Architect Mark contacted us after receiving one of our service emails. He needed a detailed measured survey and existing drawing set for a house in South Woodford, with enough information to support a full design and planning application.
His brief was clear but quite demanding:
- A laser survey of the house.
- DWG output of all drawings.
- 1:100 PDF sheets showing:
- Ground, first, loft and roof plans.
- Front, side and rear elevations.
- A section through the building.
- 1/3 of both neighbouring properties captured on the drawings, including any side windows facing the subject property.
- Plans and elevations to show level changes across the property and garden.
- Drawn scale bar, north points, registration crosses, proper title block and address.
- A set of photos or a link to images for reference.
We:
- Confirmed this was within our normal service range for East London.
- Explained that we don’t offer full topographic surveys, but we can include key level changes and step-downs across the site and garden.
- Provided a combined survey + drawings budget appropriate for:
- A full measured survey with internal 3D scanning.
- Existing plans, elevations, roof plan and a section, including 1/3 of both neighbours.
- Gave a clear turnaround: typically 4–6 working days from survey to draft drawings, depending on detail level.
- Confirmed we do not charge VAT, so he knew there would be no additional tax on top.
Once Mark was happy with the scope and timing, his clients Ciara & Josh confirmed they wanted to proceed and asked for survey dates. We offered Tuesday/Wednesday afternoon options; they chose Wednesday, and we locked in an afternoon arrival window.
How we carried out the survey
After Ciara confirmed the appointment and provided a billing address, we:
- Issued the initial invoice for the survey and drawings package.
- Received payment and sent a receipt, confirming that the booking was secure.
- Shared the surveyor’s details:
- Name and mobile number.
- Arrival window (1:00–1:30 pm) so Ciara and Josh could plan around it.
- Asked who would be on site and requested a contact number for coordination on the day.
On site, our surveyor:
- Used a Disto laser combined with an internal 3D scan to capture the layout and heights efficiently.
- Followed a logical route around the property to avoid missing rooms or external faces.
- Measured and noted:
- All internal spaces on each floor.
- External walls, projections and bay windows.
- Level changes in the house and garden, including step-downs.
- The relationship to neighbouring properties, especially where 1/3 of each neighbour and side windows needed to be shown.
- Took a full photo set of the building to back up the plans, elevations, roof plan and section later.
This combination of measurements, scans and photos gave us enough data to build a reliable base model for Mark’s design work.
Turning the survey into drawings
Back in the office, our CAD team:
- Built the existing floor plans (ground, first and loft) at 1:1 metric scale.
- Produced an existing roof plan, including the relationship to the adjacent roof.
- Generated front, rear and side elevations, incorporating:
- 1/3 of each neighbouring property.
- Side windows that faced towards the subject property.
- Brickwork, bays and other key façade elements.
- Cut a section through the building, including floor levels and overall form.
- Added:
- North points on each plan.
- Registration crosses so plans could be stacked and aligned.
- A scale bar and full title block ready for planning submission.
Once the model was complete, we moved into our internal QA phase and sent Joshua an update:
- Letting him know drawings were almost finished.
- Explaining we were now in QA and would issue the draft drawings pack shortly.
We then issued a draft set including:
- Existing ground floor plan.
- Existing first floor plan.
- Existing roof plan.
- Existing front and rear elevations.
- Existing side elevation and a main section.
Alongside the draft pack, we sent the final invoice, making it clear that final PDFs, CAD and photographs would follow once the balance was paid.
Managing changes and expectations
The Pulteney Road project had several good examples of how we handle detail-level feedback and late-stage tweaks.
1. Detail changes from Ciara & Josh
After reviewing the draft drawings, Ciara & Josh sent a clear list of amendments:
- Ground floor plan:
- Add the front boundary garden wall and rear boundary fence.
- Show any trees/hedges in the garden.
- Remove a note referring to a driveway that doesn’t exist.
- Roof plan:
- Show the outline of the adjacent roof, which is important for design and planning context.
- Elevations & section:
- Correct the small brick panels below the side bay windows, which were not quite right in the first draft.
- Section:
- Explicitly show floor thicknesses, not just finished floor levels.
We updated the model and drawing sheets accordingly and reissued an updated draft pack for Mark’s review.
2. Scale bar & planning requirements
Mark later requested that the scale bar be extended from 5 m to 10 m, as some planning departments specifically expect a longer bar for context.
We:
- Updated the plotting setup so all relevant 1:100 sheets carried a 10 m scale bar.
- Re-exported the drawings and supplied an updated draft pack to Mark.
3. Final files and “draft” watermark
Once Ciara & Josh confirmed they were happy and made the final payment:
- They emailed to say the final payment had been made and that they were looking forward to the final drawings and photographs.
- We confirmed payment with a receipt and issued:
- Final PDFs and DWGs.
- Photographs and any supporting media.
- A link inviting them to share a Google review if they were happy with our work.
Ciara & Josh replied that the drawings were “excellent” and that they were happy to leave a review.
Mark then emailed separately asking for:
- Final drawings without the “DRAFT” text.
- A copy of the photographs.
We responded by:
- Pointing him back to the client folder link already shared (containing all documents and media).
- Additionally attaching the final zipped pack of drawings directly to his email, so he had everything to hand without hunting through links.
Final outcome
By the end of the project, Mark (the architect) and Ciara & Josh (the clients) had:
- A complete measured survey and existing drawings package for a South Woodford semi-detached property, including:
- Ground, first, loft and roof plans.
- Front, side and rear elevations.
- A section through the house.
- 1/3 of each neighbouring property where required.
- Drawings formatted exactly for planning use:
- 1:100 PDF sheets.
- North points, registration crosses and title blocks.
- A 10 m scale bar to satisfy stricter planning departments.
- Clean DWG files ready for Mark’s design work.
- A full set of photographs for design, presentation and record purposes.
- Both link-based access (client folder) and a final zipped pack attached directly, so no one needed to chase files later.
For us, this project reinforced how:
Small touches at the end – like fixing a scale bar length and sending a clean final set without “DRAFT” – help convert a complex brief into a finished package the whole team is comfortable using.D, and delivering something that plugs straight into an architect’s design process with minimal friction.
Early clarity on scope and neighbouring property coverage keeps fee and time expectations realistic.
A strong QA process and willingness to make detailed corrections (boundary lines, roof outlines, brick panels, floor thicknesses) builds trust with architects.
Project Details
| Service Type | Measured survey, existing plans, elevations, roof plan and section (incl. 1/3 of neighbouring properties) |
| Time Taken | Around 1-2 weeks from first enquiry to final drawings (with staged delivery) |
| Budget | £500–£670 |
| Location | South Woodford (East London) |
