Window/Door Firm Scans Remote Home

Measurements captured from a 3D BIM model of a 4-story, 37,000 square foot residence in the Caribbean.

One morning, we received a call from a window and door manufacturer, asking if our 3d scanning service was accurate.

"About 99.9% accurate," I replied. "If we're 60 feet away from a subject, exactness can vary by up to 1/4 inch. But, we're usually 5-10 feet away which makes it much more accurate."

This subject was a 37,000 square foot, 4-story estate on a Caribbean island. The windows and doors are to be custom made in Italy—shipped and installed based on our measurements—so accuracy is critical. We also had just a few days of access to the property with no chance of returning. A job like this would not be possible with traditional handheld measurement tools.

A job like this would not be possible with traditional handheld measurement tools.

Our 3D/360° laser scanning service was the perfect solution to provide our client everything he would need to plan and execute the project:

• An as-built documentation of all areas with windows + doors

• Ability to measure all frames to within 1/16"

• Complete inventory of windows + doors according to size and type

• "Before" photo documentation of the entire residence

• A basis for conceptual architectural renderings

• Ability to share all of the above to teams in multiple countries

Being based in South Florida, we're often sent to the Caribbean for work. Since high-end residential and commercial projects are often designed outside the islands, it makes sense to send us there to capture everything in one trip instead of sending various teams, often with overlapping objectives.

This is what 13 billion individual measurements look like. It's a high-density 3D point cloud.

It all starts with a point cloud. About 200 scans—each one containing 64.8 million data points—are connected to form one point cloud of the entire property. That's about 13 billion individual measurements (try that with a tape measure).

At a cost of 20-30¢/sqft, some of our clients can take all of their information from the point cloud while saving themselves lots of trips to the property.

At a cost of 20-30¢/sqft, some of our clients can take all of their information from the point cloud while saving themselves lots of trips to the property.

Some clients ask us to take it a step further by creating a clean 3D digital model called a BIM (Building Information Model). The BIM (also referred to as CAD or AutoCAD) is an exact digital replica of a structure with various chosen levels of detail. All images in this post were captured from the same BIM.

From the raw point cloud, we create the BIM in the form of a RVT (Revit) file that resembles traditional printed plans but in 3D form. So, contractors can turn the model around to see from every angle inside or outside the project.

It's easy to take inventory and measurements of your product if that's all you see. Turning on and off reveals various layers of the estate.

With a few mouse clicks, anything can be measured as if you were inside the physical structure. Walls, rooms, stairs, lighting, electrical and plumbing can be isolated, grouped, counted and viewed separately, all from the same file. The BIM can also be sliced like a loaf of bread, revealing wall thicknesses and other details like an open doll house.

An architect can use the BIM as an as-built documentation for their redesign, calculating overall volume of spaces, materials and anything else. The flooring contractor can measure square footage and estimate cost by isolating each floor or in groups. The concrete supplier can calculate volume. A carpenter building a custom closet can get all necessary info without visiting the property. A homeowner can email the BIM to 10 different subcontractors so all are bidding using the same information.

As the window company has layers, the flooring company has theirs too.

The cost to produce a BIM from a point cloud is 30-60¢/sqft, depending on the level of detail needed. Everything from pipes to electrical wires can be mapped in extreme detail, if necessary. If a property needed to be completely rebuilt for any reason, it can be done entirely from a BIM on your cell phone.

In the case of this renovation, the BIM pays for itself by increasing collaboration and seeing mistakes before they happen. Anyone in construction knows how poor estimating, a lack of communication or inaccurate measurements can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Anyone in construction knows how poor estimating, a lack of communication or inaccurate measurements can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.

C2A Studio is based in Boca Raton, Florida but works worldwide. If you'd like to see how our scan-to-point cloud or scan-to-BIM service can help with your projects, please call us at 1.561.866.4407 or visit http://c2a.studio/bim