Structural Drawings: Starting from scratch

[David Deck Guy]

I am a structural engineer at a design build firm where I have not needed to do any of the drafting, they do not use AutoCAD.

I'm starting to get architectural drawings from outside architects that they would like structural markups (I use bluebeam) and calculations for. I would like to make the switch to giving them full structural drawings that I draft myself, which I think would allow me to be more time efficient, as well as more thorough with my notes and details which would allow me to cover my ass a bit more.

I have a lot of experience drafting in AutoCAD from some previous firms, but have ZERO experience in terms of setting up layer library and pen settings. Is there a good place to get started, a template somewhere with structural layers and pen settings, or a book I should buy that includes a CD that comes with this stuff?

Any help getting started would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fel3]

For your layer scheme, I suggest staring with the national cad standards: https://www.nationalcadstandard.org/ncs6/content.php.
See also: https://facilities.duke.edu/sites/default/files/AIA CAD Layer Guidelines.pdf