Southend Road, East Ham, East London

Allison first got in touch on behalf of her client about a two-storey terraced property in East Ham. The brief was focused and technical:

• Front and rear elevations
• First-floor plan
• Roof plan
• One section

Everything needed to be supplied in CAD format, ready for architectural design work and any follow-on planning / technical stages.

Because the property is a traditional London terrace with neighbouring buildings tight on both sides, we knew from the outset that complete and accurate height data would be important, especially for the elevations and section.

Scoping and quotation

After receiving the initial email, we:

1. Reviewed the brief (two-storey terrace, no ground floor plan required in this case).
2. Prepared a clear written quotation for the requested drawings.
3. Flagged that we would need full access to the property to capture the full height and form of the building for the elevations and section.

In our reply, we also gave two early availability options:

• Wednesday afternoon, arrival 1:00–2:00 pm
• Thursday afternoon, same window

This allowed Allison and her client to coordinate access around their own diary and the occupiers.

Once the client was happy with the fee and scope, Rob stepped in to help manage the booking and payments on their side.

Booking the survey – and locking in a firm slot

On the phone and over email, we agreed that our next best date would be:

• Tuesday afternoon, 21st October, arrival between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm

We then:

• Issued the initial invoice for the survey deposit
• Explained that payment would secure and activate the slot
• Confirmed that full internal access would be required to reach all spaces and to read the building height properly

Rob quickly confirmed that the deposit had been paid and let us know he’d brief the client about the surveyor’s arrival time. Once funds were received, we:

• Sent over a formal payment receipt
• Shared the surveyor’s details (Ali Uddin, contact number and timing) so the client knew exactly who to expect at the door
• Moved the project into Ready to start / In progress on our internal board

On site – measured survey of a tight East Ham terrace

On the agreed date, Ali carried out a full measured survey for the agreed scope, using a mix of:

• Disto laser for fast and accurate internal measurements
• Steel tape for cross-checks, diagonals and tricky corners
• External height checks from the street and rear garden for the elevations and section

Because the brief focused on the upper levels and roof, Ali made sure to:

• Capture first-floor room layouts, wall thicknesses and stair positions feeding into the section
• Take a full set of roof measurements (ridge, eaves, slopes) needed for the roof plan and section line
• Record the front and rear façades carefully, including window sizes, sill and head heights, and key architectural features

He also captured enough context around the property to sit the elevations correctly, while keeping the survey time reasonable for the client.

Turning measurements into CAD drawings

Back in the studio, our CAD team converted the raw data into a clean, layered drawing set:

• Existing first-floor plan
• Existing roof plan
• Existing front and rear elevations
• A building section through the key line agreed in the brief

We drafted everything in AutoCAD, using our standard UK residential layering so the architect’s team can easily reference, edit, or build their proposals on top.

Once the drawings passed our internal checks, we:

• Exported a draft PDF pack
• Issued it to Rob for review, along with the final invoice
• Explained that on settlement of the balance, we’d release:
  • The DWG file
  • Final PDFs
  • Site photographs (where instructed)

Final issue and outcome

After the client signed off the draft set, Rob arranged payment of the final balance. We then:

• Confirmed that the payment had been received and attached a formal receipt
• Shared a secure link – “HERE” – giving access to all final drawings and related files for this project
• Closed the project on our side as Completed, with everything neatly archived and ready for any future follow-on work the team might need

Rob and Allison were left with:

• A precise digital base for their design work
• Clear elevations and section capturing the full height and form of the terrace
• A responsive point of contact at each stage, from quotation and booking through to survey and final DWG delivery

For us, it was another example of helping a professional team move quickly from “we need a measured survey” to “we have a clean, buildable CAD base and can start designing.”

Project Details