Do I need a survey?
Unsure whether you need a survey?
Take our quick quiz to find out if your project needs a survey.
The importance of construction site surveys
Any site involving a significant redesign, extension or a new building usually needs our construction surveying services. Each site is different and we can work with you to deliver the right surveys at the right time for your project.
Clear, defined and accurate information from the very beginning is essential. Our land surveyors’ work provides you with a greater understanding of what can be achieved and the potential challenges of your project. Our construction site surveys allow you to assess the feasibility of your site at the earliest stage. They can inform your decisions throughout the construction project, from design right through to construction.
Good baseline information reduces the risk of unexpected site challenges, as well as avoiding costly changes or delays later on. Without this, other professionals on your project, like the architect, landscaper, designers, and structural or geotechnical engineer, may not have the best information for their work.
Why choose Cheshire Surveys
We provide a range of surveys and related services across the North West, Cheshire, North Staffordshire and North Wales.
Passion & technical expertise
25+ years experience
Quality services tailored to your project
Meet our team on site
What surveys could you need?
As-Built Surveys
A fully up-to-date record of what has just been constructed, ensuring it matches the proposed plans. Useful for producing further plans that require an accurate site layout.
Floor Level Surveys
Quality survey check for various floor construction stages, from existing floors to newly constructed slabs.
Garden Surveys
Highly detailed, specialist topographical survey for garden landscaping and redesigns.
GPS Surveys
Ideal for covering large open spaces, like fields, or where access may be restricted or challenging.
Measured Building Surveys
3D site survey of a building’s layout and structure that can also be used to produce floor plans, elevations and cross-section drawings.
River & Floodplain Surveys
Surveys of riverbanks and beds, as well as adjacent floodplains. We record water levels and significant features for flood risk assessments and erosion monitoring.
Road Surveys
Comprehensive record of current road layouts and levels, including kerbs, street furniture and road markings. Ideal for visibility splays and new highways designs.
Setting Out
Geocordinated setting out services for building groundworks and steelworks for new housing, commercial and industrial sites.
Surveys for Land Registry Title Plans
Site surveys for creating Land Registry compliant plans to record areas of sale, transfer, correction or first registration.
Topographical Surveys
Accurate, scaled plan of a site’s terrain, and a record of the position and levels of both manmade and natural features.
Volumetric Surveys & Terrain Models
Measuring the total amount of stockpiled, extracted or collected materials and aggregates. Suitable for construction, calculating and auditing.
Why might you need a construction site survey?
Accurate measured data is crucial to evaluate the options for your development site and secure planning permission. You need to know the condition of the site’s land and/or buildings and plan the most cost effective and practical approach. Your architect will also need to look at what the planning authority for that area is likely to accept.
A topographical survey can help you to understand your site’s natural landscape, including slopes, elevation and drainage, plus any existing built features on site. Among other things, you can then consider what levelling a site might need before development, especially if the terrain is uneven or sloping.
Our land surveyors can provide accurate site levels for working out flood risks, plus site boundary checks to ensure the proposals will fit on the land. This can also identify any potential issues that may arise with neighbouring properties.
A measured building survey will give you details of existing structures, including elevations, floor plans and cross sections. If you’re planning a redevelopment, you can use this survey to decide on the best way of repurposing them e.g residential or commercial development.
Our construction site surveys give you measured data that helps shape how you envision your site. By understanding site conditions and building structures early, you can make strategic decisions. You can design more accurately and in accordance with the local authorities policies and future plans in mind.
We help your design team to produce plans that work with the natural landscape rather than against it. This enhances sustainability and aesthetics, while taking into account any site constraints.
Our construction surveys can show your design team where existing infrastructure is located. Combined with detailed information about the size and levels of a site, they can maximise the development potential.
Construction surveys play a vital role in ensuring that planning applications meet legal and regulatory requirements. Local planning authorities require current site data to ensure a planning application is valid and to assess proposed applications.
The more detailed information submitted, the better, and the more likely you are to succeed and speed up the decision process. An accurate measured plan of the existing site ensures a smoother approval process, reducing the risk of rejection or delays.
For instance, for new dwellings, local planning authorities require details of existing ground levels as well as proposed new levels. Our topographical surveys provide you with the existing site levels. This allows you to decide an appropriate finished floor level for a new building with an accurate reference for the current levels.
Setting out services are a great way to guarantee accurate positioning for on-the-ground construction, which matches with the approved plans. This can be crucial to getting construction off to a perfect start.
Our professional setting out engineers have technical expertise and access to cutting-edge surveying equipment. Rather than using a tape measure, they use a total station and can manage complex tasks, like marking precise locations for large-scale construction sites. This gives you accuracy and precision that cannot be achieved any other way.
At the end of the construction phase, we can complete an as-built site survey. This provides you with an independent record of what has been built. You can use this to release payments to contractors at key agreed stages.
It also enables you to demonstrate to funders, statutory bodies and accreditation schemes that your development has been built as planned and to the correct standards.
Explore by project
Construction surveying costs
Project examples and costs
Brownfield site development
A large brownfield site survey can be completed at the feasibility or planning application stage, with the plan to build a large housing estate. We can complete a topographical survey after the demolition of any existing buildings.
Estimated cost: £4000 – £6000 + VAT
As-built survey of barn conversion
Following the completion of a project such as a barn conversion, we perform a site survey that includes building positions, plot divisions, hard landscaping, finished levels and drainage positions. This can assist with the sale of plots and provides an accurate record of the conversion as constructed.
Estimated cost: £1250 – £2000 + VAT
Setting out for a small housing estate
A new housing development was planned for 6 houses and an apartment block. We completed the setting out for the foundations and brickwork for each plot and the apartments. We also set out the estate’s internal road and parking areas. Once the groundworks were completed, we returned to the site to perform as built survey checks.
Estimated cost: £6000.00 +VAT
Setting out a large new house with basement and pool house
This large property project included significant work for the detached house and the pool house in the garden. Our team supported the project over two years, with visits as and when required on a call-off basis. We performed setting out for all the groundworks, including basements, house foundations, pool excavation and building.
Estimated cost: £5000.00 + VAT
Speak to our experts
Get free advice or a quote from our experienced team.
We’re known for our reliable, quality service and attention to detail.
How do our construction site surveys benefit builders & developers?
With the right surveys for your project, you can make an informed decision about whether to go ahead with a development proposal. Our construction surveys remove uncertainty, bringing down costs and reducing risks – like late design or construction changes – by preventing unexpected site challenges.
Consistent information is important to prevent or smooth out any problems on and off site. We can share survey results in formats that you can share with all parties involved in the build and development of the scheme. This means everyone has access to the same accurate measured data to inform their decisions on your building and development project.
With a full understanding of your existing construction site, including size and property boundaries, you can design more accurately and address any potential issues before construction starts.
Depending on the location and type of land or building you are developing, you may need more detailed investigations. We often work with specialist partners, so can refer you to other reliable services, including:
How we work
Step 01
Request a quote
We’ll need your project’s address and a site plan. We’ll then get in touch for a consultation to confirm site details and understand exactly what your project needs.
Step 02
Quote accepted
Once your project is confirmed with us, we’ll arrange a convenient date for your survey.
Step 03
We complete your survey
We’ll visit your project site to carry out the survey. We can meet you on site if needed. We will then process the survey data and create a survey drawing.
Step 04
Receive your survey
We’ll share the survey data with you, usually within a few days. We use industry standard file types and can issue all the drawings in multiple formats.
