Site measure for existing conditions in Melbourne: what you get, how long it takes, laser vs tape

Someone has asked for an existing conditions plan, and the old PDF in the drawer does not match the building. A site measure is how that plan gets made in Melbourne: a visit, a capture of what is actually built, and drawings you can design, fit out or redline from. This note is the practical version. It covers what you receive, how long it takes, and whether the capture should be a tape or a laser scan.

The service is site measurement and as-built drawings in Melbourne. It is a free quote. A call-out fee may apply to the visit, and we do not publish an amount for that fee. Every job is issued as DWG and PDF. A longer explanation of what an as-built is for sits in as-built drawings and on-site measure in Melbourne. The choice between a measured building survey and a feature and level survey is a separate question, covered in measured building survey vs feature and level survey in Victoria.

What you get

The deliverable is an existing conditions plan of the building as it stands on the day of the site measure. For a typical house, shop or hospitality tenancy that means:

• A floor plan of the areas in the brief, with rooms labelled
• Walls, doors and windows, with the dimensions a designer can use
• Ceiling heights and other agreed notes, such as a simple roof or site context when that is in scope
• DWG and PDF on every job

The PDF is the copy you read, share and lodge. The DWG is the editable CAD file the architect, builder or next drafter works in. If you need another format, it is named in the free quote. The DWG and PDF are still included.

This is a measured building survey of the building. It is not a land, title or boundary survey, and it is not a feature and level survey of the site. Those are licensed land surveyor work. If the brief is actually the title line, levels or contours, we will say so before anyone is booked.

A marketing floor plan for a listing is a different product. So is a net lettable area schedule. Say what the drawing is for when you ask, so the site measure is scoped to that use.

How long it takes

Two stretches of time matter, and they are not the same.

Before the visit. Send the address, the building type, what the drawings are for, and how we get in. The free quote names the scope, the capture method and the timing before we book. A call-out fee may apply to the site visit. We do not publish an amount.

After the visit. Straightforward houses and tenancies are often drawn within a few business days of the measure. Larger buildings, limited access, and laser-scan jobs take longer. We confirm that timing in the quote. We do not treat it as a guaranteed number of days, because access and the building itself change the work.

If the drawings are the base for a liquor licence redline, the measure remains a separate free quote. Once a usable plan exists, redline plans Melbourne for a standard liquor licence redline are $499 flat, with a 48-hour turnaround, issued as DWG and PDF. Architectural and council redlines are a free quote.

Laser vs tape

Most Melbourne houses, shops and hospitality tenancies are a site measure with a tape and a laser distance meter. Room by room, the drafter records the walls, openings and heights the drawing needs, then draws them in CAD. That is the right tool when the layout is regular and the brief is a floor plan someone can design from.

A laser scan is the other offer. The scanner records the visible surfaces from a series of positions, and the drawings are produced from that capture. It earns its place when the building is large, multi-level, heritage-detailed, hard to access, or full of bulkheads and exposed services that a tape would miss. A point cloud can be included when the quote names it. The scan file alone is not the drawing.

We do not publish a price for a laser scan. It is quoted with the job, after we know the floor area, the access and what the drawings have to show. The free quote names which method we are using. Either way, the existing conditions plan leaves as DWG and PDF. The longer comparison is laser scanning vs a traditional site measure.

A handheld laser distance meter, used with a tape, is still a traditional site measure. It is not a 3D laser scan. If a quote says "laser" without saying scan or point cloud, ask which one it means.

What to send so the quote is real

• The address and suburb, and whether it is a house, a shop, a venue or another tenancy
• What the existing conditions plan is for: renovation, fit-out, redline, or a record of the building
• Rough size if you know it, and which levels are in scope
• Access: occupied home, trading venue, after-hours only, roof space or plant room included or not
• Any old plan you have, even if you do not trust it, so we can see the gap

Operating venues can be measured outside trading hours. Tell us that with the enquiry.

Book the site measure

Ask for a free quote on site measurement and as-built drawings in Melbourne. You will get the scope, the method and the timing before we book. A call-out fee may apply. Every existing conditions plan includes DWG and PDF. Laser scanning can be part of the visit when the building needs it, and it is quoted with no published scan price.