AutoCAD drafting · DWG · Dubai

CAD drafting services in Dubai

Most drafting jobs start with something that already exists: a hand sketch, a marked-up PDF, an engineer's calculations, a set of old drawings or a few photos and tape measurements. What you need is a clean, accurate drawing set that the rest of the project can rely on. That is what our CAD drafting service produces.

We draft architectural, structural and MEP drawings in AutoCAD for architects, interior designers, contractors, consultants, fit-out companies and property owners in Dubai. You receive editable DWG files and a PDF set, drawn to scale, layered properly and checked before they leave us. If the drawings then need engineering design, an approval package or a submission to an authority, the same team can carry them through. You decide where the scope starts and stops.

Drafting services we provide

Each service below has its own page with the detail of what is included. Use this list to find the one closest to what you need.

Architectural drafting

Floor plans, elevations, sections, site plans, roof plans, reflected ceiling plans and door and window schedules, drawn from your sketches, mark-ups or existing drawings. Suited to villa extensions and renovations, apartment layout changes, retail and office fit-outs and commercial buildings. See architectural CAD drafting.

Structural drafting and detailing

Foundation and piling layouts, column, beam and slab drawings, reinforcement details, bar bending schedules and steel connection details. Our engineers can carry out the structural design and check the drawings, or we draft to your own engineer's design. See structural drawings and reinforcement detailing.

MEP drafting

HVAC and ventilation layouts, lighting and power drawings, single-line diagrams, water supply and drainage layouts, fire fighting and fire alarm drawings, and coordinated services plans and sections. See MEP drawing preparation.

Shop drawings

Contractor-side drawings that show how joinery, steelwork, MEP installations and fit-out items will actually be built, prepared for the consultant's review and revised against their comments. See shop drawing preparation.

As-built CAD drawings

Drawings that record what was built, either from a measured site survey or from the contractor's marked-up drawings at handover. Often needed for a completion certificate, a resale or a new permit on an older property. See as-built documentation.

PDF and scan to CAD

PDFs, scanned sheets and paper prints redrawn as editable DWG files, with the scale checked against printed dimensions rather than traced blindly. See PDF to editable DWG conversion.

2D drawings and 3D models

2D sheet sets for permits and site work, and AutoCAD 3D models where a project benefits from them, such as complex geometry or coordination in tight ceiling voids. See 2D and 3D CAD drafting.

Ongoing drafting support

Extra drafting capacity for firms that need help through a busy period, a tender deadline or a backlog of drawings, working to your own templates and standards. See outsourced CAD drafting.

Drafting, design or an approval package: which do you need?

These three services are often confused, and choosing the right one at the start saves money and time.

What you needWhat it involvesWhere it fits
DraftingYou already have the design, sketch or engineering input. We turn it into accurate, coordinated CAD drawings.This page and the drafting services above
DesignThe design itself still needs to be developed: layouts, structure, building services, compliance with the Dubai Building Code.Villa design, building design, MEP design
Approval packageDrawings prepared to an authority's requirements and submitted for a permit or NOC.Engineering drawings for authority approval

A drafted set is not automatically an approval set. Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Development Authority, Trakhees, Dubai Civil Defence and DEWA each expect particular sheets, notes, stamps and formats, and the route depends on where your plot is. If your drawings are heading for a permit or a developer NOC, tell us when you ask for a quote. We can draft with the submission in mind from the first sheet, rather than redrawing later.

What you send us

You don't need a perfect brief to get started. Send whatever you have, and we will tell you what is missing before we price the work. The most useful inputs are:

  • Sketches, marked-up PDFs or redlined prints showing what needs to be drawn or changed
  • Existing drawings in any format: DWG, PDF, scans or paper copies
  • Site photos and key measurements, if the drawings must match what is built
  • Your engineer's design, calculations or mark-ups for structural and MEP work, or a note that you would like our engineers to handle the design
  • Your CAD template, title block and layer standard, if you have one
  • A list of the sheets you need and the date you need them by

The enquiry form takes a short description of the job. Once we reply, you can send the files by email or WhatsApp, or share a download link for large sets.

What you receive

File formats

Every job is delivered as editable AutoCAD DWG files, with a PDF set for printing and review. DXF files are available if your software or a fabricator needs them. Files are purged and audited before issue, so they open cleanly and don't carry unused layers, blocks or broken references.

Drawing standards we follow

Unless you give us your own standard, drawings follow consistent conventions throughout the set:

  • Appropriate scales for each sheet, typically 1:50 or 1:100 for plans and 1:20 or 1:10 for details
  • Dimension strings tied to grid lines and structural elements, not floating
  • A clear layer structure, with line weights and colours that print legibly in black and white
  • Consistent text heights, dimension styles and hatch patterns
  • A title block with project details, drawing number, scale, date and revision
  • A revision table on every sheet and a drawing register for the set

Your CAD standards and title blocks

Many of our clients are architects, consultants and contractors with their own standards. We work in your template, use your layer names and title block, and follow your sheet numbering, so the drawings slot straight into your project files without rework.

How a drafting job runs

01

Review

We look at what you have sent and list anything unclear or missing.

02

Written scope and quote

We confirm the sheet list, the level of detail, the format, the revision allowance and the delivery date in writing.

03

Drafting

The drawings are produced, and queries are raised on a list as they come up rather than guessed on the sheet.

04

Internal check

A second person checks the drawings against the source information before issue.

05

First issue

You receive the DWG and PDF set for review.

06

Revisions

Your comments are incorporated, each change is clouded and recorded in the revision table, and the set is reissued.

07

Final issue

You receive the final DWG and PDF set and the drawing register.

How we check drawings before they reach you

Accuracy is the reason to pay for drafting, so every set is checked before it reaches you. The checks cover:

  • Dimensions add up, close correctly and match the source information
  • The scale is verified against known dimensions, especially when the source was a PDF or scan
  • Sheets agree with each other: plans, sections and elevations show the same levels, openings and grid lines
  • Text, annotations and references point to the right sheets and details
  • Layers, line weights and blocks follow the agreed standard
  • Revision clouds and the revision table match what actually changed
  • The file is purged, audited and saved in the agreed AutoCAD format

Anything we cannot confirm from the information provided is marked on the drawing or listed in the query sheet, so you know exactly what was assumed.

What affects cost and turnaround

CAD drafting is priced on the scope, not by the hour you can't see. The main factors are:

  • Number and size of sheets. A single floor plan is a very different job from a full set of plans, sections, elevations and details.
  • Quality of the source. Clear, dimensioned mark-ups draft quickly. Faded scans, PDFs without a scale or sketches without dimensions take longer and may need a site visit.
  • Level of detail. General arrangement drawings take less time than construction details, reinforcement detailing or shop drawings.
  • Disciplines. Architectural, structural and MEP drawings drafted and coordinated together take more effort than a single discipline.
  • 2D or 3D. A 3D model adds time and is worth it only when the project needs it.
  • Revisions and urgency. The revision allowance and the delivery date both affect the price.

You receive a written quotation with the scope, the number of revision rounds included and the delivery date before any work starts.

Common drafting problems we fix

  • PDFs that are not to scale. Printed or exported PDFs often lose their scale. We rebuild the drawing from the printed dimensions and flag any that conflict.
  • Drawings that don't match the site. Older approved drawings rarely show later changes. Where accuracy matters, we recommend a measured survey and as-built drawings instead of copying what may be wrong.
  • Messy CAD files. Exploded blocks, everything on one layer, dimensions typed over rather than measured: we clean or rebuild the file so it can be edited safely.
  • Sets that no longer agree. After many revisions, plans, sections and schedules drift apart. We coordinate the set and issue it with a clean revision history.
  • Missing information. Rather than invent a dimension, we ask, and record the answer on the drawing.

CAD drafting FAQs

A short description of the job, the sheets you need and your deadline. After we reply, send any sketches, PDFs, existing drawings, photos or engineering input you have. We will tell you what else, if anything, is needed before we confirm the price.

Yes. Sketches and redlined PDFs are among the most common starting points. Clear dimensions make the job faster; where a dimension is missing, we raise it as a query rather than guess.

Editable AutoCAD DWG files and a PDF set as standard, with DXF available on request. Tell us your AutoCAD version if you need files saved to an older format.

Yes. Send your template, layer standard and title block with the first job, and we will draft to them throughout.

The number of revision rounds is set out in your written quotation, based on the size of the job. Further changes outside that allowance are quoted before they are made.

It depends on the number of sheets, the quality of the source information and the level of detail. We confirm the delivery date in the written scope before starting, and agree an earlier date where the job allows it.

Our engineers can design and check the structural and MEP work for you. If you already have an engineer, we draft to their design and they remain responsible for it. The scope states which route applies.

No. Drafting produces the drawings. An approval package is prepared to a specific authority's requirements and submitted for a permit or NOC. We can do both; see engineering drawings for authority approval.

Yes. If the changes are known and documented, we update the drawings directly. If not, a measured survey and as-built drawings give a reliable starting point.

Yes. Many projects start with drafting and continue into design, the approval package and submission with the same team, so the drawings stay consistent from the first sheet to the permit.

Tell us what you are planning

Request a CAD drafting quote

Tell us what you need drawn: the type of drawings, the number of sheets, the format and your deadline. Once we reply, send your sketches, PDFs or existing drawings by email or WhatsApp, and we will confirm the scope and price in writing.

Use the form below, or message us on WhatsApp for the quickest reply.

This form sends your enquiry to Dubai Authority Approvals by email. It does not submit an application to an authority. Please avoid identity documents in the initial enquiry; drawings can be shared once we reply.