Service 05

PDF to CAD & Hand Sketch to CAD Conversion for UK Architects

Legacy drawings, scanned plans, and hand-marked sketches converted into clean, fully editable CAD files. Built for UK architectural practices that need old or non-editable content brought back into a usable format.

What we deliver

JDS Designs converts non-editable drawing content, whether that is a PDF, a scanned plan, or a hand-marked sketch, into clean, accurate, fully editable CAD files that your practice can work from immediately. This covers two related but distinct needs, both handled under one service.

PDF to CAD Conversion — where you hold existing drawings only as flat PDFs, scanned images, or old paper records with no editable source file, we redraw them in AutoCAD at the correct scale, with proper layer structure and annotation, matching the original content accurately while making it fully workable going forward.

Hand Sketch to CAD — where a concept has only ever existed as a hand sketch, whether that is an architect's initial layout, a client's marked-up floor plan, or notes taken on site, we translate that sketch into a properly scaled, dimensioned CAD drawing ready for development into a full drawing set.

What is included

  • Redrawing of PDF, scanned, or hand-sketched content into scaled CAD drawings
  • Floor plans, elevations, and sections converted from source material
  • Layer structuring and drawing standardisation to match your practice template
  • Dimension checking and reconciliation where source material is incomplete or unclear
  • Annotation and title block set-up matched to your drawing register
  • All files delivered in DWG (AutoCAD) and PDF format

Who this service is for

This service is designed for UK architectural practices, surveyors, and design consultancies holding legacy drawing archives in non-editable formats, as well as practices that regularly receive hand-marked sketches, whether from architects, clients, or site visits, and need them turned into working CAD files quickly.

It is particularly useful for practices digitising older project archives, working on refurbishment or extension projects where the only existing record is a scanned plan, or needing a fast, reliable way to formalise concept sketches into a proper drawing before design development begins.

Turnaround and delivery

Standard turnaround
2 to 4 working days depending on drawing complexity and source quality
Fast-track
Available on request — flag urgency at briefing stage
Revisions
Two revision rounds included as standard. Additional rounds at agreed rate
File formats
DWG (AutoCAD 2018 compatible) plus PDF. RVT available on request
Drawing standards
Drawn to BS 1192 layer naming conventions unless a client template is supplied — in which case we match your standard
What we need from you
Source PDF, scanned drawing, or hand sketch, any known dimensions or scale reference, brief and scope

Ready to outsource your drawing conversion services?

Send us a brief or book a 30-minute discovery call — we respond within one business day.

Send a Brief
Questions

Frequently asked questions

  • We work from any dimensions, scale bars, or reference measurements included in the source material. Where scale is genuinely unclear, we flag this and confirm with you before proceeding, so the final drawing is dimensionally reliable.

  • Yes. We regularly work from rough or partial sketches. Where something is ambiguous, we raise a query rather than guess, so the converted drawing matches your intent.

  • Yes. Scanned paper drawings, low-resolution images, and digital PDFs are all handled the same way, redrawn cleanly in CAD rather than traced or auto-vectorised, which keeps the output accurate and properly structured.

  • Yes. If you supply a template or CAD standard, we match it exactly. Where none is supplied, we draft to BS 1192 conventions as default.

Pairs well with

Related services.

  • AutoCAD Drafting

    Take converted drawings straight into full CAD development.

    Learn more

  • Planning Drawings

    Where converted existing drawings form the basis of a new planning application.

    Learn more