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My old mentor was right about layer order in sections
About 10 years ago, an older drafter named Bob told me to always draw my MEP layers in a specific order over my architectural background. He said start with power, then lighting, then fire alarm, never deviate. I thought it was just his personal quirk and ignored it on a big hospital job in Columbus. Ended up spending 5 extra hours fixing jumbled prints because the electrician couldn't follow the conduit paths. Bob retired last summer, but I still think about him every time I set up a new file. Anyone else have a piece of workflow advice they wish they took sooner?
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brian30310d ago
Funny enough, my old shop lead told me the same thing about power before lighting. I ignored it on a warehouse job once thinking it didn't matter that much (it was just conduit runs, how bad could it be?). Ended up with a mess of overlapping circuits that took forever to untangle on the drawings. The electricians on site were not happy, let me tell you. Now I always lay it out power first, then lighting, then fire alarm just like he said. It feels weird at first but saves so much headache later when you're trying to trace paths. Bob sounds like he knew his stuff, glad you still remember his advice.
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oliver2429d ago
Honestly, that warehouse story hits home. I made the same mistake once on a small office build and spent three days re-routing because the power runs boxed me into a corner. Now I layout power like it's the foundation, everything else just fits around it after.
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