When clients get detail drawings drafted, they start with two practical questions: what format will the work come back in, and which standard will we draft to? Our standard formats are DXF, DWG, Revit formats and STEP, and we also deliver in any other common CAD format.
The drawing conventions come from you and we follow them, right down to the layer structure, the hatching and the title block. Our office works with Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino, supplemented by Inventor, Grasshopper and, to a limited extent, Dynamo and Vault.
We always run the latest versions and work with our own licences. Our large, flexible team includes drafters with more than ten years of CAD experience and scales with each project. We draft and model; we do not do engineering. The work is done remotely from our own office, for clients throughout the Netherlands. You will hear from us within 1 to 2 working days. In that first conversation, we go through the documents and the format straight away.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
The detail drawings we deliver
For us, detail drawings are the sheets that show a connection, a junction or a component at a large scale. We draft them as 2D sheets with the associated dimensions, material specifications and references to the main drawing. Where a model is useful, we first model the component in three dimensions and cut the details from it. That works especially well when the same detail comes back in several variants. Alongside new sheets, we revise existing details and update as-built material.
We deliver the output in the format the recipient needs, from DWG and DXF to Revit files and STEP. A PDF set on top is no problem, but we always supply the source files as well. We take the layer structure, line weights, hatching and numbering from your standard. If you have your own detail library, we build on it rather than inventing something new. We also look at the sheet layout, because a detail on an overcrowded sheet is hard to read on site.
For large numbers of sheets, we agree a fixed set-up so that every sheet follows the same structure. That makes it easier for the site team to find the right detail quickly. We keep the material schedule linked to the model, so a change to the component carries through to the schedule. So when you get detail drawings drafted by us, you do not get loose pictures but sheets that fit into your existing set. The intellectual property of those sheets belongs to you.
The process from supplying files to delivering the detail drawings
It starts with a conversation in which we review the documents and define the scope. You then supply what you have: models, main drawings, photos of the existing situation or an old detail library. We check those files before we start drafting. Do the layers open as expected, is the scale right, and is the origin where it should be? That way we avoid carrying a problem from the source files into a hundred new sheets. Next, we draft a small first batch and submit it to you.
On that batch you give feedback on style, density and annotation. Only when that set-up is right do we continue with the rest of the series. After that we deliver in batches, so work on site can begin while we are still drafting. The meeting rhythm depends on the pressure, from every two days to once a week. Files go back and forth by email, or on larger projects through software you log into yourself. We bundle questions as much as possible rather than calling about every point of doubt.
At Firefly we once received an as-built file that had been printed incorrectly and was partly drawn by hand. We worked it out ourselves and still delivered it neatly. At the end, every sheet passes through our review layers before it goes to you. A drafter draws, a second team member checks, Sam reviews it as team leader and Barry, as project manager, does the final round. Delivery then follows in the agreed format, including the source files.
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.
When it makes sense to get detail drawings drafted
Outsourcing is not always the answer, and we would rather say so upfront. Getting detail drawings drafted pays off mainly when there is volume and repetition. If there is a series of dozens or hundreds of sheets with largely the same structure, that is where you gain time. The same applies to a revision round on an old set, work that often stays on the shelf in-house. A peak in which your own drawing office is fully booked is another logical reason. It makes less sense when a detail depends heavily on a design decision that has not yet been made. Then we would be drafting something that changes again next week, and that costs time on both sides. In that case we advise waiting until the decision has been made. Work that involves a lot of consultation with the structural engineer is also a poorer fit, because we do not do engineering.
We draft what you supply as the starting point and do not fill anything in ourselves. A third consideration is the standard. If it is well documented, we can get going almost immediately. If there is no standard, we first agree a set-up, which takes a small investment upfront. For a single sheet, that investment does not outweigh drafting it yourself. For an ongoing stream of sheets, it pays for itself. If your project leader has doubts, they can start with a small first assignment. That way they see how we work without handing over a large package straight away. We are also honest about when a job is better kept in-house. In the long run, that delivers more than an assignment that does not fit.
Outsourcing, a freelancer or an in-house drafter
A freelancer is quick to arrange, but they are also a one-person operation. If they drop out, the work stops and your project leader has to start searching again. With us, a whole team stands behind the assignment. We replace someone during illness or holidays and the file keeps moving. What is more, with a freelancer nobody usually checks the work before it reaches you.
Our work goes through at least three review layers before it leaves the office. An in-house drafter is a different trade-off. They cost a salary every month, even in a month with little drafting work. On top of that come a workstation, hardware and licences, plus the time needed to train someone in.
We work in our own environment with our own licences, so those costs stay with us. If there is structural work for a full-time person, hiring makes sense in the long term. For peaks, for a backlog or for a project with many repetitive sheets, we are the faster route. With our large, flexible team, we scale up or down within the same project, with as many drafters as the work requires. A temp or a new employee does not offer that scale.
You also keep a single point of contact with us, so you do not have to coordinate with five separate people. Barry picks up the enquiry and Sam leads the drafting work. So when you get detail drawings drafted by a team, you also get the review and the continuity that come with it. Which option works best in a specific situation is something we simply discuss in the first conversation.
Frequently asked questions about getting detail drawings drafted
Let us draft your detail drawings
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.