Industrial Facility CAD Drawings in Toronto
A complete set of as-built floor plans, elevations, and reflected ceiling plans for a distribution warehouse undergoing conversion.
The Challenge
A developer had purchased a single-storey industrial warehouse in Toronto's west end for conversion to a mixed-use commercial space. No reliable as-built drawings existed - the building had been modified multiple times since its original construction in the 1970s, and the accumulated changes were undocumented.
The design team needed a full drawing package - floor plans, elevations, reflected ceiling plans, and building sections - in AutoCAD format before submitting a zoning amendment application. The timeline was tight: drawings were needed within 3 weeks of project kickoff.
Complicating matters, the warehouse was partially occupied with stored inventory that could not be relocated during the documentation process. The capture approach needed to work around existing obstructions while still producing dimensionally accurate drawings suitable for municipal submission.
Our Approach
The warehouse was scanned over 3 days, including the main floor, mezzanine, exterior facades, and rooftop mechanical equipment. More than 90 scan positions captured the full building envelope and interior, with additional positions dedicated to the mezzanine structure and overhead joist system.
Floor plans were drafted in AutoCAD at 1:100 scale with full dimensioning. Elevations were produced for all 4 facades, documenting openings, loading dock positions, and exterior equipment. Reflected ceiling plans documented the existing joist structure, lighting layout, and overhead utilities - information critical to the conversion design.
All drawings were checked against the registered point cloud before delivery. Dimensions were spot-verified, and any areas where stored inventory partially obstructed the scan were noted on the drawings with appropriate annotations so the design team understood exactly where conditions were directly measured versus interpolated.
Deliverables
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Registered point cloud
.E57
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Floor plans
.DWG .PDF
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Elevations
.DWG .PDF
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Reflected ceiling plans
.DWG .PDF
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Building sections
.DWG .PDF
Results
The complete drawing package was delivered within 18 days of the initial scan date - 3 days ahead of the deadline. The drawings were accepted by the municipality as part of the zoning amendment submission without revision requests related to accuracy or completeness.
The developer's design team used the same drawings as the base for schematic design, eliminating the need for a separate survey. By consolidating the documentation and design base into a single set of verified files, the project avoided duplicate effort and ensured dimensional consistency from municipal submission through to construction.
“We needed accurate drawings fast, and the team delivered ahead of schedule. The fact that we could use the same files for both the zoning submission and the design phase saved us time and money.”