If you have ever been asked for as-installed drawings when you were expecting to produce as-built drawings, or received a specification calling for record drawings when everyone on site says as-fitted, the confusion is understandable. These terms get used interchangeably across UK construction and engineering, and nobody ever explains which is which.
The short answer is that they all describe the same deliverable: a drawing that records what was actually built or installed, rather than what was originally designed. The differences are about who is speaking, not about what you get.
Here is how the terminology breaks down in practice, and the one situation where the distinction genuinely matters.
The short answer
As-built, as-installed, as-fitted, record drawings and as-constructed drawings are, for practical purposes, the same thing. All of them mean a drawing set updated to reflect the completed condition of the works.
No UK standard defines them as separate document types. There is no scenario in which an as-installed drawing contains different information from an as-built drawing covering the same scope. The variation is regional, sectoral, and contractual.
As-built drawings
This is the dominant term across UK construction and the one most people default to. It is used across structures, civils, building works, and general construction documentation. If a term is going to appear in a project programme or a handover checklist, it is usually this one.
It is also the term most commonly used when the drawings are being produced from redline markups collected during construction.
As-installed drawings
As-installed is far more common in mechanical and electrical work and in building services generally. The logic is straightforward: you build a structure, but you install services. Pipework, ductwork, containment, cabling, distribution boards and plant are installed, so the drawings recording them are as-installed.
M&E contractors, building services consultants, and commissioning engineers use this term routinely. It also appears in process and industrial contexts where equipment and instrumentation are installed rather than constructed.
If you are an M&E contractor being asked for as-installed drawings, that is the same package a main contractor would call as-built drawings.
As-fitted drawings
As-fitted appears most often in fit-out work and in older UK usage. It is also the standard term in marine and shipbuilding, where nothing is built on a vessel, it is fitted.
In building work it tends to turn up in refurbishment, commercial fit-out, and interiors packages. Some longer-established UK practices use as-fitted as their default term across all work simply out of habit, which is why it can appear on a specification with no obvious sectoral logic.
Record drawings
Record drawings is the formal and contractual term. It appears in NEC and JCT contract documentation, in professional specifications, and in guidance around CDM more often than as-built does.
If you receive a specification asking for record drawings, that is a signal you are dealing with a formally administered contract. The deliverable is the same, but the surrounding requirements around format, issue status and revision control are usually more tightly specified than on a job where someone has simply asked for the as-builts.
It is worth reading the specification carefully in these cases, not because the drawing type differs, but because the contractual expectations around it often do.
As-constructed drawings
As-constructed is primarily an Australian and New Zealand term. It occasionally appears in UK civil engineering, particularly on projects with international design input or on infrastructure schemes using overseas contract forms.
If you see it on a UK project, treat it as a straight synonym for as-built.
When the terminology actually matters
There is one situation where getting the term right has practical consequences, and it is not the drawings themselves. It is procurement.
If your specification, tender documentation, or handover checklist uses one term and your supplier uses another, things get missed. A contractor who has agreed to provide as-built drawings may not realise that the M&E subcontractor package requiring as-installed drawings is the same obligation. Two separate line items appear where there should be one, or worse, neither party assumes responsibility for the services drawings and the gap only surfaces at handover.
The fix is simple. At the point of agreeing scope, confirm what is actually being delivered rather than which word is being used: which disciplines are covered, what format the files come in, what revision status they carry, and what they are being produced from.
Does the terminology change what you should receive?
No. Whatever the term, an adequate record of the completed works should show the actual installed or constructed condition, incorporate all changes made during the works, carry a clear revision status and issue date, and be supplied in an editable CAD format with PDF copies for distribution.
If any of those are missing, the deliverable is inadequate regardless of what it is called. A set of design drawings reissued at completion with no changes incorporated is not an as-built record, an as-installed record, or a record drawing. It is just the design drawings.
Outsource CAD
Outsource CAD produces as-built, as-installed, as-fitted and record drawings for UK construction, M&E, telecoms, oil and gas, and facilities management projects. Whichever term your specification uses, the service is the same: we work from your redline markups, site photographs, survey data or existing design drawings and return a complete, accurate record in AutoCAD DWG with PDF copies.
Standard turnaround is 24 to 48 hours. If you are unsure whether what you have been asked for matches what you have available to work from, send it over and we will tell you. Call +44 28 9009 8876 or email info@outsourcecad.com.
Frequently asked questions
Are as-built and as-installed drawings the same thing?
Yes. They describe the same deliverable. As-installed is more common in mechanical and electrical and building services work, because services are installed rather than built, but the drawing content is identical in scope and purpose.
What is the difference between as-built drawings and record drawings?
None in terms of content. Record drawings is the more formal contractual term and appears in NEC and JCT specifications and CDM guidance. Where a specification calls for record drawings, the requirements around format, revision status and issue control are often more tightly defined, but the drawing itself is the same.
Why do some UK firms say as-fitted rather than as-built?
As-fitted is common in fit-out and refurbishment work, is the standard term in marine and shipbuilding, and remains the default at some longer-established UK practices. It means the same thing.
Which term should I use in a specification?
Use whichever term is standard for your sector, but define what you require rather than relying on the term alone. Specify the disciplines covered, the file format, the revision status, and the source information the drawings are to be produced from.
Does Outsource CAD produce as-installed and as-fitted drawings?
Yes. As-built, as-installed, as-fitted, record and as-constructed drawings are all the same service. We produce them from redline markups, site photographs, survey data or point cloud scans, in AutoCAD DWG with PDF copies, typically within 24 to 48 hours.
