Melbourne Verandas
Drafting & design documentation

Drafting & design documentation for Melbourne & Geelong homes

Before a single board is cut, a good deck, pergola or balcony exists as a proper set of drawings. Drafting is a core part of what we do — turning your idea and your site into plans that get approved and get built right.

Drafting is where a project is actually won or lost. A clear, correct set of drawings is what a building surveyor assesses, what an engineer designs to, and what a builder prices and builds from — and vague or missing documentation is where permits stall, quotes blow out and jobs go wrong. We draft outdoor structures properly, so everything downstream runs smoothly.

We prepare drawings for decks at every level, pergolas, verandahs, carports, balconies and stairs — from a first concept through to a permit-ready and construction-ready set. You can engage us for drafting alone (for your own builder), or as the first stage of a design-and-build with us.

From a rough idea to a set you can build from

Bring us a sketch on the back of an envelope, a Pinterest board, or just a look out your back door — we translate it into scaled, dimensioned drawings that actually work on your block. That means resolving the awkward real-world bits early: how the deck meets the house, where the levels land, how the posts miss the drains, how the whole thing reads from the street.

What a drawing set includes

A typical set covers a site plan (where the structure sits on your property and its setbacks), plans of the deck or structure itself, elevations (how it looks from each side), sections (how it's built up through its layers), and the construction details that matter — footings, framing, connections, balustrades and stairs. The level of detail is scaled to what your project and your permit actually need.

Permit-ready documentation

Drawings for a permit have to show the right things in the right way for a registered building surveyor (and, where a planning permit applies, the council) to assess them. We draft with that assessment in mind from the start, so the set that leaves us is the set that gets approved — not one that bounces back with a request for more information. See our permits & approvals service for the lodgement side.

Engineering, coordinated

Outdoor structures live and die on the parts you don't see: footing sizes for the soil, beam and joist spans, bracing, wind uplift on an open pergola, and — on balconies — how the structure attaches to the building. We coordinate the drafting with a structural engineer so the drawings carry the right structural information, rather than leaving it to be sorted out on site.

Draft-only, or design-and-build

Plenty of clients come to us purely for drawings — because they have their own builder, or they're an owner-builder, or another trade needs a documented set to work from. That's genuinely welcome. Others use the drafting as the first step and have us build it too. Either way, you own a proper set of drawings at the end.

Related services

Guides worth reading

Common questions

Do I need drawings to get a permit for a deck or pergola?

Almost always, yes. A building surveyor assesses a project from scaled, dimensioned drawings and supporting details — a rough sketch isn't enough. Getting the drafting right is the fastest path to an approval that doesn't bounce back.

Can you just do the drafting if I have my own builder?

Absolutely — drafting is a standalone service for us. We can prepare a permit-ready and construction-ready set for your own builder or for an owner-build, without you having to build with us.

What's in a set of drawings?

Typically a site plan, plans of the structure, elevations, sections and the key construction details (footings, framing, connections, balustrades, stairs), scaled to what your project and permit require.

Do you handle the engineering too?

We coordinate the drafting with a structural engineer so the drawings carry the right footing sizes, spans, bracing and connection details — especially important for raised decks and balconies.

Can you draft a balcony or a tricky sloping-site deck?

Yes — those are exactly the projects where good drafting earns its keep. Balcony attachment, level changes and structural detailing all get resolved on paper first, which is far cheaper than resolving them on site.

Thinking about drafting & design documentation?

We'll visit, assess your site and give you an honest, itemised quote.

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