What Are As Constructed Plans?
As-constructed plans (also called as-built plans) are detailed drawings of an existing building, documenting what was actually built rather than what was originally designed. Over time, buildings change — walls move, extensions are added, original plans are lost. As-constructed plans capture the current state of your property with accurate measurements, floor plans, elevations and site details. Without reliable documentation, your builder and designer work from more assumptions than they need to. That is a common source of costly surprises during construction — structural elements in unexpected places, services running where you didn’t expect, and dimensions that don’t match what was assumed.
When You Need As-Constructed Plans
Renovation and extension projects — Before designing any changes, we need to understand what exists. Accurate as-built documentation gives your design team and your builder a reliable picture of the existing structure. Lost or outdated plans — Many older homes on the Gold Coast have no surviving plans, or the plans don’t reflect changes made over the decades. Scanning creates a current record. Property and building records — Documentation of your building that may be useful for council records, insurance or a future sale. Requirements vary, so check what your council, insurer or conveyancer actually needs. Heritage and character homes — Older buildings with complex geometry, non-standard dimensions, and details that are difficult to capture with traditional measurement methods.
What You Receive
Point cloud — the registered scan data itself, supplied in standard exchange formats (E57 or RCP) so any consultant on your project can open and measure it.
Revit model — your existing building modelled as walls, floors, roofs, openings and levels, built directly from the scan. This is the file our design work starts from, and it is what lets a renovation design sit correctly on the structure that is actually there.
2D or 3D plans — floor plans, elevations and sections drawn from the model, supplied in either format, in the form your builder, engineer or certifier expects to work from.
Related services: Renovation design | Custom home designs | Our design process
Design Science Spatial
Design Science Spatial is our dedicated scanning and measurement service. We capture existing buildings and sites with terrestrial laser scanning, and turn that data into documentation your project can actually use. You can engage Spatial on its own, or as the first step of a design project with Design Science.
Because we are both licensed builders and building designers, we understand what the scan data needs to tell us. We don’t just deliver a point cloud — we produce documentation your builder, engineer and other consultants can work from. For renovation clients, that reduces one of the common sources of cost blowouts: inaccurate assumptions about the existing structure. When your builder prices from measured data rather than estimates, less has to be guessed at.
For how the scanning itself works — the scanner, the process, and what it can and can’t capture — see our guide to 3D laser scanning for Gold Coast renovations.
Related: Building designer costs | Building approvals explained | Knockdown rebuild vs renovation
Request a consultation to discuss scanning for your project.
