A measured building survey records geometry, not condition. The output is drawings: floor plans, elevations, sections, sometimes a three dimensional model or the point cloud itself. It is commissioned by architects, engineers and space planners who need an accurate base to design on, and its usefulness is decided entirely by what was specified before anybody attended.
What gets recorded
Walls, openings, floor levels, ceiling heights, structural features and whatever else the brief asks for. Services, external levels, boundary positions and roof detail are all common additions and none of them are automatic.
How it is captured
Usually a laser scanner or total station, producing a point cloud that is then drawn up. The scan is quick; the drawing is where the time goes, which is why turnaround is quoted on the drawings rather than the visit.
What an example looks like
A set of drawings at a stated scale with a stated tolerance, a title block naming the survey date and the datum, and a note of anything that could not be accessed. If a sample does not state tolerance and datum, ask why.
What to specify
Deliverables, scale, tolerance, file formats, what must be recorded, and access arrangements. Those six lines turn a vague enquiry into comparable quotes and a survey your design team can actually use.
Questions people ask about measured building survey
What is a measured survey?
A dimensional record of a building or a site, produced as drawings to a stated accuracy for design and planning.
Is a measured survey the same as a building survey?
No. A building survey reports on condition. A measured survey records dimensions. The two share a word and nothing else.
Do I need one for a planning application?
Existing plans and elevations are normally required, and they have to be accurate. A measured survey is the reliable way to produce them, and re measuring after a refusal is more expensive than measuring first.