeset
+getnodesets
 getfaceset
+getfacesets
+getedgeset
+getedgesets
+getvertexset
+getvertexsets
 compute_vertex_values
 transform!
 getcoordinates
 getcoordinates!
 ```
 
-## Grid Sets Utility
+### Grid Sets Utility
 
 ```@docs
 addcellset!
 addfaceset!
 addnodeset!
 ```
+
+## AbstractGrid
+
+It can be very useful to use a grid type for a certain special case, e.g. mixed cell types, adaptivity, IGA, etc.
+In order to define your own `<: AbstractGrid` you need to fulfill the `AbstractGrid` interface.
+In case that certain structures are preserved from the `Ferrite.Grid` type, you don't need to dispatch on your own type, but rather rely on the fallback `AbstractGrid` dispatch.
+
+### Example
+
+As a starting point, we choose a minimal working example from the test suite:
+
+```julia
+struct SmallGrid{dim,N,C<:Ferrite.AbstractCell} <: Ferrite.AbstractGrid{dim}
+    nodes_test::Vector{NTuple{dim,Float64}}
+    cells_test::NTuple{N,C}
+end
+```
+
+Here, the names of the fields as well as their underlying datastructure changed compared to the `Grid` type. This would lead to the fact, that any usage
+with the utility functions and DoF management will not work. So, we need to feed into the interface how to handle this subtyped datastructure.
+We start with the utility functions that are associated with the cells of the grid:
+
+```julia
+Ferrite.getcells(grid::SmallGrid) = grid.cells_test
+Ferrite.getcells(grid::SmallGrid, v::Union{Int, Vector{Int}}) = grid.cells_test[v]
+Ferrite.getncells(grid::SmallGrid{dim,N}) where {dim,N} = N
+Ferrite.getcelltype(grid::SmallGrid) = eltype(grid.cells_test)
+Ferrite.getcelltype(grid::SmallGrid, i::Int) = typeof(grid.cells_test[i])
+```
+
+Next, we define some helper functions that take care of the node handling.
+
+```julia
+Ferrite.getnodes(grid::SmallGrid) = grid.nodes_test
+Ferrite.getnodes(grid::SmallGrid, v::Union{Int, Vector{Int}}) = grid.nodes_test[v]
+Ferrite.getnnodes(grid::SmallGrid) = length(grid.nodes_test)
+Ferrite.nnodes_per_cell(grid::SmallGrid, i::Int=1) = Ferrite.nnodes(grid.cells_test[i])
+Ferrite.n_faces_per_cell(grid::SmallGrid) = nfaces(eltype(grid.cells_test))
+```
+
+Finally, we define `getcoordinates`, which is an important function, if we want to assemble a problem.
+The transformation from the reference space to the physical one requires information about the coordinates in order to construct the
+Jacobian. The return of this part is later handled over to `reinit!`.
+
+```julia
+function Ferrite.getcoordinates!(x::Vector{Vec{dim,T}}, grid::SmallGrid, cell::Int) where {dim,T}
+    for i in 1:length(x)
+        x[i] = Vec{dim,T}(grid.nodes_test[grid.cells_test[cell].nodes[i]])
+    end
+end
+
+function Ferrite.getcoordinates(grid::SmallGrid{dim}, cell::Int) where dim
+    nodeidx = grid.cells_test[cell].nodes
+    return [Vec{dim,Float64}(grid.nodes_test[i]) for i in nodeidx]::Vector{Vec{dim,Float64}}
+end
+```
+
+Now, you would be able to assemble the heat equation example over the new custom `SmallGrid` type.
+Note that this particular subtype isn't able to handle boundary entity sets and so, you can't describe boundaries with it.
+In order to use boundaries, e.g. for Dirichlet constraints in the ConstraintHandler, you would need to dispatch the `AbstractGrid` sets utility functions on `SmallGrid`.
diff --git a/src/Grid/grid.jl b/src/Grid/grid.jl
index 04bc99293c..83b1f345fb 100644
--- a/src/Grid/grid.jl
+++ b/src/Grid/grid.jl
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ abstract type AbstractCell{dim,N,M} end
 """
     Cell{dim,N,M} <: AbstractCell{dim,N,M}
 A `Cell` is a sub-domain defined by a collection of `Node`s as it's vertices.
-However, a `cell` is not defined by the nodes but rather by the node ids
+However, a `cell` is not defined by the nodes but rather by the global node ids
 
 # Fields
 - `nodes::Ntuple{N,Int}`: N-tuple that stores the node ids
@@ -85,14 +85,16 @@ abstract type AbstractGrid{dim} end
     Grid{dim, C<:AbstractCell, T<:Real} <: AbstractGrid}
 
 A `Grid` is a collection of `Cells` and `Node`s which covers the computational domain, together with Sets of cells, nodes and faces.
+There are multiple helper structures to apply boundary conditions or define subdomains. They are gathered in the `cellsets`, `nodesets`,
+`facesets`, `edgesets` and `vertexsets`. 
 
 # Fields
 - `cells::Vector{C}`: stores all cells of the grid
 - `nodes::Vector{Node{dim,T}}`: stores the `dim` dimensional nodes of the grid
-- `cellsets::Dict{String,Set{CellIndex}}`: maps a `String` key to a `Set` of cell ids
+- `cellsets::Dict{String,Set{Int}}`: maps a `String` key to a `Set` of cell ids
 - `nodesets::Dict{String,Set{Int}}`: maps a `String` key to a `Set` of global node ids
-- `facesets::Dict{String,Set{FaceIndex}}`: maps a `String` to a `Set` of `Tuple{Int,Int} (global_cell_id, local_face_id)`
-_ `edgesets::Dict{String,Set{EdgeIndex}}`: maps a `String` to a `Set` of `Set{EdgeIndex} (global_cell_id, local_edge_id` 
+- `facesets::Dict{String,Set{FaceIndex}}`: maps a `String` to a `Set` of `Set{FaceIndex} (global_cell_id, local_face_id)`
+- `edgesets::Dict{String,Set{EdgeIndex}}`: maps a `String` to a `Set` of `Set{EdgeIndex} (global_cell_id, local_edge_id` 
 - `vertexsets::Dict{String,Set{VertexIndex}}`: maps a `String` key to a `Set` of local vertex ids
 - `boundary_matrix::SparseMatrixCSC{Bool,Int}`: optional, only needed by `onboundary` to check if a cell is on the boundary, see, e.g. Helmholtz example
 """
@@ -127,55 +129,100 @@ end
 """
     getcells(grid::AbstractGrid) 
     getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, v::Union{Int,Vector{Int}} 
-    getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String)
+    getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
 
-Returns either all `cells::Vector{C<:AbstractCell}` of a `grid` or a subset based on an `Int`, `Vector{Int}` or `String`.
-Whereas the last option tries to call a `cellset` of the `grid`.
+Returns either all `cells::Collection{C<:AbstractCell}` of a `<:AbstractGrid` or a subset based on an `Int`, `Vector{Int}` or `String`.
+Whereas the last option tries to call a `cellset` of the `grid`. `Collection` can be any indexable type, for `Grid` it is `Vector{C<:AbstractCell}`.
 """
 @inline getcells(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.cells
 @inline getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, v::Union{Int, Vector{Int}}) = grid.cells[v]
-@inline getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.cells[collect(grid.cellsets[set])]
-"Returns and `Int` corresponding to how many cells are in the `grid`."
+@inline getcells(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.cells[collect(getcellset(grid,setname))]
+"Returns the number of cells in the `<:AbstractGrid`."
 @inline getncells(grid::AbstractGrid) = length(grid.cells)
-"Returns the celltype of the `grid`."
+"Returns the celltype of the `<:AbstractGrid`."
 @inline getcelltype(grid::AbstractGrid) = eltype(grid.cells)
 @inline getcelltype(grid::AbstractGrid, i::Int) = typeof(grid.cells[i])
 
 """
     getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid) 
     getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, v::Union{Int,Vector{Int}}
-    getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String)
+    getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
 
-Returns either all `nodes::Vector{Node{dim,T}}` of a `grid` or a subset based on an `Int`, `Vector{Int}` or `String`.
-The last option tries to call a `nodeset` of the `grid`.
+Returns either all `nodes::Collection{N}` of a `<:AbstractGrid` or a subset based on an `Int`, `Vector{Int}` or `String`.
+The last option tries to call a `nodeset` of the `<:AbstractGrid`. `Collection{N}` refers to some indexable collection where each element corresponds
+to a Node.
 """
 @inline getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.nodes
 @inline getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, v::Union{Int, Vector{Int}}) = grid.nodes[v]
-@inline getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.nodes[collect(grid.nodesets[set])]
-"returns an `Int` corresponding to how many nodes are in the `grid`"
+@inline getnodes(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.nodes[collect(getnodeset(grid,setname))]
+"Returns the number of nodes in the grid"
 @inline getnnodes(grid::AbstractGrid) = length(grid.nodes)
-"returns an `Int` of how many nodes are in one `cell`"
+"Returns the number of nodes of the `i`-th cell"
 @inline nnodes_per_cell(grid::AbstractGrid, i::Int=1) = nnodes(grid.cells[i])
 
-"Accesses the cellset which is mapped to the key `set::String`"
-@inline getcellset(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.cellsets[set]
-"Returns all cellsets of the `grid`"
+"""
+    getcellset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
+
+Returns all cells as cellid in a `Set` of a given `setname`
+"""
+@inline getcellset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.cellsets[setname]
+"""
+    getcellsets(grid::AbstractGrid)
+
+Returns all cellsets of the `grid`
+"""
 @inline getcellsets(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.cellsets
 
-"Accesses the nodeset which is mapped to the key `set::String`"
-@inline getnodeset(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.nodesets[set]
-"Returns all nodesets of the `grid`"
+"""
+    getnodeset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
+
+Returns all nodes as nodeid in a `Set` of a given `setname`
+"""
+@inline getnodeset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.nodesets[setname]
+"""
+    getnodesets(grid::AbstractGrid)
+
+Returns all nodesets of the `grid`
+"""
 @inline getnodesets(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.nodesets
 
-"Accesses the faceset which is mapped to the key `set::String`"
-@inline getfaceset(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.facesets[set]
-"Returns all facesets of the `grid`"
+"""
+    getfaceset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
+
+Returns all faces as `FaceIndex` in a `Set` of a given `setname`
+"""
+@inline getfaceset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.facesets[setname]
+"""
+    getfacesets(grid::AbstractGrid)
+
+Returns all facesets of the `grid`
+"""
 @inline getfacesets(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.facesets
 
-@inline getedgeset(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.edgesets[set]
+"""
+    getedgeset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
+
+Returns all edges as `EdgeIndex` in a `Set` of a given `setname`
+"""
+@inline getedgeset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.edgesets[setname]
+"""
+    getedgesets(grid::AbstractGrid)
+
+Returns all edge sets of the grid
+"""
 @inline getedgesets(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.edgesets
 
-@inline getvertexset(grid::AbstractGrid, set::String) = grid.vertexsets[set]
+"""
+    getedgeset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String)
+
+Returns all vertices as `VertexIndex` in a `Set` of a given `setname`
+"""
+@inline getvertexset(grid::AbstractGrid, setname::String) = grid.vertexsets[setname]
+"""
+    getvertexsets(grid::AbstractGrid)
+
+Returns all vertex sets of the grid
+"""
 @inline getvertexsets(grid::AbstractGrid) = grid.vertexsets
 
 n_faces_per_cell(grid::Grid) = nfaces(eltype(grid.cells))
@@ -236,8 +283,9 @@ _warn_emptyset(set) = length(set) == 0 && @warn("no entities added to set")
     addcellset!(grid::AbstractGrid, name::String, cellid::Union{Set{Int}, Vector{Int}})
     addcellset!(grid::AbstractGrid, name::String, f::function; all::Bool=true)
 
-Adds a `cellset::Dict{String,Set{Int}}` to the `grid` with key `name`.
-Cellsets can be used to specify a boundary for `Dirichlet`, which is needed by the `ConstraintHandler`
+Adds a cellset to the grid with key `name`.
+Cellsets are typically used to define subdomains of the problem, e.g. two materials in the computational domain.
+The `MixedDofHandler` can construct different fields which live not on the whole domain, but rather on a cellset. 
 
 ```julia
 addcellset!(grid, "left", Set((1,3))) #add cells with id 1 and 3 to cellset left
@@ -273,8 +321,8 @@ end
     addfaceset!(grid::AbstractGrid, name::String, faceid::Union{Set{FaceIndex},Vector{FaceIndex}})
     addfaceset!(grid::AbstractGrid, name::String, f::Function; all::Bool=true) 
 
-Adds a `faceset::Dict{String, Set{Tuple{Int,Int}}` to the `grid` with key `name`.
-A `faceset` maps a `String` key to a `Set` of tuples corresponding to `(global_cell_id, local_face_id)`.
+Adds a faceset to the grid with key `name`.
+A faceset maps a `String` key to a `Set` of tuples corresponding to `(global_cell_id, local_face_id)`.
 Facesets are used to initialize `Dirichlet` structs, that are needed to specify the boundary for the `ConstraintHandler`.
 
 ```julia