Frequently Asked Questions

We work worldwide. There are no travel fees for most larger projects.

Our field people can survey about 25,000 square feet per day per person for a basic office floor plan, depending on the degree of demising and the ease of access. Vacant areas and open areas are faster, while heavily occupied areas and medical buildings take longer. The CAD work typically takes several days after completion of the on-site process, depending on the size of the project.

Our plans are accurate to within 0.2%, generally within a quarter inch.

No, there is no large equipment.  The laser to pen tablet technology we use gives us the ability to measure large areas without stepping through all of the space. The occupants are often unaware that it is happening. Our software allows the flexibility to move around and survey areas not in use and come back to an area when it becomes unoccupied. Usually tenants find the process more interesting than disruptive.

We generally charge by the square foot measured for each service. BOMA area calculations are also charged by the square foot. We provide a line-item proposal and estimate for every project. For most projects, there is no upfront fee or travel fees.

 You will receive PDF and CAD files electronically.

For multi-tenant office buildings over 20,000SF with full BOMA lease plans, the client receives a three-ring, hard copy report containing black and white prints of the floor plan and color prints of the lease plan for each floor of the building. The report includes a full color spreadsheet of the BOMA area calculations and a CD with the PDF files of all the prints plus the CAD files for each floor. We even give you the photos we take of the site.

Yes.  All files produced are kept on our server and backed up daily. We can email the files to anyone of your choice. There is no fee for storage.

Yes. Our technology allows us to use your standards.

For almost all projects we believe Building Surveyor is much better. 3-D laser scanning is generally very intrusive to the occupants of the building; measurements with our software are very quick and generally more accurate, usually within a quarter inch. Scanning records only detail that is visible, so detail such as window widths and electrical items frequently can’t be located. 3-D scanning also is usually more expensive due to the cost of the equipment and the amount of post-processing needed. We own several 3-D laser scanners; if it made sense to use them to produce floor plans, we would use them.

We use them to produce more detailed drawings such as interior and exterior elevations, reflected ceiling plans, historical building scans, roof plans, and some site work.

Yes. Our field staff is outfitted with shirts, hats, and jackets with our logo on them.

Yes.  After we measure your building and put it on CAD, we can do proposed demising of space easily and quickly, giving you revised usable and rentable numbers. This is done for a small hourly fee.

Yes. While many companies out-source their CAD work, all our CAD work is completed by our staff. This allows for a high degree of control over the quality of the drawings and provides the opportunity for our clients to confer with the staff.

All of our field work is done by staff trained by us and using our Building Surveyor software, which produces files of consistent high quality. Many companies use contractors that produce files produced by their own means, resulting in varying levels of quality.

The Building Owners and Managers Association.  They have established the standards by which the areas of most types of buildings are measured. 2-D As-built Floor Plans has participated in the development of many of the standards and are experts in their application. See www.boma.org for details.

It identifies more rentable area, in most cases. The revision to the BOMA standard in 2017 favored property owners by including areas not previously covered, including stairwells and elevator shafts on the bottom floor, balconies, and patios. In many cases the rentable area of a building increases by 2% to 5% simply as a result of re-measurement. This results in significantly more income and increases the value of the building. The payback period for investing in measuring may be the quickest of any investment in your building.

An accurately measured building is a marketing tool. Once on CAD, drawings can be produced of specific tenant areas with proposed layouts and rentable areas or other information you desire. Files can be used in fliers or web pages, making the presentation look professional. A big plus is the ability to email plans to clients instantly. 

A third-party opinion is better received. Existing and potential tenants feel secure that an impartial third party measured the space and certified the results.

It's accepted due diligence. Our services are used extensively as a due diligence tool when purchasing a building to confirm that the data advertised is accurate.

It's a design tool. 2-D gives the CAD file to the client as part of the deliverable; any architect or designer can use it from then on. In fact, the fee for plans produced by us is generally much lower and more accurate.

A measured building aids facilities management. Clients can have standardized files on their computer desktop - instantly viewed electronically, with the site data at their fingertips. Plans can be emailed to others instantly; most architects, engineers, and interior designers work with CAD files now.

No, we only measure buildings from scratch. There are specific services that do that. It is important to note that converting paper plans to CAD may result in inaccurate plans. If the paper plans are construction plans, in most cases the existing building will be different due to changes during construction or subsequent improvements.