Types of BIM Construction Drawings in Building Design

The creation of construction drawings before the construction process is compulsory. They like an assistant to the architects, engineers to convey their ideas and concepts about the building. In this article, we want to give you an overview of different types of BIM construction drawings in the building design. It will help you understand and do your work better.

Types of BIM Construction Drawings

There are many different types of BIM construction drawings created during the construction and designing process. We have covered some of the commonly-used drawings like architectural, structural, MEP construction drawings. These drawings will allow you to know better about layout plans and detailed information for each part of a building.

Let’s take a look at these drawings to understand about its purposes and functions.

1. Architectural Construction Drawings

Architectural construction drawings provide you with a detailed overview of the building design. They include different types of ones like Site Plan, Floor Plan, Line Plan, Cross Section Drawing, Landscape Drawing, General Note, etc. These drawings are developed at the final step of the architectural design process. They contain more detailed information than the concept design drawings.

• Site Plan: The drawing gives you an overview of the construction site. It helps builders know the scope of construction activities. Besides, it also lets you identify the typography of the building.
• Floor Plan: The floor plan describes the dimensions and different kinds of installments.
• Line Plan: The line plan gives you an overview of the layout for the whole room. It helps to identify the sizes of the rooms, the position of the doors.
• Cross Section Drawing: A cross-section drawing shows the components of a building vertically. It provides an overview of both the visible and hidden areas of the building.
• Landscape Drawing: The landscape drawing shows the aerial view of the whole building area. It also demonstrates the external aesthetics of the building.
• General Note: A general note consists of details like codes, length, construction type, abbreviations, etc

2. Structural Construction Drawings

Structural construction drawings are a bunch of drawings that present the structural aspect of the building. These drawings give you more details on locations, size, spacing details, and materials specifications of structural components.

Some structural drawings are Column Layout, Roof Slab Layout, Framing Plan, Assembly Drawing, Roof Beam Layout, Foundation Plan, etc.

• Column Layout: The drawing focuses on the design and pattern of the columns of the entire structure.
• Roof Slab Layout: The roof slab layout shows detailed information of the floors, roof faces, and other surfaces.
• Framing Plan: It provides information about the framework, sizes, and positions of the beams.
• Assembly Drawing: The purpose of the drawing is to describe the connection between two elements. It can include 3D, sectional, and elevational views.
• Roof Beam Layout: The roof beam layout allows builders to know more details about the material specifications.
• Foundation Plan: The drawing presents information about the dimensions, sizes, shapes of a floor. Footings are also a crucial part of a foundation plan.

3. MEP Construction Drawings

MEP construction drawings will include the location, identification, and installation details of all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in the building.

The mechanical construction drawings will let you know the location and size of mechanical equipment, ductwork. It includes connection details as well.

The electrical construction drawings present the location of all power, lighting, switches, fans, etc. These drawings allow electricians to understand the wiring diagrams on the floor. Besides, they also specify the load capacity and information regarding the air conditioning or the heating systems.

Like the electrical drawings, the plumbing drawings will show the layout of the plumbing elements. They include the water drainage system and the piping system of a building. Besides, they provide you with the location and size of pipes. Or it may show the position of the taps and other water outlets on every floor.

Besides, the mechanical drawings also include HVAC drawings and firefighting drawings. The HVAC drawings give you information about the heating and ventilation systems. Firefighting drawings point out the placement of the fire hoses, points, water outlets, etc.

The MEP system is complex, so it often requires BIM coordination before making the MEP construction drawings. This activity helps to detect clashes or conflicts in the design before starting the construction process.

Explore more about our BIM Coordination services. We are happy to assist you!

Summary and Recommendation

BIM construction drawings play a vital role in providing an insight into what is to be built. So construction drawings should be concise and coordinate the building trades to avoid clashes or confusion. But how do you make sure that these drawings are kept complete before, during, and post-construction?

If you get stuck and need help, feel free to contact us. We have skilled modelers to help you make BIM construction documentation. Please share with us the project requirements. Our BIM consultant will reach out to you to analyze and advise you.

P/S: We have a one-of-a-kind offer for Revit Structural, MEP BIM modeling projects that focus on the building design phase – Design Development, Construction Documentation.

ViBIM is a global provider of Building Information Modeling (BIM) services. We’ve had more than five years of experience and expertise in Scan to BIM services, 3D BIM coordination, BIM design, and Dynamo BIM services for clients in the UK, US.