Specialist in Measured Surveys of Land and Building
Why are we specialists in Measured Surveys?
In the last few years, we have slowly provided more and more services to homeowners, property developers, and other private & public bodies.
With the increase of these clients (as well as repeat customers) we have invested well over £100k in developing bespoke equipment, software, workflows, and procedures just to deliver Measured Survey.
Custom Build Calculator and Metrics
So well that we were able to devise metrics on our measured survey outputs to produce an online calculator.
Custom Tools and Equipment
We were one of the first companies to provide telescopic mast that allows us to survey hard to reach areas such as roofs or complex roof surveys. This gave our clients certainty of their survey and reduced “area not accessible” annotation.
We also were the first company to fully digitize their business online to allow our clients to request quotes online, modify and upload files without sending many emails.
Payment suitable for Domestic and Private Clients
We also partnered with card processing companies to offer Home Owners the ability to pay for our services using their credit card. This allows them to earn cash back or air miles, as well as manage their cashflow before requesting a large loan for their home improvement.
These small adjustments allow us to provide you with a better service who are looking to just get through the first phase of their project.
Suitable for all Professionals on your Project
Our plans are suitable for your planning application, building regulation consent, and are more than enough to help:
- your architect to produce detail plans,
- your structural engineer to produce their calculation, and;
- your builder to tender and work on your project.
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What is a Measured Survey?
A Measured Survey can include both the dimensional measurements of inside the property (Measured Building Survey) and the land/external of the property (Measured Survey of Land / Topographical Survey).
The method and details of how we survey your property are highlighted in the RICS Measured Surveys of Land, Buildings and Utilities, 3rd edition. We attached the full standard list to all of our quotes to let you know that we sign up to deliver to those standards.
This means that we deliver a consistent approach at our surveys and drawings of existing plans.
What do I get from a Measured Survey?
You get existing plans of your property in PDF or DWG. We also can provide you with the 3D point cloud of the survey free of charge.
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How Much Does a Measured Survey Cost?
A Measured Survey fees starts from £250+ onwards, it will depend on the following factors:
- Number of Plans Required
- Size of Property
- Listed Building Status – It takes an average of an additional 3-4 hours to produce a plan
For example: A project with the following specification cost around £500-650:
- 3 x Floor Plans (30m2 each)
- 2 x Elevations
- 1 x Section
What Makes us Different
Benefits of using Icelabz for your survey needs
Our mission is to bring you accessible, affordable, on-time, and highly effective Engineering & Land Surveying services.
We believe that customers, like you, should have the right to get the same services as a Tier 1 customer without incurring high costs.
Other Services
We have many other services we offer our clients
Here is a list of services that you might be interested:
- Measured Building Survey
- Topographical Survey
- Setting-out Surveys
- As-built Surveys
- Structural Monitoring
Trusted & loved by
We’ve worked with big names and over 300+ domestic & private clients throughout the UK.
What is Included in a Measured Building Survey?
A Measured Building Survey includes plans of your existing property. It does not include any proposed changes.
There are other terminology used by different people in the construction industry:
- Existing Plans
- Measured Surveys
- Measured Surveys of Building
It includes the following type of plans:
- Floor Plans
- Elevation Plans
- Section Plans
- Ceiling Plans
- Internal Elevation Plans
- Roof Plans
It can also be combined with a topographical survey to produce topographical plans.
How long does it take to survey a property?
On average we survey a property in full within 6 hours. (This is based on a 2 storey semi-detached property.)
Our rule of thumb is that it takes 5min to survey a room, corridor or space.
Surveying the external and the loft areas can take up to 15min each setup.
We do pickup a lot of information in 5min; this is because we use a 3D Scanner to survey the property accurately.
Is an Architectural Survey a Measured Building Survey?
Short Answer: Yes
Architectural surveys is a terminology that is mostly used in America. In the UK we prefer identify the act of surveying an existing building as Measured Building Survey.
How much does a Measured Survey Cost?
All of our prices are fixed price lump sums. Unlike our competitors who charges on a day rate basis we can provide certainty on the costs of your surveys.
As specialists in Measured Surveys we have created our own formula in producing accurate costing information for our clients. You can even take a look at our online calculator to give you an idea of the costs.
What do you get from our Measured Survey?
You get existing drawings of your property in digital files that are acceptable for your planning permission and architects. We export the files to PDF and provide you the raw AutoCAD DWG files of your property.
In addition, all Icelabz customers can get their property in 3D view free of charge. Its just like Google street view but it is more accurate and PRIVATE!
How do we undertake our Measured Building Survey?
At Icelabz we undertake measured building surveys in a bespoke method using a unique process we developed in house. We survey all of the properties with a 3D scanner to capture as much detail and features as possible.
This allows us to produce evergreen data for future use. This means that we can go back and produce additional plans without actually going back to your property. We can add additional sections and elevations to areas that we have surveyed.
And with our unique customer service, you can come back to us months after the survey to query details and clarification free of charge. Most of our competitors end their liability with you after three – six months.
In the method above, the surveyor would use a 3D scanner to serving the property. It typically takes us 3 to 6 minutes per room to survey in high detail compared to 15 to 20 minutes for the same amount detail. This means we can be done within 5 to 6 hours in most projects.
You can take a look at a sample 3D file by filling the 3D sample form below.
Once the surveyor has completed the survey on a site, he will bring the information back to the office to process. We will process the data on a similar server that Pixar uses to produce the 3D animation. This technology allows us to process the information 10x faster so that we can start drawing your plans.
We use bespoke software and processes to produce the survey data ready for the drawing stage.
With the data ready we can have 2-3 surveyors and CAD technician to draw up your plans. We normally produce a high detail plan in 4.6 hours using a unique method that is not taught in universities or on youtube.
We then get a Snr. Surveyor to review all the drawings before issuing it to you by email.
What is included in a Topographical Survey?
A Topographical Survey includes plans of the external of your property.
This includes:
- Garden
- Land
- Road
- Car Park
However, a full list of what is included in the Topographical Survey can be found in the RICS Guidance Note which we follow.
There are other terminologies used by different people in the construction industry:
- Measured Surveys of Land
- Topological Survey
It can also be combined with a Measured Building Surveys survey to produce existing plans of the building.
What do you get from our Topographical Survey?
All of our topographical surveys include the survey and the drawing of the existing land.
The existing topographical plan highlights
- all the features,
- trees,
- dimensions,
- relative height
- ridge height
- neighbouring property’s window sill heights and ridge heights.
These will be accepted for your planning and building regulation submission.
At the end of the submission, you will get a PDF of the survey and the AutoCAD DWG files which you can share with your architect.
In addition, all Icelabz customers can get their property in 3D view free of charge. Its just like Google street view but it is more accurate and PRIVATE!
How do we undertake the Topographical Survey?
All of our topographical surveys will use either a 3D scanner or a Total station.
These can also include GNSS (GPS) coordinates so that it can reference the Ordnance Datums. These can be useful depending on the application.
Once the survey on your property has been completed the surveyor will process the data and start drawing your topographical plan.
These should take between 5-7 days depending on the workload of the team at Icelabz.