An architect client, Ells, approached us after we had already worked together on another Surrey/London property. For this project, she needed a measured survey and existing drawings for a house in the Dennis Park area of Wimbledon Chase, with:
- Plans, elevations and one main section
- Boundaries and drainage clearly shown (manholes and SVPs)
- Deliverables in both PDF and DWG formats
Because she was coordinating two projects at once (this house and another in Thames Ditton), she wanted:
- Both surveys done on the same day
- Clear arrival windows so she could keep each homeowner informed
- A reliable turnaround time so she could start design work without delay
We agreed:
- Morning: Dennis Park survey
- Afternoon: Weston Park survey
- Typical drawing turnaround: 5–7 working days from the survey date for this scale of project
Once the clients confirmed availability, we issued invoices, received initial payments, and booked in our surveyor.
How we carried out the survey
We coordinated the two surveys as a linked day:
- Dennis Park – morning slot
- Agreed arrival window: between 10:30 am and 12:00 pm
- Weston Park – afternoon slot
- Arrival window: between 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm
For Dennis Park, our surveyor:
- Used a Disto laser and tape to measure all internal rooms, circulation and external façades
- Followed a room-by-room route to minimise the chance of missing spaces
- Picked up side boundaries, manholes and SVPs as Ells had specifically requested drainage information
- Captured a full set of external and internal photographs, plus key detail shots to support the elevations, bay windows and conservatory geometry later
This gave us enough data to model the house accurately, including its relationship to the boundaries and the conservatory.
Turning the survey into drawings
Back at the office, our CAD team:
- Built existing floor plans at 1:1 metric scale
- Produced front, rear and side elevations, using the photos to place windows, bays and doors correctly
- Cut a main section to show floor levels and overall form
- Marked up:
- Side boundaries
- Manholes and SVPs, as required for drainage and design coordination
Once the drawings passed an initial internal check, we:
- Exported a draft PDF pack (zipped)
- Sent it to Ells with a final invoice, explaining that once payment was settled, we would release:
- Final PDFs
- DWG files
- Photographs and any supporting media
She reviewed the pack, paid the invoice, and we then issued the full deliverables and a payment receipt.
Managing changes and expectations
Dennis Park became a key learning case for us around geometric alignment and QA.
1. Alignment concerns: bay, boundary, conservatory
When Ells overlaid our drawings in her own CAD environment, she noticed that some elements didn’t appear to line through:
- The bay window in plan vs elevation
- Certain boundary lines
- The conservatory outline
She asked us to review and issue an updated DWG as soon as possible, as she needed to start design work.
We:
- Acknowledged the concern and promised to re-issue corrected drawings first thing the next day
- Re-checked the CAD model against:
- Survey dimensions
- Photographs
- The relationship between the bay and the main wall lines
We then sent an updated drawing set and a link so she could download the revised DWG and PDFs.
2. Second pass and clear technical explanation
After checking the updated files, Ells replied that a few items still didn’t quite line through in her overlays. Given time pressure on her project, she decided to handle remaining minor adjustments herself so she could get moving immediately, but asked us to:
- Double-check the other linked project (Weston Park) thoroughly to avoid similar issues there
In response, our senior CAD technician wrote back with:
- A full apology for the issues
- A clear technical explanation of what was going on:
- Confirmed that the bay roof had been drawn incorrectly in our earlier revision
- Explained that if the roof plan were shifted 185 mm downwards relative to where it had been overlaid, it would correctly create the intended overhanging eaves on both the main house and the conservatory
- Clarified that the apparent boundary misalignment on one side was due to the first floor and roof being wider than the ground floor because of an archway at ground level – in other words, the building steps out above, so plan outlines at different levels don’t perfectly stack in 2D
- A commitment to re-check the Weston Park drawings as a priority, so that Ells wouldn’t face similar alignment frustrations on the second job.
We also invited further feedback on anything else that didn’t feel right to her, making it clear we valued her scrutiny as part of improving our process.
Final outcome
By the end of the Dennis Park project, Ells had:
- A full measured survey and existing drawing set (plans, elevations, section) for the property
- Drainage and boundary information clearly indicated for her design and planning work
- Deliverables in both PDF and DWG formats, plus the supporting photo set
And even though the project involved extra back-and-forth on alignment:
- She was able to proceed with her design work on time, making minor final tweaks herself
- We gained a much sharper internal understanding of:
- How small mis-positions (like a bay roof 185 mm off) can cascade into misaligned overlays
- How stepped upper floors and archways need to be communicated clearly so differences in outlines at each level don’t get mistaken for survey errors
Most importantly, it reinforced our practice of:
Using feedback from architects like Ells to strengthen our QA checks on future surveys and drawing packs, including Weston Park and other Surrey/London projects.
Owning mistakes quickly
Providing technical, not vague, explanations
Project Details
| Service Type | Proposed first-floor plans and elevations from client-supplied drawings |
| Time Taken | Around 1 week from instruction and payment to final drawings (plus client approvals) |
| Budget | £160–£220 |
| Location | Sittingbourne |
