What to Send a Drafting Company for an Accurate Quote

The 15-Minute Drafting Quote Packet

• Project address and jurisdiction
• Project type and one-paragraph scope
• Who owns the property and who makes decisions
• Existing plans, CAD, sketches, or permit records
• Survey or parcel documents
• Wide and detail photos of affected areas
• Approximate building size and number of levels
• Rooms or structures included in the work
• Desired drawing sheets and file formats
• Known engineer, architect, survey, or energy needs
• HOA or design-review requirements
• Known flood, wildfire, septic, historic, or utility constraints
• Target milestone and construction schedule
• Preferred review and communication process
• Questions or assumptions the quote must answer

Do not delay the request because one item is missing. State what is unavailable. A visible unknown can be priced, excluded, or made a prerequisite; a hidden unknown becomes a surprise.

1. Give the Exact Address and the Actual Jurisdiction

The address lets the drafting team find the permitting authority, parcel context, zoning starting point, and local application path. City mailing addresses and building jurisdictions do not always match, so include county, municipality, and parcel number when known.

Official permit checklists show why this matters. Austin's residential plan review page and Galveston's single-family permit checklist ask for different project information and supporting documents. A quote cannot responsibly promise one universal permit package.

Use the residential permit requirements index to collect the current official starting pages for Apex focus markets.

2. Describe the Scope in Plain Language

Write what exists, what you want to change, and why. For example: "Convert the attached two-car garage into a one-bedroom ADU, add a side entry, preserve one storage bay, and prepare drawings for city review." That is more useful than "need ADU plans."

Separate must-haves from options. State the approximate size, number of levels, rooms affected, and whether the team is evaluating alternatives or documenting a chosen design. For a remodel, identify existing walls, openings, fixtures, roofs, or site features that change.

If you are still choosing between project types, send the decision itself. The addition versus new construction guide, shed, studio, or ADU comparison, and stock versus custom plan guide can help frame it.

3. Send Every Existing File, With a Reliability Label

Old plans can be useful even when inaccurate. Label them "reference only" and identify known differences. For existing buildings, read as-builts vs. record drawings before deciding what can be trusted.

4. Take Photos That Explain the Work

Start with one wide photo of every exterior side and every affected room. Then take closer views of doors, windows, stairs, roof intersections, beams, utilities, grade changes, additions, and any area that is hard to describe. Name the files by location instead of leaving camera numbers.

For as-built work, include a simple photo map or sketch showing where each image was taken. Pair photos with the residential as-built measurement checklist. Photos show condition and relationships, but they do not replace dimensions.

5. Define the Deliverables You Expect

A floor plan concept, an existing-condition set, a builder pricing set, and a permit-ready package are different products. List the expected sheets and final formats. If you do not know, state the downstream use and ask the drafting company to recommend the minimum responsible package.

Compare the service definitions for as-built drawings, permit-ready plan sets, and builder drafting.

6. Give a Real Milestone, Not Only "ASAP"

State when you need the first review, final drawing issue, permit upload, pricing set, or construction release. Include fixed dates such as a closing, board meeting, contractor start, or permit appointment. Then identify who must review and how quickly they can respond.

A useful schedule separates drafting time from client decisions, consultant work, agency review, and corrections. Salt Lake City's pre-submittal meeting guidance asks applicants for the address, project description, site information, elevations, photos, and maps. That same preparation improves private-team scheduling because everyone starts from a defined project.

7. Compare Quotes on Scope, Not the Bottom Line

• Field measurement responsibility
• Included sheets and design rounds
• Jurisdiction research and code notes
• Structural, survey, energy, and consultant exclusions
• PDF, CAD, or BIM deliverables
• Revision and plan-check correction allowance
• Submission or permit-service responsibility
• Schedule assumptions and client review times
• Ownership, reuse, and cancellation terms

Use questions to ask before hiring a drafting partner and the remote drafting workflow to compare providers. A lower quote may be excellent, or it may omit the work another quote includes. The written scope tells you which.

Drafting Quote FAQ