Two Typical Stacks and How to Choose
Lesson 18 of 18 · 8 min read
You have now followed a building through nine stages. This last lesson puts the tools side by side. There is no single right stack. There is a stack that fits your project's size, team and client.
Stack 1: house, villa or small builder
| Stage | Typical tools and outputs |
|---|---|
| Concept | Hand sketch, AutoCAD plan, SketchUp massing |
| Presentation | SketchUp with V-Ray, Enscape, D5 Render or Lumion; increasingly AI-assisted images; deck in PowerPoint or Slides |
| Working drawings | AutoCAD .dwg, PDF prints |
| Structure | ETABS or STAAD.Pro, details in AutoCAD, BBS in Excel |
| MEP | Often drawn in AutoCAD by the contractor; no separate model |
| Approval | Municipal online plan scrutiny, drawings in the prescribed layer format |
| BOQ and estimate | Excel, measured from PDF or DWG by hand, with SOR or market rates |
| Schedule | Excel bar chart or Microsoft Project; sometimes none |
| Site | WhatsApp groups, photos, registers; site apps such as Powerplay or Onsite; TallyPrime for accounts |
| Interiors | SketchUp or 3ds Max renders, AutoCAD shop drawings, factory software for modular |
Where it breaks: information is re-typed at every hand-off. Drawings, BOQ, BBS and site records live in separate files and chats. The drawings-to-quantities step is slow and depends on one person's care.
Stack 2: BIM-led tower, commercial or large project
| Stage | Typical tools and outputs |
|---|---|
| Concept | Rhino, Forma Site Design or Revit massing |
| Presentation | Enscape or Twinmotion, rendered from the live model |
| Working drawings | Revit or Archicad; drawings cut from the model |
| Structure | ETABS and SAFE, then Revit or Tekla Structures; Tekla for rebar and steel fabrication |
| MEP | Revit models, with HAP, DIALux evo and ETAP calculations |
| Coordination | Navisworks or Solibri clash checks on a CDE such as Autodesk Forma (formerly Autodesk Construction Cloud and BIM 360) or Trimble Connect |
| BOQ and estimate | Model-based takeoff: CostX, Navisworks, Revit schedules, or RIB's Candy and RIB 4.0 (formerly iTWO) |
| Schedule | Primavera P6, with 4D links in SYNCHRO 4D |
| Site | Procore or Forma Build, an ERP such as SAP, drone progress surveys processed in tools like Pix4D or DJI Terra |
| Handover | As-built model and COBie data into FM software such as Archibus, Planon or Dalux |
Where it breaks: the model goes stale. If site changes are not fed back, the "single source of truth" quietly stops being true. BIM also needs skilled people and licences, which small firms may not have.
Most projects sit in between
Many Indian mid-size projects mix the two: AutoCAD drawings, a Revit model made for coordination or marketing, BOQ in Excel, and a site app. That is fine, as long as everyone knows which file governs what.
Five questions to choose your stack
- What do your consultants deliver? If you receive .dwg and PDF, plan for route A takeoff and a drawing register. If you receive a maintained model, use it.
- What does your client require? Government and infrastructure work often asks for a Primavera P6 programme and a measurement book. Some private clients ask for BIM.
- Who will keep each file current? A tool nobody updates is worse than no tool, because people trust it.
- Where does information get re-typed? Each re-typing is a place for errors. Fix the worst hand-off first, often drawings to BOQ, or site to office.
- What will your site team actually use? A simple app or register filled every day beats a powerful system filled once a month.
A worked example: costing a wrong choice
A small builder buys a full BIM workflow for a G+3 project, but the consultants still deliver 2D AutoCAD drawings. Someone must now model the building to use the BIM tools. If that work is done halfway, the model is never trusted, and the team goes back to Excel, having paid twice.
The opposite also happens: a tower team runs BOQ in Excel from PDF prints while a good model sits unused. The fix in both cases is the same: decide which file governs quantities, and stick to it.
Course wrap-up
You now have the whole map: nine stages, the people in each, six gates, and the tools and files that carry information from brief to handover. Take the final assessment to test yourself and get your free certificate.
Key takeaways
- There is no single right stack; fit it to project size, team and client.
- The small-builder stack is cheap and familiar but re-types information at each hand-off.
- The BIM-led stack works from one model, but only while the model is kept current.
- Many mid-size projects mix both; decide which file governs what.
- Fix the worst hand-off first, often drawings to BOQ or site to office.
Verify on site
- List every hand-off on your project and mark where information is re-typed.
- Write down which file governs quantities, and who keeps it current.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answering them marks this lesson complete — results stay on your device.
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