10 min read
How Is Commercial Property Measured in the UK?
A commercial building has no single "size". Its floor area is measured to an agreed standard, and the right standard depends on…
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Read more8 min readWhat Does ITZA Mean? In Terms of Zone A Explained
ITZA stands for "In Terms of Zone A". It converts a shop's floor area into the equivalent amount of Zone A space…
Read more10 min readIPMS Explained: How IPMS 1, 2 and 3 Compare to GEA, GIA and NIA
A few years ago, almost nobody asked us for IPMS. In the last 12 months, around 30% of our area referencing enquiries…
Read more11 min readGross Internal Area (GIA): What’s Included and How It’s Measured
Ask three people for the floor area of the same building and you can get three different figures, all of them correct.…
Read more13 min readRICS Code of Measuring Practice: NIA, GIA & GEA Explained
GIA, NIA and GEA are not three attempts at the same measurement. They ask three different questions of the same building, and…
Read more11 min readGIA vs NIA: What’s the Difference and Why Your Rent Depends on It
Two documents, same floor, two different numbers. One says 10,000 sq ft. The other says 8,400. Neither is wrong. Only one of…
Read more10 min readHow Altro Turned Incomplete Site Information into a Clear Plan for the Future
When Altro Flooring needed a clearer picture of its Letchworth manufacturing site, Terrain took a consultancy-led approach to understand the wider requirement.…
Read more11 min readSewer Map for My Property: How to Get One
Sewer Map for My Property: How to Get One Most people only go looking for a sewer map when it is already…
Read more22 min readProperty Boundary Maps: Why You Can’t Always Trust Them
You have the title plan open on screen. There is your property, neatly edged in red. It looks like an answer. It…
Read more23 min readDraining Map for My Property: How to Get One
A drainage map, also goes by the names; drainage plan, drainage layout, sewer map and asset location plan, depending on who is…
Read more11 min readBIM Clash Detection for Construction: Why it’s Essential & Who to Hire
BIM Clash Detection for Construction: Why It's Essential and Who to Hire A clash caught on a screen costs a few minutes…
Read more10 min readCAD Surveys: What Are They & Who Can Do Them for You (UK)
CAD Surveys: What Are They & Who Can Do Them For You? A client rang me once, three weeks into a design…
Read more16 min readClash Detection Service: When You Need Them & Who to Hire
Clash Detection Services: When You Need Them, and Who to Hire A clash found on a screen costs an hour of somebody's…
Read more11 min readRevit Vs AutoCAD: Which is Better? (Depends on the Situation)
The biggest change I've seen in 20-plus years of surveying isn't the instruments. It's what clients expect us to deliver. A decade…
- Read more8 min read
BIM Clash Detection: What Is It, & How it Works
Here's something that surprises a lot of clients: almost every project we run clash detection on throws up a clash of some…
Read more7 min readArea Referencing Solutions & Services: When You Need Them And Which is The Best
Most area referencing problems don't start with bad measuring. They start with two wrong assumptions: that the existing plans are accurate, and…
Read more10 min readHow to Get Floor Plans for Your House (UK)
Trying to save £1,000 by sketching your own floor plans can cost you 10 to 100 times that saving if the measurements…
Read more9 min readOriginal Building or House Plans Missing? Here’s What to Do
Your property almost certainly had plans at some point. An architect drew them, the council approved them, and a builder worked from…
Read more11 min readHow to Draw Floor Plans Yourself (UK)
Most people who need floor plans are planning an extension, a renovation, or a refurbishment. Their architect has told them they need…
Read more8 min readThe Four Types of PAS 128 Survey You Need to Know
According to the GOV.UK NUAR Economic Case Summary, there are roughly 60,000 strikes on buried pipes and cables in the UK every…
Read more11 min readHow Much Does Revit Cost? (And Is It Worth the Investment?)
Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become the industry standard across the UK. Whether you are an architect designing a sleek new commercial…
Read more11 min readWhat is a Revit Technician?
If you are planning any sort of building project in 2025, you have probably heard the term "Revit" thrown around. Maybe your…
Read more11 min read3D Point Cloud Survey Cost in the UK: Pricing, Hidden Costs, and Smart Alternatives
3D laser scanning has completely revolutionised how we capture building data. But here is the thing. The first question we are always…
Read more9 min readTechnology in Geospatial Surveying: Where It Adds Real Value and Where Caution Still Matters
AI, cloud platforms and drone workflows are transforming geospatial surveying — improving speed, collaboration and data sharing. But new technology also brings…
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