Anyone who works in the construction industry is intimately familiar with the different types of construction drawings involved in a project. But can you define the differences between them?
Here’s a simple primer for understanding the differences and the roles between construction drawings, shop drawings, and as-built drawings in the construction process.
The term “construction drawings” refers to the collection of final preconstruction drawings that represent the building as a whole. They are the pictorial record of the official design for the building, and generally include detailed depictions of every element of the finished building including the foundation, floor, walls, elevations, interior details and elevations, cabinetry, MEP design, structural details, and ceiling plans.
Construction drawings are produced by the design team and go through several iterations during the design phase before the final draft becomes part of the contract, which is then sent out to be bid on by contractors. The winning contractor is bound by all of the contract documentation including the construction drawings. Contractors can also ensure all drawings are ready for the construction phase by utilizing the right tools and integrations like BuildingConnected Pro and Autodesk Docs.
Construction Drawings:
The term “shop drawings” refers to drawings that are created by the contractor, subcontractors, and/or prefab vendors to further define the design of specific building components. They are most frequently created for MEP components of the building, but can also be created to show fine details of cabinetry and other elements. Shop drawings are necessary for planning the prefabricated components of a building, and as such have become more numerous as the use of prefab and modular construction technology has become more common.
Shop drawings are created prior to construction, and are agreed upon by the design team, owners, contractors, and subs before work begins. They are not usually a part of the official contract documents, and may occasionally be produced during the course of construction as necessary.
Shop Drawings:
The term “as-built drawings” refers to drawings that depict the building and all its components as they were actually constructed. Construction is complex and every project encounters unexpected obstacles and conditions that alter the plans.
As-built drawings are a set of drawings that represent the final exact construction of the building, including all materials, components, locations, dimensions, and other details of every element of the building. They are produced by the contractor and subcontractors after completion of the project.
As-built drawings are useful to building owners for maintenance, safety, repairs, updates, and renovations. Traditionally, they are created from the final redlined version of the original construction drawings and are time-consuming to produce. Today’s technology makes it possible to produce and share as-built drawings quickly and more accurately than ever, thanks to the ability to update construction drawings in real time as the project proceeds.
As-Built Drawings:
All these types of construction drawings are important, either for the process of construction or for the building’s operators after construction. Understanding the differences can help construction professionals make better use of their documents, and organize them more effectively.
Interested in streamlining your document management? Learn more about Autodesk Construction Cloud.
