Glossary
The language of measured buildings
Short, plain definitions of the terms that come up around as-built documentation, square footage and scanning - each linked to the page that goes deeper. If a term you've been given isn't here, ask us and we'll translate.
Documentation
- As-built drawing
- A drawing that records a building as it physically stands - real wall thicknesses, actual opening sizes, the structure as modified over its life - produced from an on-site measurement rather than from original plans. More →
- As-built survey
- The on-site measurement process that produces as-built drawings. Distinct from a boundary survey, which establishes legal property lines and in North Carolina may only be carried out by a licensed land surveyor. More →
- Measured drawings
- Another name for as-built drawings: dimensioned floor plans, elevations and sections produced from an on-site measure. The terms are used interchangeably in US practice. More →
- Measured building survey
- The British term for what US practice calls an as-built survey - measuring an existing building and returning dimensioned drawings. It does not refer to land or boundary surveying. More →
- Existing-conditions documentation
- The umbrella term for recording what is currently on site - plans, elevations and sections of a building as found - used as the base for design, permitting or a property record.
- Boundary survey
- A legal instrument establishing where a parcel's property lines run, sealed by a professional land surveyor. In North Carolina only a licensed surveyor may produce one; MeasuredPlan refers this work out. More →
Standards & measurement
- ANSI Z765
- The American National Standard for measuring single-family residential square footage. It defines what counts as finished living area and how to measure it, which is why listings and appraisals expect figures calculated to it. More →
- BOMA standards
- The measurement standards for commercial and multi-tenant buildings, distinguishing usable area from rentable area. Lease figures and service charges are typically based on a BOMA measurement. More →
- Usable area
- Under BOMA, the space a tenant actually occupies - the area inside the walls of the demised premises, excluding shared building space.
- Rentable area
- Usable area plus a proportional share of a building's common areas - lobbies, corridors, shared facilities. It is the figure a commercial tenant pays rent on.
- Load factor
- The ratio between rentable and usable area - the share of common space added to a tenant's usable area to arrive at what they pay for.
- Heated square footage
- Finished, conditioned living area as counted under ANSI Z765. Garages and unfinished basements are excluded regardless of how usable they feel.
Drawing types
- Floor plan
- A horizontal cut through a building, drawn to scale, showing walls, openings, fixtures and room layout for one level.
- Elevation
- A flat, to-scale view of a building face - exterior or interior - showing heights, openings and features that a plan cannot.
- Section
- A vertical cut through the building showing floor-to-floor heights, structure and the relationship between levels.
- Site plan (plot plan)
- A to-scale drawing of a property showing the building footprint, driveways, parking and hard landscaping, with boundaries as recorded. It documents what is on the ground; it is not a boundary survey.
- Construction drawings (permit set)
- The dimensioned drawing set a permit application and a contractor build from - accurate existing conditions plus the proposed work, drawn to local permitting requirements. More →
- Lease exhibit (lease outline drawing)
- A plan attached to a commercial lease showing the demised premises and the measured areas the lease terms rest on, typically to a BOMA standard. More →
- Title block
- The information panel on a drawing sheet: project, sheet name, scale, date and revision - what makes a drawing citable and version-controlled.
Scanning, models & formats
- 3D laser scanning
- Capturing a building as millions of measured points using a terrestrial laser scanner - the fastest way to record complex, detailed or historic structures accurately. More →
- Point cloud
- The raw output of laser scanning: a dense, measurable 3D set of points representing every surface the scanner saw. Drawings and models are drafted from it.
- Scan-to-CAD
- Producing 2D and 3D CAD drawings - typically layered DWG - from a laser-scanned point cloud, so design work starts from measured reality. More →
- Scan-to-BIM
- Building an intelligent 3D model from a point cloud, in which elements know what they are - a wall, a window, a slab. Commonly exchanged as IFC. More →
- BIM
- Building Information Modeling: a model made of intelligent building elements carrying data, rather than lines. Used for coordination and facilities work beyond what 2D drawings hold. More →
- IFC
- Industry Foundation Classes - the open, vendor-neutral file format for exchanging BIM models between different software platforms.
- DWG
- AutoCAD's native drawing format and the de facto exchange format for 2D and 3D CAD. MeasuredPlan delivers layered DWG as standard.
Translate your project
Been handed a drawing list you don't recognize?
Send it over with the property details - we'll say plainly which drawings it actually asks for, and quote a fixed price for the ones we produce.
“MeasuredPlan gave us a clear starting point for our renovation. The site visit was professional, communication was easy, and the final measured plans were simple to share with our contractor and design team.”