Measured Building Survey

Measurement and production of architectural floor plans, elevation and sectional drawings of existing buildings and structures. 3D scanning is the standard method of measurement. It captures a highly accurate data set which is reflected in the end user drawings.

Z+F Imager 5010 measuring a hotel roof – Ullswater

A laser line is emitted repeatedly up to a million times per second as the scanner rotates in both axis. This records the 3-dimensional position of all surfaces within range.

A single scan Point Cloud

Chains of scans are linked / registered together and geolocated using external targets measured with a Total Station. The floor plan layout is visible in the data slice which we use to trace the walls.

Registered data set in Z+F LaserControl software

The registered point cloud can be coloured with panoramic photography taken from the scans positions and matching the image pixels to the survey points.

Autodesk Recap Colour Point Cloud – Lancaster

Complex building footprints are drawn accurately. Software can “square up” these plans by distributing the angles. This is a standard procedure when working in 3D, Autodesk Revit especially. 2D plans are drawn as close as possible to the site condition which gives the end user confidence in querying dimensions.

Ground floor plan of a hotel
Hotel Floor Plan – Bowness-on-Windermere

2-dimensional elevations can be drawn with high detail and accuracy. Literally stone by stone.

Hotel Elevation – Lancaster

The point cloud is imported into Autodesk Revit with FARO As-built as reference data to build a digital 3D model. A Building Information Model, BIM.

3D Model – Manchester
View of a 3D Building Information Model of the old fire station in Lancaster
3D Model of The Old Fire Station – Lancaster

Apart from general visualisation another advantage of working in 3D is being able to produce sections throughout the model.

3D cut away sectional view of the old fire station in Lancaster
3D Section of The Old Fire Station – Lancaster