As-built drawings are the final set of drawings produced at the completion of a construction project. They include all the changes that have been made to the original construction drawings, A finished building never  corresponds exactly to the original plans in every detail. This normally happens  because of unforeseeable on-site complications and variations from the original plans. Sometimes such discrepancies may occur accidentally and may be  unfeasible to amend. The purpose of as-built measurement is to record these variations.

The phrase “as-built“ in construction is equivalent to “as-is.” Drawings deemed “as-built” are thus drawings that show the EXISTING conditions as they are, or “as-is” — these are the actual existing conditions as opposed to designs or proposed conditions, which are more common for the content of drawings.

As-built drawings can be documented either after or during construction. When it’s after construction, a qualified technician collects accurate data to reconstruct the drawings.