What a shop drawing should tell you, and what to check before you sign

A designer’s drawing says what a piece should look like. A shop drawing says how it will be built. Once you sign it, it’s the document production works from, so it’s worth ten careful minutes.

What every Furn shop drawing includes

• Three views and a section, at a scale you can measure from, with overall and critical dimensions.

• Joinery and construction notes: how the frame is built, what’s solid and what’s veneer, where the hardware fixes.

• Materials and finishes by library code, or COM reference, against each surface.

• Hardware: runners, hinges, pulls, glides and levelers by model.

• Electrical, for any piece with lighting or power: fixture, lamp, switch position and cable route.

• Tolerances, usually ±3 mm on overall dimensions.

Six things to check before you sign

1. The section. Plan and elevation can look right while the section hides a problem: a drawer too shallow for a hairdryer, or a toe-kick too low for the vacuum.

2. Grain direction and veneer match. On wide pieces we show which way the grain runs and whether faces are book-matched or slip-matched. If it matters to the design, say so here.

3. Edges that take abuse. Guestroom case goods are hit by carts and luggage. Check where we’ve specified solid edging or a kick plate, and where we haven’t.

4. Clearances. Measure against the room, not just the drawing: door swings, outlet heights, headboard walls and the bed width the brand actually uses.

5. Hardware finish. Pulls and hinges often come from a different supplier than the timber. Make sure the finish codes match the lighting and plumbing fixtures in the room.

6. What the drawing doesn’t show. Anything left as “to match designer’s sample” needs a physical sample before production. We’ll ask for one; it’s faster if it arrives with the signed drawing.

How revisions work

Mark up the PDF and send it back. We revise and reissue with a new revision letter and a cloud around every change, so nobody approves an old version by accident. Most custom pieces are signed in one or two rounds. The Larkspur’s cane nightstand took three, because we redesigned the joint where the cane panel meets the frame.

After you sign

The signed drawing goes to the plant with the approved finish sample, and nothing changes without a new revision. If a detail turns out to be unbuildable at the price, we’ll stop and show you the option on paper. We won’t quietly simplify it.