Introduction to Design and Construction Documentation – GreenBuildingAdvisor

By Leah Karmaker | December 29, 2025

I often joke that no matter the project, the question, or the builder, I always have the same answer to a design or construction question on site: “Well, let’s look at the drawings.” The design and construction of healthy, energy efficient, and durable homes rely on a variety of documentation. Oftentimes, however, documentation is incomplete, or not present; or even if it is, practitioners may not have had the “language learning” training needed to use it. If you’re an early career builder or designer, new to reading blueprints, or the dollar signs on your electrical plan simply confuse you, you’re in the right place. In this article series, we’ll take a deep dive into design and construction documentation and provide tools for you to use them. This article begins with an introduction to what kind of documentation we’re covering, how it’s used, and why it’s important.

It’s in the plans

First, let’s demystify some of the terms I’m using here. I’m using the vague word “documentation” intentionally because we are talking about more than just blueprints (aka plans). Different types of documentation are used during different phases of the design and construction process, and they are not just drawings.

During the schematic or design development phase of the project, design drawings are used to convey the design to the client and to the builder. Design drawings typically contain: