As Built Drawings

As-built drawings are an essential tool for civil engineers, providing an accurate physical representation of a space or structure as-is. Not only do as-built drawings aid in precision and accuracy, but they also serve to document space to avoid unnecessary future work. 

As-built drawings are not only a useful tool for civil engineers but for anyone who needs an accurate representation of physical space. Whether you’re a contractor, architect, or even a homeowner, built drawings can provide invaluable insight into the structure of a space. In many cases, as-built drawings are the only accurate way to document a space, as they are created from measurements taken on-site. This makes them an essential tool for avoiding costly mistakes and making sure that future work is unnecessary.

As built drawings are an essential part of the civil engineering process, providing an accurate and precise representation of a space. In addition to their accuracy, as-built drawings also serve to document a space, ensuring that future work is unnecessary. As built drawings are a valuable tool for anyone who needs an accurate representation of physical space, and their importance should not be underestimated.

The construction is done as per the issued drawings of the consultant or using the drawings prepared by the contractor himself complying with the design, specification, and other project requirements. However, during the construction, there are instances where these issued drawings are not used as a whole or may revise to meet the changes in the design, scope, etc.

In addition, changes in the design drawings may require addressing the practical difficulties in implementing the proposed arrangement at the site or addressing the condition of the site. There may be many similar instances that could result in altering the drawings during the construction.

What are As-Built Drawings

As-built drawings are the drawings that represent the whole construction. They have included all the changes made during the construction. Generally, the contractor prepares the as-built based on the actual construction and submits it for the approval of the engineers.

Having the as builts drawings is very important for future reference. Then we know the actual condition of the structure. Concrete outline, changes made to the structure, reinforcement arrangement, etc. are included in this final set of as builts drawings.

Further, if there are no changes in some of the drawings, they need not redraw or rearranged. We only modified the affected drawings by changes. However, the whole set of drawings used for the construction is considered as the as built drawings.

Responsibility for As-Builts Drawings

In general, the contractor is the one who should prepare the as-built as he is aware of the construction process. When there are several contractors in addition to the main contractor, either party may prepare drawings covering their scope of work. When special contractors are there, they can separately submit the drawings for review.

The engineer or the consultant to the project shall check the drawings submitted by the contractor or contractor together with the issued drawings, instructions, and any other amendment to the construction drawings. If they comply with the issued details, instructions, etc. engineers to the project can accept the drawings.

Why we Need As-Built Drawings

As build drawings are very important. There are many advantages to them. As builts drawings are not only civil structural drawings, it includes many other types of drawings such as electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and many other types. When we need to repair, or modify the structure we need to be aware of the condition of the existing structure.

When plumbing arrangements are required to be adjusted for new requirements, we can refer to the as builts and do the necessary changes. If they are not available, there will be many issues and result in problems with the existing structure. When we modify the existing structure, beam arrangement, reinforcement arrangement, etc. shall be known. Otherwise, we won’t be able to make the changes as we wish due to the unavailability of adequate information. Source