3D laser scanning services in Miami

On the size and complexity of the building and on what has to be drawn. A single office floor delivered as 2D plans is a small job; a 30-story condo tower with its garage and mechanical levels modeled in Revit is not. Send the address, the building type and the deliverables you need and we quote the scope rather than a day rate. What moves the price is explained in our cost guide.

On-site capture for a typical commercial building is one to two days. The 2D set or the Revit model usually follows within one to three weeks, depending on the level of detail and how much MEP is included. Towers, plants and large garages are scoped individually, and the quote states the schedule.

The package the quote lists. For most Miami projects that is the registered point cloud (E57 or ReCap RCP) plus either a 2D as-built set (floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, sections and elevations in DWG or DXF) or a Revit model (RVT), and where they are scoped, slab-elevation maps for garage or balcony existing-condition documentation or IGES for mechanical work. Formats, sheet list, model elements and coordinate system are confirmed before the site visit, not after.

Yes. For a Miami condo, hotel or operating facility we agree which units, balconies and mechanical areas are accessible, who escorts the crew, and what notice the association or operator requires before scheduling capture; the scanner touches nothing. Capture proceeds only where safe access and operating conditions allow, and we regularly work in occupied buildings and operating facilities. Before the visit we agree a site contact, working hours, access to units, roofs, ceilings and mechanical rooms, and whatever association notice, security or insurance paperwork the building requires.

Yes. Yacht, engine-room and marina scopes in Miami are defined around the visible geometry and equipment interfaces the naval architect or yard needs documented: machinery spaces, tank tops, decks and the areas a refit or equipment change has to fit. The point cloud or model is delivered in the format the yard already uses, and vessel availability, access and the captured areas are agreed with the yard or the owner's representative when the scope is written.

Yes. Interior scanning goes ahead year-round, subject to access and site conditions. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, although tropical cyclones sometimes form outside those dates. Exterior and roof capture depends on weather and safe access: afternoon storms and wind move the exterior visit, and a named storm in the forecast moves the whole visit. Where a site needs both, the interior usually comes first; any split visits, rescheduling assumptions and return-visit costs are identified in the quote. After a storm, scanning can provide a measured record of visible conditions in the areas captured for an engineer to evaluate; the scan does not determine cause, structural safety or repair requirements.

Miami-Dade County, from Homestead to Aventura and from Miami Beach to Doral, and Broward on request; Fort Lauderdale has its own page. Travel and any return visits are identified in the quote.

For the building-scale terrestrial point cloud our stated accuracy is ±3 mm typical (2–4 mm by range); when the project provides survey control we tie the cloud to it. That is the accuracy of the cloud. The drawing or model tolerance is a separate figure set in the scope, because a LOD 200 massing model and a LOD 350 structural model are not drawn to the same tolerance. Anything the scanner could not see, behind a locked door or above a closed ceiling, is marked not visible rather than drawn from assumption.

For the building itself, scanning records the visible surfaces within the scoped areas in one visit, so a dimension nobody thought to ask for can usually be read from the cloud later instead of booked as a second trip, while concealed or inaccessible conditions are not captured, and the cloud stays the reference for the whole project. Some projects also require a Florida-licensed Professional Surveyor and Mapper, and Chapter 472 defines surveying and mapping broadly, so the applicable professional and deliverable depend on the scope and intended use. We provide scoped existing-condition documentation, not a Chapter 472 survey or map; for boundary work, an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, a certified as-built or record survey, survey control, elevation or other regulated work, retain the appropriate Florida-licensed PSM and confirm the required deliverable with the authority having jurisdiction. We identify that requirement at quoting, and the two are often used together. The two are compared in our 3D scanning vs traditional surveying article.

A scan can provide measured existing-condition documentation when the inspecting professional requests it; it does not determine structural safety, perform a recertification or milestone inspection, or replace the licensed professional's signed-and-sealed report. Miami-Dade recertification timing under Section 8-11(f) of the County Code depends on the building's age cohort, type, location and County notice: condominium and cooperative buildings three stories or taller, within three miles of the coastline and built on or after 1998 enter at 25 years and every 10 years after; other buildings built on or after 1993 generally enter at 30 years and every 10 years after; older cohorts follow transition or earlier-cycle rules; single-family homes, duplexes and minor structures (occupant load of 10 or fewer and 2,000 sq ft or less) are excluded. The required reports are prepared, signed and sealed by Florida-licensed professionals qualified for the structural and electrical scope; for a Threshold Building the County requires the structural portion from a Florida PE specializing in structural design and the electrical portion from a PE specializing in electrical design. Separately, Florida's milestone-inspection law (Statute 553.899) applies to buildings three habitable stories or more that are subject in whole or in part to residential condominium or cooperative ownership: the first inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy and every 10 years after, the local enforcement agency may require a 25-year schedule based on local circumstances such as proximity to salt water, and one- to four-family dwellings of three or fewer habitable stories are excluded. A milestone inspection begins with Phase One, a visual examination and qualitative assessment by the licensed architect or engineer; Phase Two is required only if Phase One finds substantial structural deterioration. In Miami-Dade the County integrates recertification for buildings that must perform a milestone inspection, so the owner or association confirms the property's requirements with the building official and the inspecting professional rather than assuming two separate inspections. Where those areas are visible, accessible and in scope, scanning provides measured existing-condition geometry for balconies, slabs, garage levels, façades and roofs for the inspecting professional to use as supporting information. The County's requirements are published by the Miami-Dade Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, and the milestone statute is online at the Florida Legislature.

No. We provide measured existing-condition documentation, not permit plans. The project's permit applicant and design professionals prepare whatever permit documents the permit type requires, and the applicable building official reviews and enforces compliance with the Florida Building Code, including the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone provisions that cover Miami-Dade County; the scan supplies measured existing conditions and does not establish code compliance. Inside the City of Miami, permits come from the City of Miami Building Department; in unincorporated Miami-Dade they come from the County, and each of the other municipalities has its own building official. Our drawings and models are the measured base the design team draws those plans on.

The scan is existing-condition documentation; it is the proposed alterations, not the scan, that may trigger historic review and permitting, and access is confirmed with the owner before the visit. Work on a designated property or within a local historic district may require historic-preservation review or a Certificate of Appropriateness, with staff or board review depending on the city and the scope: in Miami Beach a COA may be issued by Planning staff or the Historic Preservation Board, and in Coral Gables listed properties may receive Historic Preservation Division staff or Board review before a building permit is issued. Where existing-condition drawings are part of the submittal, a scan gives the architect a measured record of the façade, the eyebrows, railings and lettering of an Art Deco or MiMo building to draw those from, rather than a tape-and-photograph survey. The owner, applicant and design team prepare the proposed work, the supporting documentation and the permit plans; the preservation staff or board decides the Certificate of Appropriateness path and approval, and any building permit remains a separate approval from the relevant building department.

Existing-conditions documentation at the level of detail the quote sets out (LOD 200 to 350 for models): the measured starting point for design, planning, coordination and an engineer's assessment. They are scoped existing-condition deliverables, not offered or issued as sealed construction documents, fabrication drawings, or surveys or maps regulated under Chapter 472. Where the requested work falls within Florida's regulated practice of surveying and mapping, that survey or map must be performed and issued by the appropriate Florida-licensed Professional Surveyor and Mapper. A dimension that a design or a fit depends on should be field-verified before anything is built to it, and areas the scanner could not see are marked as not visible rather than filled in. Design, construction and field-verification responsibilities follow the project documents; any statutory inspection and its signed-and-sealed report remain with the qualified inspecting professional.