If you’re reading this blog Between the Lines, then you probably work in the AEC industry. And because of the industry you work in, you’ve probably heard the terms “as-built drawings” and “shop drawings”.

Do you think you could you explain the difference between these drawings, if someone asked you? If you’re not sure you could, don’t worry because you’ll be able to do so in about one minute!

The Drawing Types

On construction projects as-built drawings are drawings that reflect the as-constructed conditions of a project. The drawings are created by marking on the contract drawings any field built deviations from the contract documents. Think of these drawings as a record of the final constructed product.

Shop drawings on the other hand are drawings in addition to the contract drawings. They typically show more construction details than are shown on the contract drawings. Think of shop drawings as the step by step “assembly manual”, whereas the contract drawings as merely the “picture on the box”.

Conclusion

So, you can now see that these two types of drawings are completely different. And in the process of discussing these terms, we’ve even determined how they differ from “contract drawings”! Therefore, let’s summarize all three terms.

In short, contract drawings depict the proposed construction, shop drawings provide additional details for construction, and as-built drawings are a record of the final construction including changes.

That’s it in a nutshell!

This is a guest post by:
Brian M. Curran www.draftingservices.com
Follow Brian on Twitter @brianmcurran and Google+  Thank you Brian!

If you would like to share your knowledge of design or Autodesk products please email me with a proposed posting.

Cheers,
Shaan
@ShaanHurley on Twitter

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