Architectural CAD Drafting Services
Our architectural drafting services support architecture firms, commercial design-build teams and contractors, delivering coordinated drawing packages from design development through construction documentation.
1CADSource develops plans, elevations, sections, details and schedules, integrates consultant information and prepares sets for permit and construction, so your design team can stay focused on the decisions that need them.
Architectural drafting deliverables we support
We support projects from a complete construction document set to a single, specific deliverable. Depending on the project, our work includes:
- Design development drawings advanced into construction documents
- Plans, elevations, sections and schedules developed as a coordinated drawing set
- Construction details developed from your design intent and office standards
- Integration of consultant drawings into the architectural set
- Permit documentation and plan-check responses
- Construction-phase documentation, including supplemental drawings and updates tied to RFIs and field conditions
- Existing-conditions and as-built redraws when a project starts from old or incomplete backgrounds
Not every project needs a full construction document set. A set of details, a plan-check response or a tenant improvement revision can be handled as a focused documentation engagement, with hourly drafting support available where that suits the work.
Construction document development and coordination
A construction document set is only as strong as the coordination between its components, both within the architectural drawings and across the consulting engineering disciplines. A change in a wall type can affect plans, sections, details and schedules, while a consultant revision can ripple through multiple sheets.
Once the drawing package is defined, we take responsibility for moving it forward. We develop the sheets, maintain cross-references and schedules, integrate consultant backgrounds as they’re issued and follow each change through the set. You don’t need to direct that work sheet by sheet. We work from your design intent, sketches and project milestones, and we bring your team the specific decisions that need an architect’s call.
Redlines are a valuable way to communicate design intent and project direction, but effective documentation requires more than simply incorporating markups. Our team brings the experience and technical judgment to advance drawing production independently within the agreed design direction. When questions, inconsistencies or coordination conflicts arise, we identify their implications and raise them early, allowing the project team to make informed decisions before those issues carry through the drawing set.
Permit documentation and construction-phase support
We prepare drawing sets for agency submittal and carry plan-check comments through the affected sheets, keeping the set consistent from one review cycle to the next. We can also coordinate the submittal and plan-check process itself with municipal building departments and California’s Division of the State Architect (DSA): tracking corrections, coordinating responses with your team and consultants, and carrying the revisions through to the permitted set. This administrative coordination supports the architect of record and doesn’t replace their professional responsibility. Approval decisions rest with the reviewing authority.
After permit, we can support the construction phase with drawing revisions and supplemental documentation tied to RFIs, field conditions and change documents, so the set stays current as the building comes together.
When project requirements warrant licensed professional involvement, 1CADSource can draw on its established relationship with an independent licensed architect, with that architect’s role defined for the engagement.
Inputs, CAD standards, review and handoff
What to send
A strong start usually includes:
- Current DWG or Revit files, including any external references
- Design development drawings, sketches and project notes
- Consultant backgrounds and any requirements affecting the drawings
- Your CAD or Revit standards, title block and sheet template
- The deliverables required and your project milestones
Incomplete information doesn’t rule out a project. It does help to identify gaps early, because missing backgrounds or undecided design items can change the scope.
Working in your standards
Drawings should look like they came from your office. We work in your template and follow your layer, text, dimension and title block conventions. If your firm doesn’t have a written standard, a recent sheet set can serve as the reference.
Review and handoff
Your team reviews the drawings at agreed milestones, and we carry the comments through the set. Final deliverables are agreed at the outset and typically include native DWG or Revit files and PDFs. Open items are listed so nothing gets buried in the drawings.
Where outside drafting helps most
Construction document phases
When a project moves from design development into CDs and your staff is committed elsewhere, we can take on a defined drawing package and advance it toward your issue dates.
Tenant improvements
TI schedules move quickly and often involve repeated plan revisions. We can carry the documentation while your project team manages the client and consultants.
Renovations
Renovation sets often begin with drawings that no longer match the building. We can clean up old backgrounds, redraw existing plans and carry your design revisions through the set.
Project backlogs
When several deadlines land together, a defined portion of the CAD documentation can move to us without a new full-time hire.
Related measured-drawing and as-built work
Architectural production often depends on what happens before design and after construction. If your project needs reliable base drawings first, see our measured drawings and existing-conditions service. If construction is finished and changes need to be recorded, see as-built and record drawing drafting.
For projects that also need consulting-engineering documentation, we offer MEP CAD drafting for your engineering team.
Request architectural drafting support
Send a short description of the project, its current phase, the approximate size of the drawing set, what files are available and your target milestone. We’ll follow up to clarify the scope and arrange how files should be shared.
Frequently asked questions
Can 1CADSource bring a licensed architect into my project?
Yes, depending on the project requirements. 1CADSource has an established professional relationship with an independent licensed architect who may be brought into a project when licensed architectural expertise is needed.
We can help coordinate that involvement alongside our construction documentation services, with the architect’s professional scope, responsibilities and contractual arrangements established for the engagement.
Our own service is architectural CAD and construction documentation. We aren’t a licensed architecture firm, and licensed services aren’t automatically part of a 1CADSource scope. Design authority, architect-of-record responsibility and any sealed plans rest with the licensed architect on the project.
What CAD software do you use?
We provide AutoCAD and Revit drafting and documentation support. Software, file formats and model deliverables are confirmed for each project so they match its scope.
Can you work from PDFs if we don’t have the original DWGs?
Often, yes. Plans can be redrawn from PDFs or scans, but that work is scoped differently from editing a native CAD file. Scan quality and the amount of dimension information affect the effort.
Do you produce trade shop drawings?
Not through architectural drafting. This service is limited to design and construction documentation, and it doesn’t include fabrication shop drawings for millwork, steel or other trades. Fire alarm CAD shop drawings are offered separately as a contractor-directed 1CADSource specialty.
How long does a drawing package take?
It depends on the sheet count, the quality of the source material and how many changes are involved. We’ll discuss your schedule during scoping and confirm a delivery plan for the agreed deliverables.