Scan Effort Calculator
How much effort is the 3D capture of my building? Based on area and complexity, this calculator estimates how many scan positions are needed and how much on-site time is realistic to plan for.
A planning estimate. Reflective surfaces, tight spaces and required detail can increase the number of positions. Always plan a small buffer for on-site checks.
Why the number of scan positions is decisive
The quality of a 3D capture stands or falls on having enough well-chosen positions. Each one closes shadows behind columns, furniture or in niches. Too few positions leave holes in the point cloud that can later only be fixed with an expensive return visit. The calculator derives a rough number from area and complexity – as a planning aid, not a rigid rule.
What complexity involves
Open, tidy rooms can be captured with few positions per square metre. Many small rooms, winding layouts, stairs, glass surfaces and a high required level of detail increase the effort considerably. Reflective or dark surfaces also cost extra positions, because they must be captured from several angles. When in doubt, choose the higher complexity level so you do not plan too tightly.
How to plan the appointment properly
Always add a buffer to the pure scan time for set-up and teardown as well as a brief on-site check of the captures. Those five minutes of discipline at the end of each appointment save most rework. For a binding effort and cost plan, a short description of your property is enough – from it we derive a concrete workflow.
What makes up the time required
The capture itself is rarely the largest block. Travel, setting up on site, waiting time in occupied properties and post-processing all add up, and post-processing ranges from a few hours to several days depending on requirements. The calculator covers the on-site portion; for the total time to delivery, add two to five working days from experience.
What you can prepare
The most effective lever is on your side: tidy rooms, clear sightlines, all doors open, lights on, and access to every area including plant rooms and ancillary space. Properties handed over in that condition are regularly captured a third faster than those where clearing or unlocking still has to happen on site.
When several appointments make more sense
For construction projects a single appointment is almost never the right answer. A sequence along the construction schedule is preferable – particularly before walls are closed, while the building services are still visible. In occupied commercial properties, splitting into several shorter appointments is often more practical than one long one that blocks operations.
How many standpoints a property actually needs
The number of capture positions is the real driver of effort. As a rough guide, allow one standpoint every two to four metres of route, plus one per room, per doorway and per level change. Rambling layouts, corridors with branches and stairwells increase the count disproportionately, because every interruption of the line of sight needs an additional point. Skimping on standpoints produces a model with jumps in which viewers get lost – the most common reason for rework.
Particularities in occupied properties
In occupied flats, operating businesses and practices, coordination effort is added to the capture itself, and it affects the calculation more than the floor area. People must not be recorded identifiably, sensitive areas have to be excluded, and capture often takes place outside normal hours. In practices and law firms data protection is added: documents, screens and name plates belong out of sight before capture. Allow for a preliminary discussion; it saves more time on the day than it costs.
The difference between capture and result
The calculator estimates on-site effort. The time to a usable result additionally depends on what is to come out of it. A pure tour is usually available within a day after automatic processing. Derived outputs – record drawings, standards-compliant area calculations, BIM-capable models – require manual work and take several days to weeks depending on scope. This expectation should be settled before commissioning, because it governs the project schedule.
Effort for outdoor and special areas
External areas, courtyards, underground car parks and roof surfaces follow different rules from interiors. Outdoors the walls are missing as reference points, which requires more standpoints; direct sunlight and changing light conditions further complicate consistent presentation. Underground car parks are also more demanding than their area suggests, because of uniform structures and poor lighting. Allow roughly one and a half times the time a comparable interior area would need.
Several properties in one day
For portfolios, bundling several properties into one route pays off. The decisive factor is not the distance between them but the handover logistics: who provides which keys, when and where, determines whether three or five properties are possible in a day. Collecting all keys at one location in advance and agreeing fixed time slots per property has proven itself. Without that preparation the daily output typically halves, even though nothing about the capture itself has changed.
Estimating post-processing realistically
Automatic processing of a tour takes hours. Everything beyond that is manual work: removing image artefacts, labelling rooms, placing information points, producing a floor plan and deriving drawings or area calculations. For a standard marketing property this amounts to a few hours; for an existing building with derived drawings it quickly reaches several days. That range should be stated in the quotation rather than disappearing into a lump sum.
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