The advances of computerized drafting are wonderful. They allow clients to, literally, look over my shoulder while I make all revisions to a set of plans. Gone are those days where I would have to separately record the instructions on what to revise and then edit a draft for the homeowner to review at a later date. The process was slow and cumbersome. This older process often lead to frustration when specific instructions weren’t carried out exactly.
Today, a typical drafting job will require me to collect a rough-draft and get to a good starting point on my own time. I can then call in the client at a convenient time and start “combing” out bad ideas and inserting more-informed details. Feed-back is immediate. For example, linen cabinets are usually not deeper than 18″. More than 18″ and the stored items at the rear of a cabinet are difficult to reach. But if the client needed a deeper storage for a certain reason, I’d certainly want to design the cabinet per his wishes. I would easily divert any frustration by a few simple questions. With the CAD (computer-aided-drafting) system, I could quickly discuss the pros and cons of any design and provide the best direction, together.
Another convenience of the CAD is to quickly calculate the square footage of a home and have the ability to easily adjust its size. Everybody involved with the construction process will be interested in the size of your home. As a draftsman, I want to be able to provide to the owner a presentation, with or without dimensions, that can then be passed off to the builder for cost estimates. As a draftsman, it is critical for me to know that this information will be placed in the right hands. And providing smaller scaled plans are fast and easy. Not to mention, these smaller presentations can be sent by e-mail.
And finally, The CAD allows me a quick library of all clients. When the telephone rings and a I am asked a question, it is nice to know that I can quickly get to a job and review the plan before I give any advice.
This whole process with the CAD helps to save time, usually twice as fast as done by hand. So therefore, a 2000 square foot home could be completed in a month, even faster if required.