Existing Conditions vs. As-Builts

Existing Conditions Captures "Before" and As-Builts Records "After"

At the beginning, sometimes before a property is purchased, the buyer, agent, architect, or contractors will ask for "plans". At first glance this seems like a pretty unambiguous request. One might imagine receiving a roll of paper drawings, a thumbdrive with digital "CAD" drawings or a link to download files. The expectation is that these exist, are accurate and are available.

Unfortunately this is almost never the case. Here is where it goes wrong:

1. There are no records.
2. There are lots of rolls of drawings but none of them reflect the current state of the building.
3. The architect has them but is unwilling or unable to distribute them.
4. The architect or builder has them but what was built changed during construction or after the building was commissioned and the drawings or files were never updated.

And so, the building has to be re-measured and photographed so that informed decisions can be made and planning can begin.

This is where someone, usually the owner, asks someone else, usually the broker or their architect, to have plans generated that accurately reflect the building as it is. They will ask for "plans", "as-builts" or "existing conditions drawings", or, if they are very technically sophisticated, "an up to date BIM model".

When this happens, in order to get what they want, and not pay for more than they need, it helps to understand what these terms actually mean.

Glossary of Terms

Plans: Also sometimes called "floor plans". A generic term that implies printable, 2D digital "drawings". These plans are dimensionally accurate (to scale), can be shared with the whole team in digital or paper form and include:

• A site plan.
• Floor plans for all floors.
• Reflected ceiling plans (RCPs).
• Roof plan.
• Exterior elevations.
• Sections - a view where the building is cut like a doll house to show the interior.
• Sometimes detailed interior elevations, structural plans, electrical plans, mechanical drawings, and more.

Plans can be created many different ways, and can include a wide range of details from schematic plans used for real estate listings to fully detailed building documentation.

As-builts: When an owner or builder refers to as-builts they are generally talking about a set of drawings that record the final version of a building after it is completed. In the design and construction documentation processes, every effort may be made to generate drawings that are precise and that reflect a deep understanding of the construction process. But, even when this is done perfectly, what is finally built never matches what was drawn and specified. This is not nefarious, or even unexpected. Although some changes occur due to mistakes in design or construction, changes often reflect updated design decisions, substitutions due to material cost or changes in supplier, recommendations from inspectors or permitting authorities that streamline commissioning or someone changing their mind.

As-builts are generated after the building is done to update the drawings so that they accurately reflect the final product. But, mostly, they are not done. As a result, very few buildings have a set of plans, digital or otherwise, that can be relied on for planning updates, leasing, or operating properties.

Existing conditions drawings: Existing Conditions are what Ground Truth 3D creates. Existing Conditions Drawings, or Existing Conditions Documentation, accurately reflect what is actually there. What distinguishes existing conditions documentation from existing conditions drawings is the inclusion of comprehensive photographic documentation of the property in addition to an accurate 3D model and the drawings generated from the model (see "Plans" above). These photographs are not the ones that you see in real estate listings, staged to show off the attractive views of the building, but include hundreds of 360 degree photos intended to thoroughly document the building at a point in time.

Field measurements: One last term that is occasionally thrown into the mix is "field measurement". A field measurement is not equivalent to either as-builts, or existing conditions, but simply refers to a deliberate action taken by an individual to visit the site record a measurement or set of measurements. Field measurements are often required by vendors whose products, like windows, elevators, and stairs, have very tight tolerances. The need for field measurements reflects the reality that most buildings, even when diligently planned and professionally constructed, are not square or plumb, or rectangular or straight. A staircase that arrives on the site and is just a little too big or too small can create costly delays.