Clients Should Know

Before Getting Started How Things Work

1. We will treat you fairly with our fees and you’re not going to waste our time.

2. We will make the staff available to you and you’re going to make yourself available also.

3. You will tell us your “real” budget and we will be accountable for designing that meets that budget.

4. If a design comes in over your budget, we will revise the drawings at our cost.

5. If you are told that you have changed the program and are at risk for exceeding your budget, and you ignore this advice, you should expect to pay us to revise the drawings

6. If you tell most designers that your budget is $500,000, they will assume that this means your construction budget. Make sure that your budget includes monies for professional fees, landscaping, contingency and other issues.

7. Make sure that you have a conversation in the beginning what scope your stated budget will cover. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Facilities Planning. Typical tasks: meets with clients to determine construction needs; develops plans for new facilities, additions, or alterations by analyzing existing spaces, and future facilities requirements; submit preliminary proposals for approval; 

2. Architectural Plans and Specifications. Typical tasks: prepares, revises, and reviews all construction drawings and specifications for approved projects including floor plans, site plans, elevations, section details, electrical, and mechanical plans; determines and specifies materials to be used; prepares contract documents used as a basis for requesting bids on projects including estimates of labor and materials to be furnished by contractor; checks all plans and specifications to ensure they meet building codes, local regulations, and energy conservation laws as well as aesthetic requirements; may assign portions of the project to be drafted by others; may use Computer Aided Design (CAD) system to prepare plans.

3. Construction Management. (Special request only. Not a typical service offered) Typical tasks: contacts local authorities to secure construction permits; observes ongoing construction projects to ensure contractors' adherence to plans and specifications; responds to problems which arise during construction by providing contractors with additional details or drawings which are needed; provides drawings when changes occur during the course of construction and adjusts contracts accordingly; reviews requests and payments to contractors at project completion points as specified in the contract.

4. Research. Typical tasks: reviews professional journals, trade publications, and manufacturers' literature to stay current on materials and practices of the construction industry; reviews government publications to keep abreast with changes and updates in building codes and regulations.

Measured Drawings Are:

In the legal and professional context of the AIA, Measured Drawings are distinct from "As-Builts." While As-Builts record changes made during construction, Measured Drawings are an objective recording of existing conditions through physical measurement. 

AIA Definition and Technical Standards

The AIA typically defines Measured Drawings within the context of Existing Conditions (often documented in AIA Document B101™–2017 under Supplemental Services). 

• The Definition: Measured Drawings are drawings prepared from measurements taken on-site of an existing building, structure, or object.

• The Purpose: Unlike As-Builts (which track a contractor's deviations), Measured Drawings are used to establish a "baseline" for renovation, historical preservation, or to verify the accuracy of a completed project against the contract's requirements. 

Legal Definition for Courtroom Use

In a legal proceeding, Measured Drawings are treated as Forensic Evidence. They are defined as: 

"A precise graphical representation of a physical environment, derived from actual field measurements (manual or laser-scanned), used to verify the exact spatial relationship, dimensions, and locations of physical components as they exist at a specific point in time."

To be used as evidence in court, Measured Drawings must meet the Standard of Care, meaning they must be: 

1. Verified: Proved to have been measured on-site (not just copied from old blueprints).

2. Date-Stamped: They represent the state of the building on a specific date.

3. Tolerant: They must state the level of precision (e.g., "accurate to within 1/8th of an inch"). 

Measured Drawings vs. As-Builts 

Courts often see these terms conflated, but the legal distinction is vital for determining who is at fault for a measurement error. 

Feature 

Measured Drawings

As-Built Drawings (Redlines)

Origin

Created by measuring the physical reality.

Created by marking up existing plans.

Focus

Exact dimensions and "as-is" state.

Deviations from the "as-designed" state.

Legal Use

Used to prove a building was built too close to a property line or is the wrong height.

Used to prove a contractor moved a pipe or wall without authorization.

AIA Reference

AIA B102 / HABS Standards

AIA A201 (Section 3.11)

Standards of Measurement (The "Legal Yardstick")

If you are using Measured Drawings in court to prove a General Contractor failed to build according to the specs, the court will often look to the HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey) or BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) standards.

• HABS Level I/II: The "Gold Standard" for measured drawings, requiring precise hand-measuring or 3D laser scanning.

• BOMA Standards: The legal standard for calculating "rentable square footage." If a GC’s "As-Built" says a room is 1,000 sq. ft., but a Measured Drawing proves it is 950 sq. ft., the Measured Drawing usually wins as the "source of truth" in a fraud or breach of contract case. 

Why this matters for a General Contractor

If a GC provides "As-Builts" that are simply the original drawings with a few red lines, they are vulnerable. A plaintiff can hire a surveyor to produce Measured Drawings that reveal the GC’s redlines were "lazy" or "estimated." 

In court, Measured Drawings are an "Audit" of the As-Builts. 

Expert Note: To be legally "bulletproof," a contractor should include a Certificate of Accuracy with their measured documentation, stating the methods used (e.g., "Dimensions verified via Leica Disto laser measurement").

As-built Drawings Are:

In the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) industry, "As-Built Documentation" is a critical legal and technical record. While many use the term colloquially, its definition in AIA contracts and courtrooms is specific and hinges on the accuracy of field changes. 

AIA Definition and Standards

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) distinguishes between "Record Drawings" (prepared by the Architect) and "As-Built Drawings" (prepared by the Contractor). 

According to AIA Document A201™–2017 (General Conditions of the Contract for Construction), Section 3.11, the requirements are: 

• The Requirement: The Contractor shall maintain at the site one copy of the Drawings, Specifications, Addenda, Change Orders, and other Modifications, in good order and marked currently to indicate field changes and selections made during construction.

• The Delivery: These must be delivered to the Architect for submittal to the Owner upon completion of the Work as a record of the Work as constructed. 

Legal Definition for Courtroom Use

From a legal and forensic engineering standpoint, As-Built Documentation is defined as:

"A set of drawings and documents prepared by a contractor that depicts the final, installed condition of a project, documenting all deviations from the original design intent, including dimensions, geometry, and location of all elements."

To be defensible in court, these documents must typically include:

1. Redline Revisions: Handwritten or digital notes in red ink showing changes to the original blueprints.

2. Field Orders & RFIs: Documentation of clarifications that led to changes.

3. Dimension Verification: Actual locations of underground utilities or structural members that differ from the "Contract Documents." 

Key Differences: As-Builts vs. Record Drawings 

In litigation, the distinction between these two terms is often the "pivot point" for liability. 

Feature 

As-Built Drawings

Record Drawings

Primary Creator

General Contractor

Architect / Engineer

Source Material

Field measurements and redlines

Contractor’s as-builts and approved RFIs

AIA Reference

AIA A201, Section 3.11

AIA G610

Legal Weight

Reflects actual physical construction

Reflects the design adjusted for known changes

Certification

Contractor certifies they reflect field work

Architect often includes a disclaimer on accuracy

Why the Distinction Matters in Court

If a pipe bursts or a structural failure occurs, a court will look at the As-Builts to determine:

• Contractual Compliance: Did the Contractor follow the "marked currently" rule (updating them daily/weekly), or did they recreate them from memory at the end of the project? (The latter is often viewed as "grossly negligent").

• Duty of Care: The Contractor has a legal duty to document any "unforeseen conditions" encountered that forced a departure from the original plans. 

Legal Note: Most courts rely on the Spearin Doctrine, which suggests that a contractor is not liable for defects if they followed the plans and specs provided by the owner. However, if the contractor departs from those plans without documenting it in the As-Builts, they assume the liability for those changes.

Record Drawings Are:

In the legal and professional framework of the construction industry, Record Drawings are distinct from "As-Builts." While the Contractor tracks the "messy" reality of the field, the Architect synthesizes that information into a formal set of Record Drawings.

AIA Definition: Record Drawings

The AIA defines Record Drawings (specifically in AIA G610 and the AIA Handbook of Professional Practice) as:

"A set of reproducible drawings prepared by the Architect, based on information provided by the Contractor, that shows the final locations of construction and reflects the changes recorded by the Contractor in the As-Built drawings."

Key Characteristics:

• Compilation: They represent the "cleaned up" version of the Contractor’s redlines.

• Responsibility: The Architect or Engineer is typically the author of the Record Drawings.

• Scope: They include all Addenda, Change Orders, Supplemental Instructions, and Contractor-noted field changes.

Legal Definition for Courtroom Use

In a legal or forensic context, Record Drawings are viewed as the official archival record of the design. They are often used in court to establish the "Base State" of a building before a failure occurred.

A legally robust definition used in litigation is:

"The final project deliverables prepared by a Design Professional that incorporate all design changes, field modifications, and approved submittal data into a cohesive set of drawings intended to represent the finished project to the best of the Design Professional's knowledge."

Comparison of Roles (The "Paper Trail")

To use these in court, you must understand the chain of custody for the data. If the Record Drawings are wrong, the court looks at who failed in this chain:

Document Type

Source of Truth

Legal Responsibility

Contract Documents

The Bid Set

The Architect's original design intent.

As-Built Drawings

Field Redlines

Contractor's duty to document what they actually did.

Record Drawings

Final Compiled Set

Architect's duty to accurately transfer Contractor notes to the final set.

The "Disclaimer" Gap (Critical for Litigation)

It is important to note that in most court cases, Record Drawings come with a standard Architect’s disclaimer. Most AIA-standard contracts (like B101) state that the Architect is not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided by the Contractor.

Legal Reality: If a GC marks a redline showing a pipe is 3 feet deep, but it is actually 1 foot deep, and the Architect puts "3 feet" on the Record Drawings, the Contractor—not the Architect—is usually held liable for that inaccuracy in court, because the Record Drawing is only as good as the As-Built data provided.

Why Record Drawings are Used in Court

1. Standard of Care: To prove whether the Architect properly incorporated known changes into the final set.

2. Maintenance/Injury Claims: If a worker is injured 5 years later hitting a line that was improperly marked on the Record Drawings, the court will use these to determine who "misled" the owner.

3. Warranty Disputes: To verify if the final materials installed match the specifications recorded in the final set.