Is detailing easier in Revit than AutoCAD for creating Construction Drawings?

Is detailing easier in Revit than AutoCAD for creating Construction Drawings?

What are Architectural Construction Drawings?

Architectural Construction Drawings are dimensioned graphical information of a building that are created by architects to communicate the design with construction professionals to construct the building. They are a part of construction information that is included with tender documentation and contract documents. They also have a legal significance as they form a part of the agreement between the contractor and the employer.

A typical set of Working Drawings include floor plans, elevations, sections, roof plans and details (such as door and window schedule, cut & fill plan, velux details, etc. as deemed necessary for the project). It may also include site plan and service plans as per the project requirement. Individual service plans are prepared for each major trade in several projects. For e.g. the service plans will have separate drawings for HVAC drawings, electrical drawings, plumbing drawings, and fire protection drawings.

Construction Drawing Sets are very detailed in nature and include all dimensions and information that is required to erect a building. CD Sets can be created using conventional methods such as manually, using computer-aided design OR using a Building Information Modeling software as a part of a BIM project. Now comes the million dollar question: Which software to use to add details for creating Construction Drawings: AutoCAD or a BIM software? We will examine the benefits of using Revit as compared to AutoCAD on various aspects for detailing.

AutoCAD Vs Revit for adding details in Construction Drawings

Professionals associated with the construction industry and architects often face a dilemma when it comes to selecting appropriate software for preparing working drawings. It has been a few decades now that engineers and architects have been using AutoCAD for all their drawing requirements including the creation of CD sets. When asked to switch to Revit, the common response encountered is: “We know Revit is great for modeling. But detailing is easier in AutoCAD.” This attitude can largely be attributed to the inherent resistance to change.

Detailing is easier in Revit. 3D views with annotations make the details much easier to understand. Accurate Construction Drawings can be generated very quickly from the precise models. For e.g. setting line weights in Revit is a streamlined approach. You can adjust the line weights of any element by changing the value in the dropdown next to Category. While AutoCAD gives the flexibility to set up multiple layers and adjust line type, weight, color, etc., it can be quite overwhelming for projects that undergo many design changes during the drafting stage.

Closing:

The construction industry has traditionally been a conservative industry and professionals within the industry are wary of trading into unknown waters. Using a known software adds to the comfort level and ranks the highest when it comes to selecting software. On the other hand, there are several companies within the industry who have implemented BIM Modeling in their projects and have realized many benefits ranging from curtailing costs to increase productivity and meet deadlines effectively. They vouch for using Revit for creating Architectural Construction Drawings and adding details.

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