Neal first contacted us by phone, looking for a full measured survey and existing drawings package for a detached house in Hertford Heath. He needed:
- Accurate floor plans (including roof plans)
- Front, rear and side elevations
- A clear fee and a realistic timeline for both the site visit and drawing delivery
We followed up by email to:
- Confirm the correct property and postcode (there was a small correction early on, which we resolved).
- Provide a fee breakdown for the measured survey and drawings, noting that there was no additional complexity fee and that we don’t charge VAT.
- Offer survey dates from Tuesday onwards the following week, subject to the client’s preferred day.
Once Neal confirmed the price was acceptable, he asked us to liaise directly with Darius for access, copying him into the thread. Later, Gabi stepped in to manage payments and post-survey communication.
How we carried out the survey
Coordinating with Darius, we:
- Proposed an arrival window between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Narrowed this down to Tuesday, with a final arrival window of 12:00 pm–2:00 pm once our surveyor’s schedule was confirmed.
- Issued an initial invoice to Darius, explaining that payment would secure and activate the survey slot.
After Darius arranged payment (processed via Thomas, the payer) and Gabi confirmed that the invoice had been paid, we:
- Sent a payment receipt for the deposit.
- Shared the surveyor’s details (Sean) with Gabi, including his mobile number.
- Asked who would be on site (Gabi, and possibly Darius) and requested a contact number in case the surveyor needed help with access on the day.
On site, Sean:
- Completed a full internal measured survey using a Disto laser for room dimensions and key structural spans.
- Captured the external envelope, including projections and changes in the roof form, so we could prepare the floor and roof plans accurately.
- Took photo sets inside and out to support elevations and roof modelling back in the office.
This gave us enough information to model:
- Existing floor plans, including the roof plan
- Front, rear and side elevations with accurate window and door positions
- Overall building proportions suitable for future planning or design work
Turning the survey into drawings
With the survey complete and the card moved into “In Progress”, our CAD team:
- Built the floor plans and roof plan at 1:1 metric scale, ensuring consistency with Sean’s measured data.
- Generated front, rear and side elevations, using the photos to place fenestration, bays and other details correctly.
- Prepared drawing sheets suitable for client review and planning discussions.
Once we had a clean first pass, we:
- Moved the project into our internal quality assurance phase, making sure:
- Dimensions lined up between plans and elevations.
- Levels, heights and overall massing matched the survey photos and notes.
Because this phase overlapped the Easter holidays, we:
- Emailed Gabi to say the drawings were “nearly complete” and now in QA.
- Flagged that the Easter period might mean a slightly longer-than-usual delivery, and checked this was acceptable.
After QA, we:
- Exported the draft drawings pack as a zipped folder.
- Issued the final invoice, explaining that once the balance was paid we would release:
- Final PDFs
- DWG files
- Photographs
Managing changes, delays and expectations
This project included a few important moments in the communication and billing process:
1. Draft issue and quiet period
After we sent the draft pack and final invoice, there was no immediate response:
- We waited a reasonable period, then sent a polite follow-up explaining that:
- It had been over a month since our last email.
- The pending payment was still outstanding.
- We’d be happy to help with proposed drawings for a planning application if they wished to move forward.
This kept the tone friendly while clearly signalling that the project was on hold from our side due to billing.
2. Reissuing the final invoice
Gabi replied apologising, explaining that they had missed the earlier emails, and asked us to reissue or reattach the final invoice so they could pay that day.
We:
- Reattached the final invoice for the Woodland Road project.
- Kept the message short and practical, just making it easy for her to pay without digging back through older threads.
3. Final payment and deliverables
After Gabi paid on the Friday and asked for confirmation:
- We confirmed receipt of the final payment and issued a payment receipt.
- Provided all final drawings and related files:
- PDFs and DWGs
- Photographs (and any video where applicable)
- Reiterated that if they wanted to move ahead with a planning application, we’d be happy to support with proposed drawings and submission.
This turned what could have become a stalled project into a cleanly closed one with the option of a second phase.
Final outcome
By the end of the Woodland Road project, the client team (Neal, Darius and Gabi) had:
- A reliable measured survey of a detached house in Hertford Heath
- A set of existing drawings including:
- Floor plans and roof plan
- Front, rear and side elevations
- All files in both PDF and DWG formats, plus photo references, ready for design, planning or resale documentation.
For us, this project reinforced:
How a gentle but structured follow-up on outstanding invoices can revive a paused project and even open the door to a planning-application phase once the client is ready.
The value of clear scheduling and access coordination when multiple people are involved (homeowner, site contact, admin contact).
The importance of transparent communication around delays, especially when holidays might affect delivery times.
Project Details
| Service Type | Measured Survey and Existing Drawings (Floor Plans with Roof, Front/Rear/Side Elevations) |
| Time Taken | Around 1–2 weeks |
| Budget | £390–£520 |
| Location | Woodland Road (Hertfordshire) |
