"Reading Plans with Steve " Build Show Build: Boston BONUS 

As a GC, you love this level of architect, Top Tier

As a young mason and someday ideally a full fledged builder, I cannot thank you enough for sharing this glimpse at the inner workings of what a plan actually is! I learned a ton! Thank you!

It's refreshing to hear an overview of the build from a design aspect. Having Steve on the show is a bonus. Well done, Matt and Steve. Your show should be viewed in educational institutions. Look forward to the series. Cheers.

I'd love more videos like this... Teaching the basics of building!

Phenomenal series. A vast wealth of knowledge you’ve acquired over the years and a very well executed presentation to boot. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share!

Steve, I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed this video of building plans. Thank you.

Very generous Steve. Thank you.

Love this information as a layman who is trying to plan our dream home.

Love the details of these videos! Great job Steve!

This is a master class of CD's. Thank you for sharing

Man, another awesome video you guys putting out. I seriously love Steve's perspective here. Keep up the good work!

When Steve talked about only excavator and the framing person only looking at one part of the plan, it reminded me of film scripts. The script for Endgame was given to each of the actors by their respective parts, the writers didn't want to have any cast members spoil any scenes.

Steve....AWSOME VIDEO!!!!!!! Very informative and well explained. PLEASE!!!!!!...keep these kinds of videos coming!.... I would absolutly love to see more videos like this with in depth detail and discriptions on how to produce plans like these. I am currently studying Architectural drafting and i find these kinds of videos EXTREMELY helpful and informative. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING! Great video...great job!!. Hats off to you!!!!

Great series. It is rare for architects to share details of their work and process. I just listened to the Tribute to the Building Science Corporation episode of Unbuild It podcast, and now I see where the culture of sharing information comes from. Especially with building science, it is such a great way to improve the lives of a lot of folks and be better stewards of our planet. Kudos.

Steve, thank you so much for this very needed and informative overview of the your building plans

Great idea on the numbering system. I have had this exact problem when adding pages to a plan. Not anymore!

On my design-build commercial projects and some house projects, we number the pages a little differently. The front pages are civil drawings labeled C-1,23, etc., Structural drawings next S-1,2,3, Architectural drawings, A-1,2,3, Electrical drawings, E-1,2,3, Plumbing drawings, P-1,2,3, Mechanical M-1,2,3, any revision would be A-2 rev. Either way will work, just showing a different approach.

We have a note on our plans that points out that we expect every contractor on a project to look at every sheet in the set before they begin to even think about what they will do on it. That note covers a lot of problems that begin with contractors who have no idea what anyone else is going to do. With that said, as much as possible, I do try to fit drawings on the same sheet that are needed by one specific trade. On small projects, I will put all the applicable construction details on the foundation plan, and framing plan, just so they won't have to flip pages. Having fewer sheets also saves on the cost of printing, and everyone appreciates that. If you are a contractor and work in one trade, do take the time to look at all the sheets in a set of drawings before you do anything else. It won't take you more than fifteen minutes, and it can save you a lot of headaches down the road. And if you see a problem, phone the person who drew the plans rather than try to invent something on your own. It is quite possible that the idiot who did the drawings isn't as dumb as you think, he/she may have had that problem in mind months ago. Call and find out. Things do get missed by architects and designers, but since they are responsible for the overall project, let them have some input on how to solve the dilemmas you uncover. They can often make a change to the plans that will easily fix it, or they may specify another product to use. Either way, if they sign off on a change, you won't be culpable for any negative consequences.

great vid , thanks. looking forward to more like this.

Not bad....Here hoping you discuss the regulatory process and the I formation the Plan Examiner needs to betailed to ensure compliance

Thank you for this! I am working on my GC license and needed this for additional practice.

Really nice and concisely done. Thank you.

I have no background in this topic other than my husband is an architect. Had I watched this video years ago I would have been so much more kind to the hubs 😂!

Such a nice house, tks for sharing.

This was most excellent.

I'm a CAD draftsman and love this! Hiring? Haha

Great job breaking down the drawings. I'm a structural engineer and the problem that I struggle with is how to organize and record the logic behind certain design decisions. Do you have a system or process to document why a decision was made. For instance, " I am putting a gutter/light/wall here for ____ reason". That way if a change is requested, you know why the gutter was there in the first place, and if it needs to move, you know that you have to remedy the purpose of that original decision in different way.

Very informative! I was curious how the house plans that are sold through various companies are viewed by builders? Are they just good 'starting points' or are they complete enough for a builder to create a good home? Love the show!

Great video! Thanks

Steve, when you dimension different elements (walls, door, windows, etc) in the floor plan do you normally dimension from center-to-center, edge of one to center of another, etc? And do you dimension to the wood framing or do you add dry wall, exterior insulation, etc?

Thanks Steve, great content as usual. With today's tight houses and the need for ERVs, dehumidifiers, make up air fans/heaters, how much attention as the architect are you spending on considerations for best place to hide/run duct work, radiant floor manifolds, and mechanicals, especially in a modern build like this without a traditional vented gable attic? I love the videos Matt has posted on his build and his foreman's new home build, but they have attics. What if you're going timberframe or moden (or modern timberframe), who works out the mechanicals plan with an eye towards keeping the structural integrity (i.e. don't cut too many big holes in the joists) and the beauty / intention of the design (i.e. don't add dropped ceiling heights after the fact just to hide duct work). Thanks!

1st comment. Boston! My hometown is a gold mine right now!!!

This was really helpful. I wish I had seen this a year ago. I have a question about the last page. You are talking about the existing house, and the new house. Is this a rebuild? Was there a house there previously that was destroyed?

I think that, as our computer programs get more and more sophisticated, we have a problem where the people who generate drawings have to invest more and more time becoming computer experts. This comes at the expense of actually understanding what they're trying to accomplish, and losing the "language" required to communicate with the builder, as you say. They don't know how to pick views that actually make sense for communicating the required information.

Great video. You didn't mention anything about plumbing or HVAC. Is that all up to the trade contractors? However, you did have an electrical layout. Is it up to the electrical contractors to figure out how many circuits the house needs and other such considerations?

Nice run down even for a guy that worked in the industry many years ago.

Regarding the framing and foundation plan, I’m under the assumption you’re consulting with a structural engineer for those parts? I know laws vary from state to state for residential construction and what’s required to be signed and sealed. Just to provide some background, I am working on becoming a licensed architect in Oklahoma and have been interested in working on residential projects once I’m licensed.

Great information! What CAD software do you use?

Do you actually check that the work was done the way you wanted it ? After discussion with the craftsmen or do you rely on the inspector to do that?

Do you use Autodesk Revit?

The remodeling set. Is so expensive,lol Demo, abatement,and special engineering sheets. You don't do door, window and header scheduling? Interior design sheets, Babacad can read acad dwgs and it's open source runs Lsp. Are you going to speak about specifications? drawings communicates where. Specs. Is what manufacturer,color, quality, and materials.

well you're using AutoCAD so you don't have smart labeling abilities