With us, facade construction drafting outsourcing means a permanent team takes on the work from our own office. We do not hire individual freelancers per assignment and do not put a changing line-up on a project. Sam, our team leader, divides the work, directs the drafters and is responsible for the technical side of the project.
He has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design firm in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer.
Everyone who drafts for us has more than ten years of CAD experience. The work itself is done entirely remotely, although you are welcome to visit and we also come to you when that helps. We draft and model; engineering is not part of our work. For a facade contractor, that means a production layer that scales with the number of projects, without anyone being added to the payroll. When a new enquiry comes in, we respond within 1 to 2 working days.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
What we draw in facade construction drafting
In facade work, our job is to detail what you have designed. We draw facade elevations, element layouts, profile sections, connection details at floor, roof and movement joints, and the setting-out drawings the installation crew uses on site. For each element we work out the build-up down to glazing opening, rebate and fixing, always based on the systems and design principles your company supplies. Where a model is needed, we model the facade in Revit or Rhino and derive the drawings from it. Rhino comes in mainly for double-curved surfaces or a free-form facade, where drawing in the flat plane involves too much manual work.
A second focus is revision work. A facade can still change late in the process, and then a set of dozens of drawings has to follow. We carry out that round in the existing files, so the numbering and structure stay intact. As-built drawings are also part of the work we take on, including the investigation that comes with them. With an as-built file that has been printed incorrectly or partly drawn by hand, we would rather work it out ourselves than keep calling you.
What we do not do is calculate wind loads, thermal performance or structural connections. That responsibility stays with you or your consultant, which keeps the division of roles clear for both sides. So facade contractors who outsource their drafting do not get advice from us, but production drafting in the format and to the standard they use themselves.
Collaboration and communication on outsourced facade construction drafting
With us you have a consistent point of contact. Barry, our project manager, picks up a new request and goes through the project, after which Sam takes over the technical side. Those two remain your contacts throughout the project, so nobody has to explain their question three times to a new face. Day-to-day contact runs by email, phone and meetings, and we set the rhythm together with your project leader. On a facade project under pressure we speak every two days; on a calmer project a weekly meeting is enough.
With standalone AutoCAD work, files go back and forth by email, because that remains quickest for a manageable set. On larger projects we use software you can log into to follow the progress of the project. That saves your project leader asking for status updates and shows him what is finished and what is still in progress. We also work in our own environment with our own licences, so nobody has to free up a workstation or network access for us. That saves your IT department a request and saves us a wait before we can start.
We always work with the latest versions. For our existing client Firefly we have now completed more than twenty projects and hundreds of drawings, and that collaboration runs along exactly these lines. If people want to see us at work, they are welcome at our office, and we also come to them. The work itself stays remote; the contact does not.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
Ownership and confidentiality of the files
The intellectual property of everything we draw becomes yours. So you can pass the files on without restriction to your system supplier, estimating, the installation crew or a third party. We build in no dependency and hold back no components that could be used to force a follow-up assignment. Models, families, templates and the cleaned-up blocks we create on commission are simply part of that. We sign a non-disclosure agreement on request. So far we have not signed one, simply because clients have not asked, but we are fully open to it. For facade contractors this point comes up more often than in other disciplines, because a detailed facade reveals a lot about a company's pricing and choice of system. We work in our own environment and not in the client's, so it is clear where the files are stored and who can access them.
We agree arrangements on onward delivery, version control and clearing up material afterwards in advance, not halfway through. We also discuss who within our team gets access to the files, and that stays limited to the drafters working on the project and the people who review their work. We also follow your drawing conventions, including on points such as naming and the title block, because that too is proprietary company information. For companies outsourcing facade construction drafting, this is usually the point where the conversation gets concrete, and we would rather cover it at the start than at the first delivery.
The process after outsourcing facade construction drafting
It starts with a conversation in which we go through the project and get the scope clear. We ask about the number of elements, the system you work with, the required lead time and your drawing conventions. You then supply the documents: existing drawings that need revising, typical details, dimensions and the design principles that have been fixed.
With enough information, we can start straight away. We deliver in stages, not in a final sprint. On a facade project we often work up a single element in full first, so your project leader can check whether our detailing and dimensioning match what the workshop expects.
We process that feedback, after which the rest of the elements follow the same route. Every delivery first goes through our own review: a drafter produces the work, a second team member checks it, Sam then reviews it, and Barry checks the delivery. Thanks to those layers, errors stay to a minimum in practice and your own checking stays limited. If something runs over or a change comes in from site, we update the current set rather than putting a new version alongside it.
We only bill net working hours, so if someone steps away for a coffee, the clock stops. A short assignment is fine, and we are happy to start with a small package so you can judge our speed and accuracy for yourself. You can reach us by phone or through the contact form on our website.
Frequently asked questions about facade construction drafting outsourcing
Hand your facade drafting over to us
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.