The design process is one of the most important steps of a construction project. There are a couple of different ways to visualize a building during the design process. Instead of classic blueprints, those working on construction projects should consider using as-built drawings. As-built drawings can help you get all of the details you need throughout the project. If you’re curious about as-built drawings here is everything you need to know.
What Are As-Built Drawings?
Before we dive into the details of as-built drawings, it helps to understand what they are. As built drawings are extremely detailed blueprints. Instead of showing how a building will be constructed like a schematic drawing an as-built drawing shows how a building was constructed. You can find more detailed breakdowns between the two types of drawings in this helpful article.
During construction, it’s common to go through a lot of different plans and changes. The original blueprint won’t always reflect these changes. But an as-built drawing does. These types of drawings allow builders to have a detailed record of all of the changes that occur during construction. These drawings show how a building ends up being as compared to the drawings when the project started.
Aspects of As-Built Drawings
As built drawings are supposed to be quite detailed and monitor all of the changes of a construction project. Because of this, there are many details that you can see in these types of drawings. Here are some of the most common details you can expect to find:
- Dates of changes
- Materials Used or changed
- Location changes including windows, doors, and plumbing
- Any work outside of the original project scope
- Exact final dimensions
Basically, every change along the way of the project should be documented and changed in an as-built drawing. This allows for the drawings to have more in-depth details than the original blueprints and completely reflect the outcome of the final construction.
Who Makes As-Built Drawings?
Like most parts of a major construction, as-built drawings are a group effort. They are usually created collaboratively between the general contractor and the architect or designer. The contractor is the one that will usually mark a change on the drawing during the construction process. They will then give those changes to the architect who will draw them into the plans along the way.
Benefits of As-Built Drawings
There are many benefits to having as-built drawings as a part of your construction project that can help make your project easier and save you time in the long run.
Record of Construction
The first benefit of using as-built drawings is that you will always have a detailed record of the construction. This includes all types of materials that were used throughout the build in case you have to make repairs in the future. If you need to charge more or less on a project, the as-built drawing will be the record of any charges or payments that may have to happen in the future.
Simplify Renovations
When you have this detailed record of construction, anyone in the future will be able to use those drawings. If someone decides to make renovations down the line, it will be much easier to see where they can make these changes and what materials they may need. A contractor that is doing renovations needs to know more about the final product of the construction rather than what the original plans were. This way they can easily expand upon them and have a seamless renovation.
Easy Maintenance
Another benefit of as-built drawing is that it makes the building much easier to maintain over time. All of the drawings will show the location of plumbing, wires, and electrical paths as well as gas and water lines. Maintenance workers that need to come in and do any repairs will have a much easier time doing so by having all of this information. It also helps to prevent any damages that could occur from doing maintenance on the building that may have to be fixed later on.
Room for Collaboration
Having as-built drawings makes it much easier for anyone that needs to hop on a project at any point to get up to speed. Instead of trying to walk a subcontractor through everything that has occurred on the build, they can see it all and understand what exactly they’ll be working on. It is common to have different subcontractors come in at different points of a project. Sharing these as-built drawings allows anyone to easily hop into a project and waste less time.
Conclusion
As-built drawings are incredibly beneficial to any construction project. They allow anyone to jump into a project easily. And it allows for easier maintenance of the building years after it’s initially built. Using as-built drawings allow for more opportunities for collaboration and makes the entire construction process easier for everyone involved.
