Working Drawings Handbook by Keith Styles and Andrew Bichard

I often get asked about the structure of working drawings (construction documents). How should they be numbered, what should be shown and so on. Creating a set of working drawings (contract documents) is a very important task. If you get it wrong, you will have trouble and complications on site, and with the client. Get it right, and your drawings will describe the building more accurately, and the contractor will understand your intentions better. You might even have less trouble with the contractor (we all hope).

There is a book that I have used many times when I lived and worked in the UK. I was really happy to see this book is still available and up to date. This book will explain the reasons for accurate and clear drawings, how to create a system that will create the working drawings, and it explains a clear systemized approach using an international system called CI/sfb.

The CI/sfb number system can also be used when setting up your Vectorworks note database and symbol library. I'm a big fan of this numbering system. I learned this system when I was working on very large projects in the UK (£70M+). It is a flexible system, it allows for a huge number of drawings, and it allows teams to work well together.

I strongly recommend this book. I already have my copy.