By Garry Stockton
Working in the AEC industry you’ve probably heard the terms ‘shop drawings’ and ‘as-built drawings’. If someone asked you, would you be able to explain the difference? If your answer is no, check the simple explanation below.
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. These drawings may be thought of as a record of the final constructed product.
Note: Sometimes the Phrase 'Record Drawings' can be used for anything that is an amended post-construction contract drawing.
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 reviewing them, we’ve even determined how they differ from ‘contract drawings’. 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.