Insufficient information can be hidden in a millwork shop drawing in several ways. Dimensions can be missing, field conditions can be ambiguous, incorrect hardware could be shown, a shop drawing could be based on an out-of-date revision, and shop drawing coordination could be missing with the electrical shop regarding cutouts.
All the issues mentioned above can be hidden in a shop drawing in a seemingly complete and thorough manner. Only when the shop drawing is released for fabrication do deficiencies become evident. Determining if a drawing is fabrication ready is much different from evaluating if a drawing show all the required information. A thorough drawing may still require the fabricator to make numerous decisions. If a drawing is to be used for fabrication, it should be analyzed using a millwork shop drawing checklist.
This article provides fabricators, casework manufacturers, subcontractors, and general contractors with a millwork shop drawing review process. It provides review process steps for various elements including dimensions, views, materials and finishes, hardware and joinery, field conditions and MEP, installation, and Shop drawing revisions and approvals. Millwork shop drawings guide the transformation of a project from design intent to construction. If your project team relies on millwork shop drawings for this transformation, utilize the information presented below for developing a process and not merely for review.
Why a Millwork Shop Drawing Review Matters Before Fabrication
Many people mistakenly think that a detailed drawing is a fabrication-ready drawing. A design drawing goes through numerous stages, including being visually detailed, technically complete, coordinated, and approved. Only then can a drawing be considered a fabrication drawing. A detailed drawing may not include dimensions, floor boxes, and other items. It is easy to omit dimensions and other information.
Omitting various checks during a project has a costly effect on a project. This can cause delays, unnecessary site work, and it can lead to the wrong material being fabricated. This can also lead to the wrong hardware being installed. Drawing callouts can be changed quickly; however, once changes are made to a shop drawing, there can be costly effects.
Employees must be trained on a shop drawing quality checklist prior to releasing them to the shop against millwork drawing requirements. Discipline and training are crucial to the success of a program. Shop drawings can and should be checked against a shop drawing quality checklist.
Millwork Shop Drawing Checklist: 5 Review Gates
Work through the gates in order. Each one assumes the previous gate is clean.
1. Verify the Drawing Basis and Document Control
Accurate drafting can still be wrong if it is built on an outdated reference. Start with what the drawing is based on:
- Current architectural and interior plans.
- Specifications and Addenda.
- Finish schedules and Hardware.
- Project/ drawing number, revision date.
- Limits of the project Scope: millwork scope and beyond.
- Dimensioned restrictions or note stating dimensions pending.
Consider an old package of wall-paneling. Due to an addendum, the type of partition changed. Now the line work is perfect, but the attachments are all wrong. This checklist is probably the most important of all the subsequent checklists and gets the millwork shop drawing checklist underway.
At this point in the checklist, we check the title block, sheet index, and revision log to make sure they are up to date. This is the first step in a millwork shop drawing checklist and is a prerequisite for all millwork shop drawings.
2. Check Plans, Elevations, Sections, and Details
The different views show different information, so look at each one to get what is provided.
- Plans: Review information about clearances, doors, walls, units, and other elements.
- Elevations: Review information about casework, especially finishes, reveals, and reveal alignments; also review information about door and drawer casework, and casework unit dimensions.
- Sections: Review information about unit casework and casework elements, as well as the components of the casework structure.
- Details: Review information about casework elements and transitions.
The information provided will help answer the questions about casework.
Detailed casework shop drawings should show elevations and details/sections as necessary. Cabinets shown in elevations should include relevant detail/section views to define the type and method of attachment to the surrounding casework and to define the type and method of construction. Without these views, casework fabricators are forced to make an assumption regarding the type and method of construction, which may or may not conform to the architect’s intent.
Always check the drawings against one another. Dimensions shown on plans should be reflected in elevations. Section cuts should be aligned with the relevant detail, and details should be clear and legible.
3. Review Dimensions, Tolerances, and Field Conditions
Dimensional errors are among the most expensive to catch late. Pay attention to:
- Overall dimensions of various parts of the project
- Dimensions of various components that make up the project
- Conditions that define relationships of various elements of the project, such as walls, ceilings, and floors
- Reveals and scribe allowances.
- Clearances during installation.
- Millwork tolerances.
- Tiler tolerances.
- Out-of-level and out-of-plumb conditions.
Take note of any instructions that read “verify in field”. These should not be used instead of giving clear instructions. Notes should include the dimension that requires verification, who is responsible for verification, the point in time when verification occurs, what happens if the field condition varies from the expected condition (e.g., scribe allowance, filler, panel, etc.), and the allowable tolerance.
For example, a 14-foot run of wall paneling in a corporate lobby needs a stated scribe allowance at each end and a defined reveal at the ceiling. Without them, the field dimensions for millwork become guesswork, and the shop builds to nominal sizes the building cannot accept. Clear millwork shop drawing dimensions and tolerances are core millwork fabrication drawing requirements.
4. Confirm Materials, Finishes, Hardware, and Joinery
This gate turns a pretty drawing into a buildable one.
Materials: Specify substrate, thickness, face materials, edge treatment, and any permitted substitutions.
Finish: Identify finish by code, specify edge, and provide approved sample and edge condition.
Hardware: Identify manufacturer and model, indicate quantity, and specify location, mounting, and append hardware from the hardware schedule.
Joinery: Identify joints, provide fasteners, cleats, and blocking, and specify internal supports and first assembly sequence. Also include special fabrication and special requirements.
Make sure drawings are consistent with schedules. A drawer slide shown on the schedule, but not on the elevations, is an example of rework. The same goes for a finish code used on a sheet but absent from the finish schedule.
When drawing details of connections, assemblies, and profiles, joinery drawings need to specify those details in addition to showing the appearance of those elements. Millwork shop drawings should show the joinery details and the location of hardware, if those details are to be provided by the shop. Always give detailed descriptions of joints and hardware, so the shop drawings do not have to be interpretive.
5. Check Coordination with Other Trades and Site Conditions
Millwork normally entails work in conjunction with other trades. Check coordination with:
- Electrical, data, and lighting services.
- Plumbing and HVAC services.
- Fire protection and structural elements.
- Wall, ceiling, and floor finishes.
- Doors and counters.
- Access panels.
- Service openings.
Use a three-view coordination check. Check the location on the plan, the location and height on the elevation, and the location and extent of attachment on the section. Failure to provide any of these results in an incorrect coordination check. For example, a power outlet shown on the elevation with no location on the plan is incorrect. A section showing a sink cutout with no framing is also incorrect.
This is important when dealing with commercial interiors, healthcare millwork, and hotel interiors, where electrical outlets, water, and data outlets are hidden in casework. Interior shop drawings identify conflicts with the finishes of the job and coordinate with the ceiling and wall partitions. Creating a comprehensive checklist for millwork drawing coordination checklist supports the MEP coordination team and provides millwork shop drawings to the contractors.
Review the Drawing From a Fabricator’s Perspective
The question is, can the shop build what is designed? Design intent focuses on the look of a piece. Fabricators usually get little to no information on how something is put together. There may be numerous ways to interpret how a particular part is created.
Take dimensions and check aspects of design such as materials, construction methods, joinery and hardware, internal and miscellaneous dimensions. For CNC milled and routed parts, check edge conditions and locations of features.
Ask relevant questions. Are the largest dimensions of materials available in sheet sizes limiting? Is the sequence of assembly and unit size such that the unit can be constructed and then moved? Are dimensions provided for interior spaces of drawers and pull-outs?
Distinguishing fabrication-ready millwork drawings from visual documentation is important to accurately estimate costs associated with millwork. It also defends the shop from absorbing costs associated with missing construction documentation. Millwork shop drawings are tested in a production setting.
Review the Drawing From a Contractor’s Perspective
Contractors and project managers generally have a different set of concerns. For example, they will ask, “Is it even possible to install it that way?” and “Will it be compatible with the other systems on the job site?”
You have to consider a number of different issues in the context of the job site conditions, especially the work of other trades. You need to make sure that blocking and backings are shown and provided. It is important that responsibilities be clearly defined when a drawing touches on another subcontractor’s work. Vague expressions, such as “by others,” create gaps in the construction contract documents and generally result in an owner’s exposure to additional cost and/or time delays. Definitive construction contract documents also clearly define responsibilities of millwork subcontractors.
Clarify responsibilities wherever the drawing touches other scopes: millwork contractor, GC, electrical, plumbing, and others. A note that says “by others” without naming the trade invites a gap. A clear millwork installation drawings set identifies who supplies, who installs, and who verifies.
Contractors managing several finish packages must also review millwork submittal drawings for approvals. The cabinet shop drawings shall coordinate all components, including clearances, swings, and supports. This is especially critical for components such as casework for break rooms and nurse stations, kitchens, and vanity casework. If there are issues, the millwork fabricators may have the flexibility to make shop changes prior to shipping. Finalizing millwork coordination prior to shipment eliminates the need to make on-site changes.
Check Revisions, Submittal Status, and Approval Before Release
Millwork Shop Drawings can still have issues and require corrections even after multiple revision cycles. While performing revisions, review the following:
- The revision description
- The revision number and date
- Revision clouds
- Dimensions and schedules
- Details and reference image
- Review comments
- Tracked changes
- Issued for print stamp
Then, review the status of the request.
- For Review: submitted, not yet cleared
- Approved: cleared to proceed
- Approved as Noted: proceed only after incorporating the comments
- Revise and Resubmit: do not fabricate
- For Construction: released for fabrication and installation
Requests that are Approved or Approved as Noted can be constructed. Shop drawings must be reviewed to verify changes have been made. An audit of the millwork submittals checklist should demonstrate that a review of shop drawings has been completed.
Final Millwork Shop Drawing Pre-Fabrication Checklist
These are the things to review when assessing millwork shop drawings:
1. The drawings and addenda are up to date and consistent.
2. The clouds indicate the latest revision, and revisions are correct.
3. The drawings are consistent and complete.
4. The dimensions are correct and verified.
5. Field conditions and scribes are defined.
6. The materials and finishes are defined and scheduled.
7. Hardware is defined and scheduled.
8. Joinery and attachments are defined.
9. The drawing shows trade coordination.
10. The sequence of installation is shown, and clearances are defined.
11. The Drawing shows compliance with standards and instructions.
12. The drawing shows compliance with requirements such as ADA.
13. The shop drawing has been approved to be constructed as shown.
14. The drawing is clear to be released for fabrication.
If every item is checked, the set is ready for fabrication release.
When Should You Use Professional Millwork Shop Drawing Support?
Situational drafting demands can stretch a firm’s internal resources. Challenging circumstances that may require additional external support may include concurrent projects with shortened schedules, tight turnaround times for redlines, more complex casework, construction of commercial interiors, continuous change orders and field conditions, and more demanding submittal processes.
It’s prudent to evaluate services offered by millwork shop drawing providers. Such services are particularly helpful to firms with projects where the consistency and quality of the shop drawings vary. Many firms outsource the production of millwork shop drawings, while maintaining control over the shop drawing review process. Evaluating service providers against the checklist provided in the link gives a quick assessment of the type of drawings and the level of service to be expected.
How McLine Studios Supports Millwork Drawing Review and Production
McLine Studios provides documentation and detailing services using specific casework and cabinet examples, finish, material, and hardware schedules, as well as submittal drawings and fabrication details. Services include assistance with the overall coordination of the project and revision support.
We aim to help fabricators and contractors create documentation that they can assess against their internal review processes to release project information against various project gate reviews with less guesswork. Our drawings are aligned with your project standards and specifications. We provide professional millwork shop drawing services. Our drawings are to support your review process.
Conclusion — Review Before You Release
The ideal process is Review →Coordinate → Approve → Fabricate → Install. This millwork shop drawing checklist is to confirm the project documentation contains the information for fabrication and installation and requires the least amount of assumptions. Adjust the final checklist to your needs and fill in the blanks to your best ability. If your team needs more support or an extra resource, check out the millwork shop drawing services available that provide services ready for millwork production.
