Land surveyors
An as-built survey records what was actually constructed and where it sits: footprint, setbacks, heights where required, and site features, measured against the permitted plans. In the Seattle area it is most often asked for at the end of a project - a city wanting verification that a new house, townhouse or backyard cottage meets its setbacks or height limit, or a lender wanting the finished footprint - and in the middle of one, when a foundation location has to be confirmed before framing continues. It is also the starting point when older unpermitted work is being brought into compliance, because nothing can be applied for until someone has measured what is there. The drawing says plainly where the built work differs from the plans; that difference is usually the reason it was requested.
An as-built survey records the finished position and elevation of work after it is in place: a foundation after the pour, a completed house, a retaining wall, a driveway, a new side sewer or storm line. Its purpose is comparison. Plans describe intent, and construction drifts from intent by a few inches or a few feet for ordinary reasons - a form moved, a footing widened, a wall shifted around a root. The as-built shows where the work ended up relative to the property line, the setbacks and the approved elevations, while it is still cheap to correct.
The most useful time to order one is often right after the foundation is poured, before framing goes up. At that stage an error in setback or position can still be addressed, where after framing it becomes a variance request or a demolition. On tight Seattle lots with backyard cottages or townhouses, and on lots where a new house has been designed close to its maximum permitted height, a foundation check and later a roof-height verification are commonly requested by the builder, the lender or the reviewing jurisdiction. Height in particular is measured from a reference grade defined in the code, so the survey has to use the same reference the permit drawings did.
Buried work is the other common reason. Storm drainage systems, detention structures, infiltration facilities and side sewers are regularly required to be recorded in position and elevation after installation, and that information is only easy to capture while trenches are open. Projects in Bellevue, Renton and Kent, each with their own drainage requirements, often need as-built drawings of these systems before final approval. Waterfront work on Mercer Island and in Kirkland - bulkheads, docks, shoreline plantings - may need locating against the ordinary high water mark once complete.
An as-built is most reliable when it uses the same control and datum as the topographic survey the design was based on and the construction staking that laid it out, so any difference reflects the building rather than the measurement. We note the plan revision each element is being compared against. Where finished floor elevations sit in a mapped flood zone, the same measurements can support a post-construction elevation certificate. The as-built reports conditions; whether a deviation is acceptable is decided by the engineer of record and the permitting authority.
How long does it take? Proportional to the size of the project and access to it. A single cottage is quick; a multi-unit site is not.
These are usually asked for on the same transaction:
Marks building corners, offsets and grades on site so the foundation lands where the permit says it should.
Learn More →Existing grades, contours, trees and site features - what an architect, engineer or permit reviewer needs before design.
Learn More →The FEMA form that sets flood insurance rating - common in the Green, Cedar and Duwamish river valleys and on low lakefront.
Learn More →Free - No obligation
Two minutes. We come back to you the same business day.
If it is urgent, call us now on (253) 648-7331
Something went wrong at our end. Call (253) 648-7331 and we will take the details over the phone.