The content of the detailed design
The legal definition
Section titled “The legal definition”Under government decree 191/2009 (IX. 15.) the construction documentation contains, for builders, installers and manufacturers, every direct piece of information and instruction that is necessary and sufficient for construction and for producing the shop drawings — and it certifies compliance with the requirements set out in the permit and tender documentation.
Two things are worth pulling out of that: “necessary and sufficient”, and “for producing the shop drawings”.
What it contains
Section titled “What it contains”The architectural part
Section titled “The architectural part”Plans, sections and elevations at construction detail, build-ups, connection details, window and door schedules, finishes.
The structural part
Section titled “The structural part”The structural design, layouts and setting-out, the member schedule, connection drawings, the structural materials and grades, and the structural requirements on the work.
For a light gauge steel frame this is the part the shop drawings are produced from: the sections, the layout, the bracing, the anchorage and the connections.
The services parts
Section titled “The services parts”Mechanical, electrical, sometimes sprinklers and extra-low voltage. Their routes and requirements feed back into the structure — which is why coordination between disciplines has to be part of the detailed design.
Quantities and descriptions
Section titled “Quantities and descriptions”The technical descriptions, the schedules of quantities and the unpriced bill, which is the basis of tendering.
Why it pays even where it is not mandatory
Section titled “Why it pays even where it is not mandatory”Producing a detailed design is not mandatory in every case. Its practical value is large regardless:
- Comparable tenders: everyone prices the same content.
- Fewer variations: the questions are settled at the drawing board.
- Evidence: in a dispute, what should have been built is on record.
- Manufacture: for a prefabricated structure the shop drawings cannot responsibly be produced without it.
The precondition for shop drawings
Section titled “The precondition for shop drawings”Shop drawings are produced from the detailed design. If the detailed design is incomplete, the shop-drawing designer is forced to make decisions — decisions they are not authorised to make, because they are not the designer of the structure. Shop drawings.
The point
Section titled “The point”The detailed design is not a “prettier permit design”. It is the document that the building can actually be built from — and that manufacture can be started from.