By Brian M. Curran
Overview
As a CAD Drafter, more than once I've received a phone call from a homeowner asking, "Do you do architectural surveys?" The typical scenario for such a call is that a homeowner has hired an Architect to design modifications to his home, and in the initial stage of the project the Architect has told the homeowner that an architectural survey of the house will need to be performed as part of the remodel project. Now if the homeowner were to Google this term and parse through the search results, then he may become confused with his findings. The reason for this is that the search results will primarily yield information connecting this term to historic preservation work.
Defined
Let me consider the following hypothetical project. A homeowner has hired an Architect in order to remodel his home, the Architect has told the homeowner that an architectural survey of the house will need to be performed as part of the remodel project, the homeowner has done some online research in order to learn what an architectural survey is, but has only come away from his search confused because all his search results yielded a bunch of information on historic preservation. What's the deal with this situation?
First let me say that there are certain homes that are historic properties or part of historic districts, and hence cannot be modified according to any whim of the homeowner or an Architect that he may hire. However, if someone were to own such a home, then he would probably be aware that his home was a historic property.
The hypothetical project that I have mentioned is not for a historic property, but rather for a run-of-the-mill home remodel project. Confusion has arisen in this scenario because the Architect has used the term architectural survey in a different context than a historical preservation context. The Architect has applied a totally different meaning to the term than the homeowner's online search results have yielded. The Architect did so because within the AEC Industry, the term is used in this capacity, although a layperson wouldn't be able to find this out from a Google search. What the Architect meant was that he needs floor plan and elevation drawings of the home, in its as-is condition. The reason for this is that once the Architect has drawings of the as-is conditions, then he can create a set of new house plans that show how the remodel will integrate with what exists.
Conclusion
I have described one specific hypothetical situation, which may or may not hold true for anyone reading this article. The best thing to do in a similar situation to the one I've mentioned, is to find out exactly what the Architect is talking about. The Architect should be asked for a layman's definition of the term architectural survey.
| About the author: From New York City the AutoCAD Drafter Brian M. Curran runs a CAD drafting service that provides outsourced AutoCAD drafting services to AEC industry companies, homeowners and others with CAD drafting needs throughout the entire United States. For more information on Brian M. Curran's Computer Drafting Services, or to see the original posting of this article, please visit: http://www.draftingservices.com/architectural_survey.html. |
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