Structural Drafting
Structural drafting that turns your engineer's calculations into permit-ready drawings.
We draft foundation plans, framing plans, connection details, and structural schedules from your engineer's calculations, redlines, or sketches. We are a drafting company, not a licensed structural engineering firm: your engineer of record designs and stamps the work, we produce the CAD drawings.
What Structural Drafting Covers
The drawings your engineer's design becomes.
A structural calculation package tells you what the design requires. Structural drafting turns that design into the coordinated drawing set a plan checker and a contractor can actually build from.
Foundation Plans
Footing and foundation layout, dimensions, reinforcement callouts, and anchor bolt locations drafted from the engineer's foundation design.
Framing Plans
Floor and roof framing plans showing member sizes, spacing, spans, and bearing points as specified in the structural calculations.
Connection and Structural Details
Hold-downs, shear connections, beam-to-column details, and any other assembly details called out in the engineer's design.
Lateral System Drawings
Shear wall schedules, moment frame locations, and bracing layouts drafted and cross-referenced to the framing plans.
Structural Notes and Schedules
General structural notes, material specifications, and schedules for footings, columns, beams, and headers referenced throughout the set.
Architectural Coordination Sheets
Structural sheets checked against the architectural set for grid alignment, dimension consistency, and bearing wall locations.
How It Works
From calculations to a stamped structural set.
Your engineer of record directs the design and stamps the final set. We handle everything in between.
Calculation and Markup Intake
We start from your structural engineer's calculations, redlines, hand sketches, or an existing structural set that needs to be redrawn or revised.
Foundation and Framing Plan Production
Foundation and framing plans are drafted in CAD to the member sizes, spacing, and dimensions specified in the engineer's design, coordinated against the architectural floor plans.
Connection and Detail Drafting
Every connection, hold-down, and structural detail called out in the calculations is drawn and cross-referenced to the plans and sections it appears on.
Coordination with the Architectural Set
Grid lines, dimensions, and bearing locations are checked against the architectural drawings so the two sets agree before the package reaches the engineer for review.
Engineer Review and Delivery
The completed structural sheets are returned to your engineer of record for review and stamp, then delivered in your required format ready for permit submission.
Regional Factors
Where you're building changes what gets drafted.
The same framing plan looks different in a hurricane zone than it does inland. Regional hazard requirements are set by your engineer's design, but they change the scope, and the cost, of the drawing set.
Regional Structural Considerations
| Hazard Type | What It Adds to the Set | Typical Cost Impact | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane / High-Velocity Wind Zones | Wind-load calculations, impact-resistant detailing, and uplift connection callouts. | Adds roughly 20 to 50 percent to drawing cost | Florida coastal counties |
| High Seismic Design Categories | Additional lateral system detailing, shear wall schedules, and moment frame connections. | Varies by seismic design category | California and other high-seismic regions |
| Standard / Baseline Regions | Baseline structural code minimums and standard connection details. | Included in base structural drafting scope | Most inland U.S. jurisdictions |
Read more on hurricane wind-load drawings in Florida.
Residential and Commercial
Two building types, two different drawing sets.
The drafting approach follows your engineer's design either way, but the scope of the drawing set differs by building type.
Residential
Single-family additions, second stories, and ADUs typically need foundation plans, floor and roof framing plans, and connection details drafted from the engineer's calculations for the specific load path.
Home Addition PackagesCommercial
Commercial and multi-story structures carry more extensive lateral system documentation, larger foundation schedules, and tighter coordination with MEP and architectural sheets throughout the set.
MEP CoordinationStructural Drafting Services We Provide
Drafting, coordination, and everything in between.
From drafting a full structural set to converting a redlined revision or coordinating it against the architectural drawings, these are the services CADTRI delivers most often around structural documentation.
Common Pitfalls
Where structural drawings go wrong.
Most structural correction comments trace back to one of these gaps between the drafting and the calculations behind it.
Grid Line Mismatches
Structural and architectural sheets referencing different grid systems, forcing the plan checker to reconcile two sets that should already agree.
Missing Connection Callouts
Hold-downs, straps, and connection hardware specified in the calculations but not shown or referenced on the framing plan.
Outdated Calculation Revisions
Drawings drafted against an earlier version of the engineer's calculations after a design change was made downstream.
Incomplete Structural Notes
General notes missing material specifications, design loads, or code references the plan checker expects to see on the structural sheets.
Unclear Load Path
Framing members shown without a clear bearing point or continuous path down to the foundation, a common trigger for structural correction comments.
Dimension Conflicts with Architectural
Wall thicknesses, column locations, or floor-to-floor heights that differ between the structural and architectural sets.
Missing Schedules
Footing, column, or header schedules referenced by callout on the plans but not included anywhere in the set.
Unreferenced Details
Detail callouts on the framing plan that don't point to an actual detail drawn elsewhere in the structural set.
Glossary
Structural terms, defined.
The vocabulary that shows up on a structural calculation package or a framing plan without explanation. Six terms worth knowing.
- Load Path
- The continuous structural route that transfers a building's weight and lateral forces down through framing, walls, and foundation to the ground.
- Shear Wall
- A wall panel engineered to resist lateral forces from wind or seismic loads, documented on the lateral system drawings.
- Hold-Down
- A metal connector anchoring framing to the foundation or a lower floor, resisting uplift and lateral forces at a shear wall.
- Moment Frame
- A rigid steel or concrete frame connection used to resist lateral loads without shear walls, common on commercial structures.
- Wind-Load Design
- Structural detailing sized to resist wind pressures and uplift, required in hurricane and high-velocity wind zones. Read More
- Engineer of Record
- The licensed structural engineer who directs the design and stamps the final structural drawing set submitted for permit.
Frequently Asked
Structural drafting, explained.
- What is structural drafting?
- Structural drafting is the CAD production of structural drawings, foundation plans, framing plans, connection details, and schedules, based on a licensed structural engineer's calculations, markups, or design direction.
- Do you provide structural engineering, or just drafting?
- Drafting only. We are not a licensed structural engineering firm and do not produce calculations, stamped designs, or engineering judgment. We draft the structural drawing set from your engineer's calculations, redlines, or sketches, and the engineer of record reviews and stamps the final set.
- Can you draft from my engineer's calculations or redlines?
- Yes. That's the typical starting point: structural calculations, hand markups, a prior structural set that needs revision, or a combination of all three. We draft the CAD sheets to match what the engineer has specified.
- What structural drawings do you produce?
- Foundation plans, floor and roof framing plans, connection and structural details, lateral system drawings (shear walls, bracing), and the structural notes and schedules that go with them.
- Do you draft for wood frame, steel, and concrete structures?
- Yes, across residential wood frame construction and light commercial steel and concrete structures. The drafting approach is directed by your engineer's design regardless of the structural system.
- How does structural drafting differ from structural coordination?
- Structural drafting produces the structural drawing set itself. Structural coordination reviews an already-produced structural set against the architectural drawings to resolve conflicts before permit submission. Most projects use both: drafting to produce the set, coordination to make sure it agrees with the architectural drawings.
- What software and file formats do you use?
- We draft in AutoCAD and Revit and deliver print-ready PDF along with native DWG or RVT files, matching the format your engineer or the building department requires.
- Do coastal or hurricane-zone projects need extra structural documentation?
- Yes. In Florida's high-velocity hurricane zones, wind-load calculations and impact-resistant detailing typically add 20 to 50 percent to structural drawing cost, driven by the additional connection details and uplift documentation the engineer's design requires.
- Does a commercial structural set require more than a residential one?
- Generally yes. Commercial and multi-story structures carry more extensive lateral system documentation, larger foundation and connection schedules, and tighter coordination with MEP routing than most residential projects require.
- What is a code analysis sheet, and does it apply to structural drawings?
- A code analysis sheet documents how a project meets applicable building and zoning code. Structural sheets reference it for design loads, code edition, and material specifications, keeping the structural notes consistent with the rest of the permit set.
From the Blog
Go deeper on structural documentation.
Hurricane Wind-Load Drawings in Florida
What wind-load drawings show, which projects need them, and what they cost by wind zone.
Read ArticleCommercial vs. Residential Drawings
Why commercial structures carry a heavier structural documentation load.
Read ArticleWhat Is a Code Analysis Sheet?
An annotated example of the sheet that ties structural notes to code compliance.
Read Article