A measured building survey is a scaled drawing showing details of an existing building including floor plans, elevations and sections. Typical detail on a floor plan would be wall and structural positions, ceiling detail including heights, window thickness with sill and head heights and level changes throughout the building. Detail on an elevation would include window and door positions, rain water and soil pipes, roof and eaves detail and materials. A section combines the floor plans and elevations to show a slice through the building.
Typically this data is then produced as a finished drawing in AutoCAD which can then have building designs added. Below is an example of what a finished floor plan should look like.
Are there different types of measured building survey?
The majority of our survey requests are for the full detail though some clients may ask for just floor plans, just elevations or just part of the building depending on the project. A good portion of our measured building survey requests also require part or full topographical surveys to show how the building fits within the grounds.
How do you go about surveying a property?
The method to survey a property depends on the property and the weather at the time of the survey. Our preferred method is to firstly complete the topographical survey and then sketch and measure the external footprint of the building. After, we tend to go inside the property to sketch and measure the floor plans. Finally we complete the elevations either through taking measurements or by using the high definition scanner.
All the above information is then taken back to the office where we draw the floor plans, elevations and sections in AutoCAD to produce our final drawings.
How long does a survey take?
The time to complete a survey depends on its size and detail and so varies from site to site. Areas with very dense detail, limited light or limited access may take longer and require extra surveyors to complete.
Generally for a domestic property you would expect the survey to take a day onsite (unless very large or detailed) and another day or two in the office to draw. Often with building surveys the office work takes longer than the site measurements.
What are measured building surveys used for?
The majority of building surveys are used to give a designer or architect a base plan to then create the design that their client wants. Other uses could be to provide information to planning agencies, provide a base plan for conditional surveys or provide information for a 3D model to be created.
Is there any special equipment used?
Any modern surveying firm should be using a theodolite to undertake a measured building survey even if it is just to confirm that the building is square. A theodolite is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. All angles and distances are stored on a memory card within the unit which can be downloaded back in the office. The most common brands include Leica, Topcon and Trimble, we are currently using Leica models.
We are also using a high density scanner on most of our building surveys now. The scanner sends out a grid (typically 7.7mm at a 10m range) taking points of the surrounding detail. The scanner will then take photos to add colour to these points creating a point cloud which shows the detail of the building and surrounding area. Even on small building surveys the amount of points taken by the scanner is in excess of 100 million points. Below is an image of a property scanned by our scanner, this is not a photo but the result of millions of individual points, measured and coloured to produce a point cloud of this site.
How much does it cost?
The cost of a measured building survey varies due to the different factors of each site such as size, amount of detail, travel time, access issues and safety. Typically most firms will be able to provide you with a quotation before undertaking the work which will detail the final cost.
The best way to obtain a quote is to send an outline of the building where you want the survey along with any specifications required. Occasionally a site visit maybe required to produce a quote but with rising detail from companies like Google Maps the majority of our quotes can now be done from the office.
Who are your most regular customers?
The most common customer we get are either referrals from architectural firms who we have worked with for many years or from building companies who will go on to develop the property.
We also get a few clients who are planning to extend or alter their own homes looking to create larger or more appealing spaces for themselves or as a project.