If you place the order
The fee is credited, so you don't pay twice for the same drafting. The drawing you approved is the one the part is built to.
British Columbia
British Columbia
WHEN A DRAWING FEE APPLIES AND WHAT IT COVERS
You pay a drawing fee when you send a sketch or photos instead of drawings with every size marked.
A shop drawing fee covers the time it takes to draw your part to scale before it can be priced and built. A shop drawing is what a fabricator builds from, with each size, bend, seam, and connection marked. At Duct Duct Goose, the fee comes off your order if you place one. This guide covers when you'll need one and what the fee includes. It also explains design assist, and who owns a drawing once it's paid for.
The files and sizes you have decide whether we draw your part before pricing it. Find your situation below.
| What you have | Do we draw it first? | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| A PDF with every size marked | No | We price the part straight from your PDF |
| A DWG or DXF file | No | We price from the file, and it goes straight into the software that programs our machines |
| A standard duct fitting | No | You price and order it on WebDuct, with a company account |
| A hand sketch with sizes | Yes | We draw it to scale, and the fee applies |
| Photos with a tape measure in the frame | Yes | We ask about any size we can't read, then draw it |
| A part that has to fit equipment not chosen yet | Not until the equipment is chosen | We need its model number and sizes first |
| A part that needs an engineer's seal | Yes, after your engineer designs it | Your engineer designs it, then we make our drawing from their design |
Why photos are different from fabrication drawings covers what a photo can't show. Adding those details to your photos cuts down the questions before we draw.
The fee covers the drafting, the questions about missing sizes, and the details a sketch leaves out. It also gets you a drawing to check before any metal is cut.
If you send a sketch or photos, someone has to draw each size, bend, and seam to scale. That time is most of what the fee covers.
If a size can't be read from what you sent, we ask before drawing it. A guess drawn neatly to scale is still a guess.
If the sketch doesn't say the gauge, the seams, or how the part connects to the duct, our drawing has to. So we ask you before it's drawn.
If our drawing shows something you didn't mean, you catch it before any metal is cut. What you approve is what we build.
Credited means the fee comes off the price of your order. Whether that happens depends on what you decide once the drawing is done.
The fee is credited, so you don't pay twice for the same drafting. The drawing you approved is the one the part is built to.
The fee isn't credited because it was paid for drafting already done. Before drafting starts, ask what you'll receive if you don't order.
What happens to a drawing fee
The fee pays for the drawing. Whether it comes off an order depends on what you decide next.
Your sketch or photos
Sizes marked, with a tape measure in the photos
Shop drawing made
Drawn to scale, and the fee applies
You check and approve
Sizes, quantities, metal, finish, and openings
You place the order
The fee is credited, so it comes off the order's price
You don't order
The fee covers the drafting already done
Four kinds of design work can sit behind one part, and each makes a different person responsible. Knowing which one you need tells you who to ask first.
| Kind of work | What it is | Who is responsible for the design | Commonly used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop drawing | A drawing of how the part is built, with sizes, metal, gauge, seams, and connections | The contractor who submits it, even after the engineer reviews it | Duct fittings, transitions, curbs, drain pans, and stainless counters |
| Design assist | A trade advises the engineer on how something can be built while the design is still being drawn | The engineer of record, who keeps the design | Larger or unusual systems, where the way it's built changes the design |
| Delegated design | The engineer hands the design of one part to a trade's own engineer, who seals the drawings for it | The trade's engineer, for that one part | Sprinkler systems, stairs, and railings, and seldom sheet metal |
| The engineer's drawings | The sealed design the engineer or architect issues for the project | The engineer or architect who seals them | HVAC layouts, fire dampers, and duct openings through fire-rated walls |
Canada's National Master Specification says the engineer's review only checks a shop drawing against the design. The contractor who submits it stays responsible for its details, even when a fabricator drew it. Our drawings show how to build a part, and anything that needs an engineer's seal comes from the project's engineer.
Engineers and contractors use design assist to mean one kind of help, given before the design is finished. The term comes up most on larger or unusual commercial projects.
On a sheet metal job, a fabricator's part in design assist is usually checking that a design can be built. It also means saying what would make the part simpler to make.
If a part can't be bent or joined the way it's designed, we say so early. The engineer can change it before anyone pays to have it drawn.
If a fold can replace a weld, or a standard size can replace an odd one, we'll suggest it. The part does the same job and costs you less.
If you need equipment exhaust ducting or fume extraction, we can help lay out the system, then supply and install it. Anything that needs a seal still goes to your engineer.
If a part needs a sealed drawing, the project's engineer provides it. We don't do engineering or seal drawings.
Most of what a drawing costs is drafting time. The Government of Canada's Job Bank publishes drafting wages by region. In the Lower Mainland, the median wage for a drafting technician is $32.21 an hour, ranging from $20.00 to $52.88.
| Example in Canadian dollars, hours assumed, not a Duct Duct Goose quote | One fitting from a sketch | Twelve fittings from photos |
|---|---|---|
| What arrives | A hand sketch with every size marked | Photos with a tape measure in most of them |
| Drafting time, hours | 1 | 5 |
| Time on questions about missing sizes, hours | 0 | 1 |
| Wage cost at the $32.21 median, not a Duct Duct Goose quote | $32.21 | $193.26 |
The hours are assumed, and the figures are wages, not a billed rate. A billed rate also covers software, the office, and overhead, so a drawing fee is higher than the wage alone. Sizes that arrive complete take the question time out, which is the part of the cost you control.
Under Canada's Copyright Act, who owns a drawing depends on who drew it, not who paid for it. Three things follow from that.
The person who draws a drawing is its first owner. If an employee draws it as part of the job, the employer owns it.
Ownership moves only through a written assignment signed by the owner. Paying usually permits you to use the drawing on that job.
If you plan to take a drawing to another fabricator or use it on a later job, ask whoever drew it. Get their permission in writing.
Most drafting charges, and most drawings made twice, come from something missing in the first message. Each fix below saves time at the drafting table.
| What happened | Why it adds drafting time | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Photos sent with no tape measure in them | No size can be read, so every one has to be asked for | Hold a tape measure across each opening in every photo |
| A scanned drawing with no sizes on it | It shows the shape but not the size, so the part is drawn again | Send the dimensioned PDF or the DWG file |
| Sizes changed after our drawing was made | The drawing is redone with the new sizes | Measure and confirm on site before asking us to draw it |
| A sealed part sent to us before the engineer's design | Anything drawn before the design is final has to be redone | Get the engineer's design first, then send it to us |
| A drawing approved without checking the sizes | A change after approval means redrawing, and sometimes remaking the part | Check sizes, quantities, metal, and openings before you sign |
How to measure ductwork for a custom fitting shows how to take sizes we can work from. What happens after you approve the drawings covers what a change costs once they're signed.
A request we have to draw first runs through five steps. They're the same for one fitting or a full package.
Send what you have. PDF drawings, DWG or DXF files, photos with tape measurements, and hand sketches all work.
We say what's missing. We list any size, metal, or detail we still need, and whether the part has to be drawn.
We draw the part. The fee applies, and it's credited when you place the order.
You check and approve it. You check the sizes, quantities, metal, finish, and openings, and your approval is what we build to.
We turn it into cutting files. The approved drawing becomes the flat patterns and programs our machines cut from.
The part then runs through our cutting and bending work, whether it's for custom duct fittings or a one-off bracket. The sheet metal fabrication capabilities page lists what we can make from it.
The fee is worth paying when no usable drawing exists. When one already does, there's nothing left to draw.
If your drawings already show every size, send them as they are. We'd rather price from what you have than charge you to draw it again.
Each item on this list is one less question before drafting starts. With all of them, a sketch can be drawn in one pass.
Before drafting starts, also tell us who will approve our drawing on your side. Then ask what you'll receive if you don't place the order. What Duct Duct Goose needs to quote custom metalwork has the full list for a quote request. More cost guides sit in Custom Fabrication Cost Guides.
Clean drawings or a rough sketch with sizes are both a starting point. Send them over, and we'll tell you what's missing and whether the part has to be drawn first.
Standard ductwork and fittings price instantly on WebDuct, the online pricing and ordering portal, with a company account. Stainless, grease duct, production parts, installs, and other custom work start with a request or a call.
At Duct Duct Goose, we specialize in sheet metal fabrication and stainless steel services for commercial and industrial applications, including HVAC systems, ducts, and custom metalwork. Please note that we do not offer services for automotive-related projects, such as vehicle parts, repairs, or modifications.
