Question about the number of layers in a standard commercial building plan set

I was working on a set of shop drawings for a new office block in Phoenix last week, and I got curious about the total layer count. I dug into the architect's base files, and I was shocked to find over 300 separate layers. I mean, I knew it would be a lot, but that's a whole new level. My usual projects for smaller builds might have 80 to 100 layers at most. It really makes you think about how you organize your own template. Half of those layers were for things like specific fixture notes and different hatch patterns for materials I didn't even know they were using. How do you guys keep your own files clean when you get a base with that much going on? Do you purge and merge aggressively, or try to work within their system?

3 comments

3 Comments

laurabennett22d agoTop Commenter

Wow, 300 layers is insane! I used to just work with whatever messy system I was given, thinking it was easier to go along with it. Then I spent a whole day hunting for one electrical note on a huge project and completely changed my mind. Now I make a clean copy of the base file and merge anything I don't need into a handful of working layers. It saves my sanity later when things get busy.

campbell.robin22d ago

A whole day just to find one note? How does a project even get to that point without someone setting it on fire first? That sounds like the kind of mess that makes you want to quit and go herd sheep. Your clean copy method is the only sane way to deal with a file that's been buried under its own chaos. I'd have lost my mind long before the eight hour mark.

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price.tyler2d ago

My old project files look like a hoarder's garage, honestly. I once found a hidden layer named "temp_final_revised_new_test_5". The clean copy method is basically digital therapy at this point.