Joinery · Steel · MEP · Fit-out
Before a joiner cuts a board, a fabricator orders steel or an MEP subcontractor hangs a single duct, the consultant usually wants to see exactly how the work will be built. That is the job of a shop drawing. It turns the design team's intent into dimensions, materials, fixings and sequence that can be checked, approved and then built without surprises on site.
We prepare shop drawings in AutoCAD for main contractors, subcontractors and fit-out, joinery, steel and MEP companies working on projects in Dubai. We draw from the approved design drawings, the specification, product data and site measurements, issue the drawings in your submittal format, and revise them against the consultant's comments until they are approved.
Design drawings, sometimes called tender or construction drawings, are produced by the architect and engineers. They show what the building or fit-out should achieve: layouts, sizes, performance and appearance. They rarely show how each item is made or fixed, because that depends on the products and methods the contractor chooses.
Shop drawings fill that gap. They are prepared on the contractor's side and show:
The consultant reviews the shop drawings against the design and the specification. The design responsibility stays with the design team; the shop drawings show how the contractor intends to deliver it. Where our engineers are involved in the design itself, the scope says so clearly.
Partition layouts and setting-out, ceiling layouts with access panels and service coordination, floor finishes and transitions, wall cladding and feature walls, toilet and wet-area details, doors and ironmongery schedules. Fit-out shop drawings are often the first place where ceilings, lighting, sprinkler heads and diffusers are drawn together, so they need careful coordination with the MEP drawings.
Kitchens, wardrobes, reception counters, vanities, wall panelling, built-in furniture and display units. Typical sheets show plans, elevations and sections at a scale the workshop can use, material and edge-band schedules, hardware, hinge and drawer specifications, fixing details to walls and floors, and the services that pass through or behind the joinery. Joinery is where small dimension errors become expensive, so measured site dimensions matter.
General arrangement drawings with member sizes and grid references, connection details showing plates, bolts and welds as designed by the engineer, base plate and anchor bolt layouts, erection marking plans, and fabrication drawings for individual members where required. This applies to mezzanines, canopies, staircases, balustrades, frames for equipment and similar steelwork. See also our structural steel drafting and detailing and, where we also build the work, steel contracting.
Duct and pipe routes with sizes and levels taken from the approved design, equipment positions and access clearances, support and hanger details, plant room layouts, sprinkler and fire alarm layouts coordinated with the ceiling, and electrical containment and distribution board layouts. MEP shop drawings are usually where clashes between services, structure and ceilings are found and resolved before installation. For the design drawings behind them, see MEP drafting.
A shop drawing that gets approved first time usually has the same ingredients:
Missing any of these is one of the most common reasons drawings come back marked "revise and resubmit".
Shop drawings go through a review loop, and the speed of that loop often decides whether site work starts on time. A typical cycle looks like this:
01
The drawings are issued through the contractor's submittal process, with a transmittal and the references the consultant needs.
02
The consultant returns the drawings with a status. Names vary between consultants, but the usual categories are approved, approved with comments, revise and resubmit, and rejected.
03
Comments are logged against the drawing, the changes are made and clouded, and a response to each comment is prepared.
04
The revised drawings go back with the next revision letter until they are approved.
We keep a comment log for each submission, so every comment is tracked to the revision that closes it. That makes resubmissions faster and stops the same comment coming back twice. Response times on comments are agreed in the scope, so you know how quickly a revised set will be ready.
Shop drawings are normally reviewed by the project's consultant. Some items, such as fire protection systems, may also need approval from an authority like Dubai Civil Defence as part of the wider project. Where that applies, we prepare the drawings with that requirement in mind and can coordinate the Civil Defence approval.
Many site problems come from trades meeting for the first time on site: a kitchen that blocks a socket, a ceiling that is too low for the duct above it, a steel beam where the sprinkler pipe was meant to run. Shop drawings are the cheapest place to find these.
When we prepare shop drawings for more than one trade, or when you send us the other trades' drawings, we check:
Issues are raised on a query list with a proposed solution, so the design team can decide quickly.
Files can be sent by email or WhatsApp after we reply to your enquiry, or shared through a download link for large sets.
Shop drawing work is priced on scope. The main factors are:
You receive a written quotation with the sheet list, the number of review rounds included and the submission dates before work starts.
Because our team also prepares design drawings and authority approval packages, we understand what the consultant is checking for. If the design itself has gaps, such as a missing detail or an unresolved clash, we can raise it with the design team or, where we are appointed for the design, resolve it ourselves. That continuity is useful on fit-outs, villa works and smaller commercial projects where one team can carry the drawings from engineering drawings through shop drawings to as-built records at handover.
If your team needs extra drafting capacity during busy periods, see CAD drafting outsourcing.
Not sure which set you need? See how shop drawings differ from as-built drawings.
Construction drawings come from the design team and show the design intent. Shop drawings come from the contractor's side and show exactly how the work will be made and installed, with real products, measured dimensions and fixing details.
Usually the project consultant or engineer, who checks them against the design and specification. Some systems, such as fire protection, may also be part of an authority approval for the project.
Yes. Send your template and submittal requirements and we will prepare the drawings in your format, ready to go through your document control.
Yes, where the work has to fit existing conditions. Measured dimensions are recorded on the drawings with the date they were taken.
Response times are agreed in the scope for each package, based on the number of drawings and the nature of the comments. We keep a comment log so revisions are focused and complete.
Yes. We prepare general arrangement, connection and fabrication drawings from the engineer's design. Connection design and structural responsibility stay with the engineer of record, or with our engineers where we are appointed for the design.
Yes. We draw routes, sizes, levels, supports and equipment layouts from the approved MEP design and coordinate them with the structure, ceilings and other services.
Yes. Joinery drawings include plans, elevations, sections, details, and schedules of materials, edge bands and hardware, at a scale the workshop can use.
Most shop drawings are reviewed by the consultant rather than an authority. Where a system needs authority approval as part of the project, we prepare the drawings with that requirement in mind.
The approved design drawings, the specification, product data and either site measurements or access to measure. A list of the items you need drawn and your submission dates helps us quote accurately.
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Send the approved drawings and your dates.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
Send the approved design, specifications and your submission dates, and we will prepare the shop drawings.
Tell us what you are planning
Tell us the trade, the items to be drawn and your submission dates. Once we reply, send the approved design drawings, specifications and product data, and we will confirm the scope and review rounds in writing.
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