Highlighting Drawings

Don’t Ditch the Highlighter: Why Old School Drawing Skills Still Matter

Today’s topic? Something so simple, most people overlook it and yet it’s one of the most useful, builder focused practices we’ve got:

Highlighting your drawings

That’s right, A couple of Sharpies and a solid set of plans might be the best tech you’ve used all year.

A Skill Worth Holding Onto

With technology booming Bluebeam, BIM, tablets, cloud-based project controls it’s easy to think we’re “past” things like highlighters and markups. But here’s the thing:

Paperless isn’t the goal, Effective is:

And whether you’re using blue beam, paper sets, or some combo of both, one fact remains, highlighting drawings helps you think like a builder.

It forces you to:

• Study the drawings.
• Catch gaps.
• Visualize sequences.
• Communicate clearly.

Ways to Use Highlights Like a Pro:

1. Study Sets like a Builder, not a Broker:

One of my mentors used to say, “Go to Staples like its Black Friday.” Load up on pens, highlighters, and pencils and go to town on your drawings.

Mark:

• Utilities.
• Foundations.
• Penetrations.
• Finish boundaries.
• Phasing zones.

This helps you digest scope in layers not just at a glance, but with actual comprehension.

2. Visualize Complex Sequences:

I once saw a PE super team color code an entire building facade to break down installation by assembly type, Flashing, waterproofing, cladding each in its own highlight color.

It took a gnarly detail package and turned it into a clear, buildable plan.

That’s leadership through visuals.

3. Highlight to Buy Out Scopes:

On a university job in Arizona, I saw a PM highlight every component in wall sections not elevations. Sheathing, vapor barrier, sealants, reveals. Every trade partner’s scope was highlighted and labeled.

Guess what? The project didn’t suffer from the typical “who owns what” fights. It was already figured out.

4. Pre-bid with Total Clarity:

On one of our own projects (that unfortunately got canceled), we ran a full set of detail highlights during bid prep. Why?

To avoid scope gaps, bad assumptions, and the “oh, we didn’t price that” phone calls.

It’s not sexy. But it’s smart.

The Shift, What Tech Hasn’t Solved Yet:

We used to highlight plans, post them up, cut them apart, tape them together. And then came BIM, VDC, tablets, PDFs and we stopped drawing.

Now? Too much knowledge lives inside heads and screens. Not enough of it is shared visually.

That’s a problem. Because not every superintendent, engineer, or foreman is going to click through 73 sheets on a screen during crunch time.

Highlighting Is the Thinking Part:

Highlighting drawings forces you to think before you act.

It’s a builder’s way of seeing. You can’t just assume it’s covered you have to find it, color it, label it, and talk about it.

It’s physical, It’s visual, It’s memorable.

And that matters more than ever in a fast paced, digitally distracted industry.

Bottom Line: Be a Builder, not a Broke:

The more tech we get, the more valuable real builder skills become, and this is one of them.

So yes, go digital when it helps, Use Blue beam, build models, Stay efficient.

But don’t give up the highlighters just yet.

You’re paid to know what you’re building not just to forward RFIs and manage schedules.

Be a builder. Pick up a pen.