Rant: A plumber in my building said our blueprints are just 'fancy coloring books'

I was waiting for the elevator yesterday and overheard a plumber telling his buddy that our architectural drawings are basically just coloring books for grown-ups. He said, 'All those lines and numbers, but you still gotta figure it out on the spot.' It got me thinking about how we present our work. My takeaway is that maybe we need to make our drawings even clearer for the folks in the field, not just other drafters. I'm going to start adding more detailed notes on my MEP sheets, especially for tight spaces. Has anyone else had a tradesperson point out something confusing in your drawings that seemed obvious to you?

3 comments

3 Comments

sullivan.spencer26d ago

Honestly, that's a great wake-up call. But how do you decide what's a helpful note versus just cluttering the sheet? I'd worry about adding too much text.

stellachen24d ago

Wait, he called them coloring books? That's actually kind of perfect (and a little brutal). Makes you wonder what page he's stuck trying to color inside the lines on.

mila_harris26d ago

I mean, that plumber has a point even if he said it kind of harshly. Sometimes we get so deep in the details we forget the guy holding the wrench needs it spelled out plain. Good on you for taking that feedback and actually using it.