A structural drafter on a project basis works with us in Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino, and in Inventor or Grasshopper where the project calls for it. We use Dynamo and Vault to a limited extent. We always work with the latest versions, in our own environment and with our own licences, so you do not need to free up a seat, workstation or server access.
We deliver in DXF, DWG, Revit formats and STEP, and in practice in any common CAD format.
We draft and model. We do not do engineering, so calculations, structural advice and permits stay with you or with the structural engineer you bring in. Everyone who drafts for us has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the core of our team has around twenty-five years of experience combined. We work nationwide and fully remotely from our own office, although you are welcome to visit us. We respond to a new enquiry within 1 to 2 working days.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
The repetitive work of a structural drafter
Most of the hours in structural drafting do not go into the special solution but into the repetition around it. A detail sheet that is almost identical for each building section and still needs attention one by one. An openings overview that has to be gone through again after every change from the MEP contractor. A grid floor plan that follows the same pattern over six storeys, each time with a small deviation. That work takes little brainpower and a lot of time, and it is exactly the part that makes a drawing office fall behind schedule.
We take over that detailing so your own people can stay focused on the connections and the coordination. Our approach starts with an inventory. At the start we ask which components recur in the project, how often and in which variants, and only then do we turn up the volume. That order matters, because an error in the pattern repeats itself as often as the component itself. Where the time savings lie depends on the form of the work.
In a revision round on existing DWG files, the gain lies in reading through the set beforehand, so we know what is already usable. In new work, the gain lies in the set-up: components that adapt rather than components someone redraws every time. And in a peak, the gain simply lies in the number of hands we add. In all three cases we deliver in parts, so you see early on which way things are heading. What we bill is pure working hours, so interruptions do not appear on the timesheet.
Parametric working for the structural drafter
In repetitive drafting, a smart component saves more time than any working arrangement. We build parametric Revit families: components that adapt to a new situation or a different size. We make the component once and then place it anywhere without drawing it again. The material schedule follows automatically, so if the component changes, the schedule changes with it. That last point prevents the classic situation in which the drawing is correct but the schedule is one revision behind.
An example from our own work shows how big the difference is. Companies in greenhouse construction often draft entirely in AutoCAD, and AutoCAD is not clever at building up components such as valves in piping systems. If you need a valve in 90 and in 110 there, you redraw it by hand every time. With a smart family, it is in place after a single action. In that kind of work it saves at least seventy per cent of the time, and that gain shows up directly on the timesheet.
We can clean up an existing family library or build a new one. Which is wiser depends on the condition of the existing library. If a set is very messy, with overlapping families or families based on an old template, rebuilding is sometimes faster than repairing. We present that trade-off with our reasoning, after which you choose. If a drawing office deliberately works entirely in AutoCAD, we fit in with that and do not push for a switch.
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.
What a drafter on a project basis delivers with us
The delivered set must be usable without anyone having to call us. That means complete dimensioning, a consistent title block and numbering, a layer structure that matches what you already use, and a material schedule that matches the drawing. We include the source files, not just a PDF, because the intellectual property of everything we make belongs to you. Your own drafter can therefore continue working in it straight away and does not remain dependent on us. Which output makes sense depends on where the set is going. For cost estimating, what matters most is that items can be extracted unambiguously from the schedule. For construction, the detailing and the legibility of dimensions and references matter. We ask about that at the start, because a set that has to be reworked afterwards immediately eats up the benefit of outsourcing.
Before anything leaves our office, it goes through at least three review layers. A drafter draws, a second team member checks that work, Sam, our team leader, then reviews it and Barry, our project manager, checks it last. As a result, errors stay minimal in practice. We deliver in parts, collect feedback, make adjustments and move on to the next part. That way a misunderstood detail surfaces within the first ten drawings and not the last hundred. For standalone drafting, files go back and forth by email. For larger projects we work with software you can log into to follow progress.
Scaling up with drafters on a project basis
With our large, variable team we scale project staffing up or down per project, from one drafter for a small job to as many drafters as needed. The team is already in place, so for us scaling up means deploying, not recruiting, which saves the weeks a recruitment process normally takes. If speed is needed, people join the work straight away. If someone drops out due to illness or holiday, we replace them so the schedule does not slip.
Because we record the project agreements rather than leaving them in a drafter's head, such a switch takes little handover time. You have no ongoing payroll costs with us, because no contract keeps running in a month without work.
We charge by the hour or per project at a fixed price, whichever suits the assignment, and we do not work with a prepaid hours card or hours subscription. However large the team, you keep one fixed point of contact. Barry picks up the enquiry and the arrangements, after which Sam takes over the technical side and supervision. As team leader, Sam has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design practice in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer.
We tell you in advance what is feasible, and we do not promise a delivery time we cannot meet. For a deadline that could not slip, our team did work evenings and weekends, with days of fourteen to fifteen hours. A short assignment is fine, and many clients start with a small first job.
Frequently asked questions about a structural drafter on a project basis
Hand your structural 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.