Shop drawings are the fabricator's or trade contractor's detailed drawings showing exactly how a specific scope will be fabricated and installed. They are produced after contract award and submitted through the formal submittal process for review by the architect or engineer of record. Common shop drawings: structural steel connection details, MEP riser diagrams, casework elevations and sections, curtainwall fabrication details, fire sprinkler routing, and reinforcing steel placement.
Shop drawings translate the architect's design intent into the specific fabrication and installation details the field will execute. The architect reviews for compliance with design intent (not constructability or trade-specific accuracy, which remain the contractor's responsibility). The shop-drawing review cycle (submission, review, comments, resubmission, approval) commonly takes 2 to 6 weeks per submittal. Long-lead items typically cannot be ordered until shop drawings are approved, which is why submitting them early is a critical preconstruction priority.