Structural Steel Detailing · Maryland
Drafting Buddies produces fabrication-ready steel shop drawings, erection drawings and BIM models for structural and miscellaneous steel projects across Maryland - modeled in Tekla and SDS/2, checked against AISC 360 and IBC before they ever reach your shop floor.
DTL 04 / SHT S-402
MD-STL-0114
Scale 3/8" = 1'-0"
Fab-Ready
Who We Are
Drafting Buddies is a structural steel detailing company supporting fabricators, erectors and general contractors throughout Maryland, from Baltimore's industrial corridor to the data center and warehouse work spreading through Frederick and Washington County. We build the shop drawings, erection drawings and 3D steel models that turn an engineer's design into a set of instructions your shop and your crew can actually work from.
Every Maryland project brings its own mix of jurisdictions, wind and seismic parameters, and local plan-review habits - Baltimore City reviews differently than Montgomery County, and a Howard County permit set is not read the same way in Anne Arundel. Our detailers work inside those differences instead of around them, so the connection design, bolt pattern and erection sequence on your drawings match what your local building official expects to see.
We're not a generic outsource desk. Every project is assigned a lead detailer who stays with the job from model kickoff through RFI close-out, so the person answering your Tuesday-morning phone call is the same person who modeled your base plates.
One point of contact per project, start to steel-out
Deliverables you can hand straight to your CNC line
AISC 360, AWS D1.1 and IBC amendments reviewed in-house
Baltimore, Bethesda, Rockville, Frederick and beyond
Sub-Services
Twelve detailing disciplines, one Maryland team. Whichever piece of the structure you need drawn, it's modeled, checked and issued by detailers who work Maryland projects every week.
RES · 01
Residential
Shop and erection drawings for structural steel framing in Maryland's residential and multi-family projects - beams, columns, ledger connections and roof framing detailed to match your architect's design intent and local residential building code.
MSC · 02
Misc. Steel
Stairs, handrails, guardrails, ladders and platform steel detailed for fabrication. We handle the miscellaneous metals scope that trails behind the main structural package on almost every Maryland job.
RBR · 03
Rebar
Rebar shop drawings, bar bending schedules and placement drawings for foundations, slabs and columns, coordinated with the structural steel model so embeds and anchor bolts land where the concrete crew expects them.
BIM · 04
BIM / 3D
Full 3D structural steel modeling in Tekla Structures with Navisworks clash coordination against MEP, architectural and civil models - catching interferences on screen instead of on-site.
FAB · 05
Fab / Erection
Piece-mark fabrication drawings and sequenced erection drawings that keep your shop cutting and your crew setting steel without a mid-job call back to the drafting desk.
CON · 06
Connections
Bolted and welded connection design detailing - moment connections, shear tabs, base plates and bracing gussets - engineered to AISC 360 and checked for constructability before issue.
BRG · 07
Bridge
Steel bridge detailing for girders, diaphragms and bearing assemblies on Maryland transportation and pedestrian structures, prepared to AASHTO and MDOT SHA structural steel standards.
GRT · 08
Grating
Bar grating and plank layout drawings for mezzanines, walkways and equipment platforms, panelized and toe-plated to match your framing plan and load requirements.
PRC · 09
Precast
Embed and connection detailing between structural steel and precast concrete panels - the interface drawings that keep steel erectors and precast crews working off the same numbers.
CNP · 10
Canopy
Entrance canopies, loading dock awnings and cantilevered steel canopy structures detailed for fabrication, including connection back to the primary building frame.
PRK · 11
Pipe Rack
Pipe rack and support steel detailing for industrial and process facilities, with bent spacing, transverse bracing and pipe support detailing coordinated against piping isometrics.
PLT · 12
Platform
Access platforms, catwalks and equipment support steel detailed for load path, egress and OSHA-compliant guarding, ready for shop fabrication and field erection.
The Workflow
A fixed, repeatable process - the same one we run on every Maryland project, small renovation or full-frame warehouse.
Share structural engineering drawings, general notes and project specifications - PDF, DWG or a Revit/Tekla model if one exists. We'll confirm scope, connection type and applicable Maryland jurisdiction within one business day.
We price the detailing scope against piece count and connection complexity, then commit to a delivery date. No hourly surprises, no re-quoting mid-project.
Your lead detailer builds the 3D model - members, connections, embeds and miscellaneous steel - with weekly progress check-ins if the project scope calls for them.
Every model runs through an in-house clash check and code review against AISC 360, AWS D1.1 and the governing Maryland building code amendments before it leaves our shop.
You mark up PDFs or the model directly. Revisions are turned around against the original schedule, not pushed to the back of a new queue.
Final shop drawings, erection drawings, DXF/NC1 files and the native Tekla or SDS/2 model are issued together - ready for your shop floor and your erection crew.
Tooling
Industry-standard platforms, not a patchwork of workarounds - so your files open cleanly on your end, every time.
3D Modeling
Primary platform for structural & miscellaneous steel modeling
3D Modeling
Connection design and detailing for fabricator-standard workflows
Drafting
2D shop and erection drawing production & markup review
Coordination
Multi-trade clash detection against MEP, civil & architectural models
BIM
Structural steel modeling and coordination on BIM-mandated projects
The Difference
Not the biggest detailing shop in Maryland - the one that answers the phone, hits the date, and gets the connection right the first time.
No project handoffs between departments. The detailer who scopes your job is the one who models it and closes out your RFIs.
AISC 360, AWS D1.1 and Maryland's IBC amendments are checked as part of our QA process, not left for your engineer to catch.
We quote a delivery date and hold it. Revisions are scheduled, not shuffled to the bottom of a queue.
DXF, NC1 and native Tekla/SDS/2 output formatted for your specific shop equipment, not a generic export.
Detailing capacity you can scale up or down by project, without carrying a full in-house detailing department.
Every project covered under NDA. Your drawings, your bid numbers and your client relationships stay yours.
Standards We Detail To
Every set of shop and erection drawings we issue is checked against the standards your fabricator, erector and local building official will hold it to - not just modeled to look right.
Maryland adopts the International Building Code with statewide and local amendments, and enforcement varies by jurisdiction. We track the differences between Baltimore City, Montgomery County, Prince George's County and the smaller jurisdictions we serve, so plan review doesn't stall on a detail that was fine somewhere else.
Specification for Structural Steel Buildings
Code of Standard Practice
Structural Welding Code - Steel
Maryland Building Code
Minimum Design Loads
Bridge Steel Standards
Why this matters on a Maryland project
A connection detail that clears review in one county can get flagged in another. Our QA step checks bolt spacing, weld symbols and base plate design against the specific jurisdiction your permit set is going to - before the drawings reach your engineer of record for stamping.
Service Area
Statewide coverage for fabricators, erectors and contractors - remote-first, with drawings issued on your schedule regardless of where the steel is going up. See related drafting services in Maryland and shop drawings in Maryland for coordinated production.
Baltimore, MD
Bethesda, MD
Rockville, MD
Silver Spring, MD
Frederick, MD
Columbia, MD
Gaithersburg, MD
Annapolis, MD
Towson, MD
Laurel, MD
Hagerstown, MD
Bowie, MD
Waldorf, MD
Bel Air, MD
Ellicott City, MD
Start A Project
Structural or miscellaneous steel, one connection detail or a full frame package - tell us what you're building in Maryland and we'll come back with scope, price and a delivery date.