As-Builts & Insurance Sketches
An accurate record of what's actually there
Measured drawings of existing conditions — clear enough to settle a claim, support a renovation, or give a designer something reliable to start from.
Most building problems that surface late are really documentation problems that surfaced early and got ignored. Someone assumed a dimension, or trusted a drawing that no longer described the building. An as-built is the unglamorous fix: go measure it, draw what's true, and let everyone downstream work from the same reality.
As-built drawings
A measured, dimensioned record of a building as it stands today. We document floor plans, ceiling heights, window and door locations and sizes, wall thicknesses, structural elements where visible, and the existing services relevant to your project.
They're most commonly commissioned as the first step of something bigger:
- Before an addition, so the new work ties into real dimensions
- Before a remodel, so the layout is designed against actual conditions
- For property records, when the original documentation is lost or was never produced
- For sale or refinance, when a lender or buyer wants documented square footage and layout
- For designers and agents who need a reliable base drawing to work from
Insurance sketches
Claims move faster when the documentation is unambiguous. We produce clear, measured drawings of affected areas — damage extents, room dimensions, affected assemblies, and the existing conditions relevant to the claim — in a format an adjuster can actually use.
The most useful thing you can do is tell us what your carrier has specifically asked for. Requirements vary between claims and between carriers, and matching their expected format on the first pass avoids a round of revisions at exactly the moment you don't want delay.
Accuracy is the entire product
An as-built that's approximately right is worse than none at all, because people trust it. We measure carefully and note where something couldn't be verified — inside a wall, above a finished ceiling — rather than drawing a confident guess. Where an assumption has to be made, the drawing says so.
What the process looks like
- Scope conversation. What's the drawing for? An insurance sketch and an addition baseline need different things documented.
- Site measurement. We measure and photograph the relevant areas. For limited scopes, thorough measurements and photos you provide can sometimes substitute.
- Drafting. Measurements become a clean, dimensioned drawing set — not a marked-up field sketch.
- Delivery. Print-ready PDFs, with CAD files available on request for designers and engineers continuing the work.
Common questions
What exactly is an as-built drawing?
A measured, dimensioned drawing of a building as it currently exists — not as it was originally designed, and not as anyone remembers it. It's the reliable baseline that renovation, addition and insurance work all depend on.
Why can't I just use the original plans?
Often you can't find them, and when you can they're frequently wrong. Buildings get modified over decades and the modifications rarely get documented. An as-built reflects the building that's actually standing.
What do you need for an insurance sketch?
Typically the property address, access to the affected areas, photographs, and any documentation your adjuster has already requested. Tell us what the carrier is asking for — requirements differ between claims, and matching their format saves a round trip.
Can you do this if I'm out of state?
Sometimes. If you can provide detailed measurements and thorough photographs we can often work remotely. For anything where precision matters — an addition tie-in, for instance — measured documentation on site is the safer path.