AEC definitions
A record drawing is a drawing the design professional issues at closeout, incorporating the changes and the contractor's field markups so the sheet shows the work as constructed. The contractor's marked-up set is the as-built information. The record drawing is the design team's compiled document. Specs often require both, and they are not interchangeable.
Definition
During construction the contractor marks deviations on the drawings: a moved valve, a revised dimension that was verified in the field, a change-order delta. Those marks are submitted as as-builts. The architect or engineer transfers verified information onto the record drawings and reissues them. A record drawing is only as good as the markups. A clean CAD file that ignored the field set is not a record. Some contracts ask the contractor to produce the record CAD. Then the contract should say so, and the professional seal question should be answered, because a contractor's CAD is not automatically a sealed instrument.
In depth
AIA language often distinguishes as-built markups from record drawings. A spec that says as-built when it wants a compiled record set will be bid one way and enforced another. Edit the closeout section so one party owns each deliverable.
A conformed set during construction, which folds in changes so far, is a third thing. It is not the final record.
Mark changes when they happen, in a durable way, with the RFI or change number. End-of-job memory is not an as-built. The superintendent who keeps the set current is doing closeout from day one.
Dimensions that were verify-in-field should show the measured number, not the original plus the letters VIF.
The architect transfers what the contractor documented and what the change documents required. They do not survey the building unless the contract hired them to. A disclaimer on the record drawing often says it is based on information furnished by the contractor.
Sealing a record set implies a professional took responsibility for the revision. Do not seal unverified sketches.
If final payment requires record drawings, do not waive them for a promise.
Facilities staff will use these sheets for the next renovation. A missing valve on the record is a flooded ceiling later.
Examples
The contractor's as-built plans show a relocated cleanout with the change-order number. The architect issues the plumbing record drawing with that location.
A CAD file labeled record, with no field markups incorporated, is rejected at closeout.
The spec requires contractor markups monthly, not only at the end. The pay application checks that they exist.
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