How to do your own measured survey

Read our step-by-step guide to doing your own measured survey for your home improvement project.

23 February 2023

The measured survey is often the first step of a home improvement project, but did you know that you can carry out the survey yourself? Read on to find out more…

The information you need to get your building project started

A measured survey is an extensive assessment of the building you would like work to be carried out on. It looks at the internal and external features of the building, including:

Room sizes
Door and window positions
Ceiling heights
Number of steps in staircase
External elevations

This information is gathered in the form of measurements, sketches and photos and is used by architects and designers to complete the initial planning and concept design drawings of the building project.

Your survey, your way

Measured surveys do not have to be carried out by a qualified surveyor or by a member of design team working on your building project.

As a result, you may find it convenient and economical to carry out the survey yourself.

Getting started

You won’t need any specialist equipment to carry out your measured survey and will probably already have the following to hand.

You will need:

Pens (black, blue & red)
Paper
Measuring tape/laser
Camera or cameraphone

Carrying out the measured survey

You can carry out your measured survey by following these simple steps:

Step 1: sketch the rough layout of your house

Draw the layout of your house with a black pen, each floor will need its own sketch.

Add room names using a blue pen.

Step 2: add doors and windows

Show windows as simple rectangles and doors as if they are halfway open.

Count the number of steps and add this to the sketch.

Step 3: measure rooms and add dimensions to sketch

Using the tape or laser, measure the length and width of all rooms.

Add the dimensions to the sketch using the red pen.

Step 4: take photos

Take photos of rooms inside your house, and external elevations.

Take a photo of your measured survey sketches.

Step 5: send us the photos

Email your measured survey and photos to sales@crdesignservices.co.uk

If your photos add up to more the 10mb, you may need to send them spread across multiple emails.

Help is at hand

If you have any questions whilst carrying out your measured survey, our experienced team are here to provide expert advice.

If you do not wish to carry out the measured survey yourself, then we can do it for you.

We may need to visit your property to perform the measured survey, or we can appoint a third-party surveyor to do it instead – find out more about our measured survey packages.

Begin your building project today. CR Designs’ comprehensive and affordable packages include everything you need for all types of house extension, renovation and self-build projects.

Get in touch to find out more.

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