"A.G. Zoutewelle Surveyors exhibits a very high standard of professionalism – they are highly responsive, do what they say they are going to do when they say they will do it and their work is always accurate."

– Charles Jarnigan    
Lincoln Harris

 

 

 

Case Study #2: Skyscraper Addition

When designing an addition to an existing building, it makes sense to complete an as-built survey of the existing structure to ensure seamless connections between the existing and new building structure.  Avoid costly consequences in cases where actual construction deviates from the original building plans.

When designing the array of structural, functional and cosmetic connections between the new and existing structures, project architects need to take into account that the existing construction often deviates in small but significant ways from the original building plans.  These deviations can be either a result of slight lean or twist in the existing building, or a result of deviations from the building plans during the original construction.  Knowing about these deviations before designing and constructing will save untold headaches and money.

As an example, one of our clients decided to build an addition to an existing 8-story building.  The new addition would add several additional floor levels above the existing roof plus add a ground-to-roof addition next to the building.  To complicate matters, two other existing buildings were connected to the proposed addition.

In preparing their new building plans for this building addition, the project architects consulted the original building plans.  However, as reflected by the as-built survey performed by A.G. Zoutewelle Surveyors, actual existing construction conditions deviated from the original building plans by several inches.  In particular, one existing wall varied from plans by 15 inches.  Imagine trying to attach a steel truss fabricated according to precise calculations based on the original plans, only to find that you must stop construction, re-design the building and re-fabricate the steel structural members.  Fortunately, in this case, A.G. Zoutewelle Surveyors was called in to provide an as-built survey measuring key structural elements, floor levels and building façades in order to tailor the new architectural plans to fit with the existing buildings the first time.

Anytime you are connecting two or more structures, we recommend an as-built survey of existing building measurements.  This will contribute to a smooth construction flow and will minimize schedule disruptions