$ ev about --who

The small drafting desk behind a lot of Suffolk County decks.

Two drafters, one counter, a pot of coffee and a very large plotter. Here’s who we are and how we work.

940 John Avenue, Bayport Wed–Sun 8:30am–7pm (631) 581-2798
Ellsworth & VanceMeasured twiceDrawn onceBayport, NYFlat fee per projectPlotter on site

01 // How the desk got here

We started because contractors kept losing weekends to drawings.

The pattern was always the same. A deck builder would nail the job on a Tuesday, then spend Saturday hunched over a laptop trying to make a framing plan the town would accept. Great with a framing square, not so thrilled with layers and line weights.

So we set up a counter in Bayport and made drafting the whole job. Bring a sketch, a photo, a number scribbled on a stud. We turn it into sheets a plan reviewer can read without squinting, and we quote one flat fee before we draw anything.

Homeowners wander in too, usually holding graph paper and a letter from the building department. That’s fine. We’ll translate the letter.

Illustration of the Ellsworth and Vance counter with a plotter printing a permit sheet and rolled plans beside it
The counter · 940 John Avenue

Easier to show us than explain it?

Snap a photo of the sketch and text it over. We’ll take it from there.

02 // House rules

Five things we do on every single set

Stuck to the wall above the plotter. Also how we’d like to be held accountable.

  1. R1

    One number, up front

    You get the flat fee before we draw a line. If the job grows, we tell you before we touch the drawing, not after.

  2. R2

    Numbers get a gut-check

    If a hallway is 7′ upstairs and 9′ downstairs, you’ll get a phone call, not a guess dressed up as a dimension.

  3. R3

    Drawn for the reviewer

    Joist spans, ledger attachment, guard heights and footing details sit where the plan reviewer goes looking for them.

  4. R4

    Files you can actually use

    PDF and DWG both, plus printed 24″×36″ sets at the counter. Your sheets are yours to take to any engineer or architect.

  5. R5

    Honest about the stamp

    We’re drafters, not architects. When a town needs a licensed RA or PE, we prep the set for review and say so on the first call.

Wondering if your job fits?

Ask us. Takes about two minutes and nobody’s going to upsell you.

03 // Around the desk

What a normal week sounds like at the counter

No org chart, just the stuff that fills our days.

Monday & Tuesday

Appointments only

The doors are closed to walk-ins, but this is when we do site measures with laser, tape and camera. Book ahead and we’ll come to you around Bayport and the nearby Suffolk towns.

Illustration of a drafting desk with a half-finished floor plan, scale ruler and tape measure
Wednesday–Sunday

Counter open, 8:30am–7pm

Contractors drop off batches before heading to site. Homeowners come by with letters from the town. We scan, we ask questions, we quote. Plotter warms up at about 9.

Floor plansAs-builtsDeck permit setsBasement plansDormers & additionsTown comments

04 // Good fit, bad fit

Who we’re great for, and who we’ll point elsewhere

Send it our way if…

  • You frame decks, finish basements, or build dormers and the town wants drawings first
  • You’re a homeowner holding a sketch and a letter from the building department
  • You need as-builts of a house that never had plans, or lost them
  • You want the fee settled before the work starts

Probably not us if…

  • It’s a ground-up custom home that needs an architect’s stamp and full engineering
  • You want design ideas from scratch, not drawings of what’s planned

Okay, you’ve met us. Now meet your sketch.

Drop it off Wed–Sun, or send it from the truck. Flat price back the same business day if it lands before 4pm.

Call us Send the sketch