I like to take my laptop when I survey and just draft in the space. That way there are never discrepancies when you get back to the office - like not being sure if the note you made reads 24" or 2'-4".

I recently surveyed a two-story plus basement house (LR,DR,K,Powder,Stair Hall, Breakfast on 1st floor, 3-bed, 2-bath up, rec room and various mechanical spaces in the basement). It took me 5-6 hours on site, plus another 2 to get the drawings in shape to work as "as built" drawings. One level is certainly easier.

I didn't include wall elevations in the time estimate, only plans, but I noted all ceiling/sill/head/fixture heights on the plan. As-built elevations would have added another 4 or so hours.

$500 isn't unreasonable, but I'm curious about your comment "a floor"?

I'm not sure how much the people want be to survey. So I just said per floor because it seems like a reasonable scope if they don't want the whole house done.

If it's bedrooms up, most likely the second floor really won't take as much effort as the main floor, unless there are a lot of bathrooms. The kitchen, built in cabinetry, and bathrooms will take the most labor on your part. So you might say the main floor is x, and the less complex floor(s) are x minus 25% if done at the same time.

its not a survey. its an as built drawing. get around the 24" 2'-4" problem by just using inches.

Completely depends on the level of detail. Are you measuring any trim? Fixtures? Kitchen cabinets? Or rough dims only - aka interior face of wall to interior face of wall; ceiling height; rough openings only for doors & windows...

2 hours will be fine for rough dims only. However, remember that field measuring is exponentially more difficult with only one pair of hands. If you can hire your teenage niece and pay her $30 to hold one end of a measuring tape for 2 hours you will save yourself a lot of time.

If trim / cabs / fixtures need to be measured then 2 hours is probably too little. Depends on how fast you are - guessing you are relatively new to the site measuring so you will be slower than most. Remember - adjust your tolerance to your level of detail. Rough dims are usually fine to 1/2", go to a 1/4" if you really care about one particular thing. Measure cabs to the 1/4" or 1/8" in select instances. Trim & fixtures - depends on your goals.

Site measuring is one of those things that I thought would be a total cinch my first day on the job. Then I came back to the office, the principal took one look at my measurements, and took me right back out to the site & gave me an hours-long expository lecture walking me through the exact proper technique to both measure AND to document on paper. BOY am I EVER thankful for that!!

I can't tell you how much to charge for your hourly rate but $500 seems low to me. If you typically understimate your time (as most people do, I think) then add in a couple hours' buffer to be on the safe side. You can give the client a not-to-exceed and then bill hourly up to that point. It's a win-win for both sides.

Thanks, fort the tips mantaray. When you say 500$ seems low, do you mean for an entire house or just one floor? I am thinking an hourly rate of 50$ seems fair with a helper, but I don't think it would take 10 hrs to do a floor of a house start to finish.

$50/hr including a helper?! Wow. I was assuming that was you alone. To me that sounds absurdly low, but a) I don't know where you're located and b) I don't know what point you're at in your career. So I have virtually no way to assess that number.

Remember, though, that you need to take out ~30-35% for self-employment taxes, and some small percentage for overhead - in your case, that doesn't sound like much (driving to/from the site; printer paper or Kinkos; wear/tear on your computer; tiny portion of rent) so let's say a small 5% if you like. That takes you to 40%. $50 - 40% = $30. Are you saying your services, PLUS a helper's, are only worth $30? Say $12 for helper and $18 for you? That sounds extraordinarily low to me, unless you are literally still in undergrad. I made $18/hr at my first arch job, the summer after my freshman year in undergrad, about 15 years ago. I know times have changed but even in a recession it doesn't seem to me to be appropriate to bill yourself out at that rate. What happens when the job progresses - will you design the whole renovation at $18/hr?

OF COURSE - you could be located in timbuktu - and that could be a reasonable hourly rate there. I have no idea & therefore no clear way to gauge. My thoughts above are my thoughts only, not a recommendation.

However, YES, I do absolutely think it could take 10 hours to do a floor of a house start to finish. Absolutely. I have spent multiple days doing house documentation - again, it depends on the level of detail you're expected to measure to. If you can give us more info we could help you gauge better.

Remember to add a "used condom fee" if the home owners leave some on the counter in the bathroom while you're there to measure. Or document them and put them in your drawings.

When I did as-builts for people in Boston, I charged $45 an hour for me and $15 for a helper (if i needed one). But these were 1/4" plans/RCP's and no interior elevations. I could do a 1500 sq house in about 15-20 hours.

Would recommend a cheap laser distance measurer as well!

Bosch Power Tools DLR130K Laser Distance

that way you can do it all yourself!

I charge a fixed fee that will typically average $25-30/ hr in Chicago, do the measure solo, document all the trim, details, materials, and MEP, including 200-300 photos in 6-12 hrs. depending on the house, and provide basement, 1st & 2nd flr. plans along with all exterior elevations drawn up that night and the next day, typically, possibly even the following day if things aren't fitting right. I will get in the attic. I will lurk in your crawlspace (if it's not too tight/filthy). It's not uncommon to go over on your hours (i.e. work for free) but that's the crapper biz we call architecture. You were warned in school.

I wish you the best of luck getting anybody to pay more than max. $350 in this area, and often no more than $250. Though on extremely rare occasion, I've gotten over $350. Seriously, I do. Raise my rates.

when i want to renovate  my house in Brooklyn, i want to have first a As Built Drawing  , so in that way i would be able to make clear changes in the layout , i then contact the Draftex  team , at www.draftexny.com and they came down the next day and toke the measurements , and the next day i got my floor plans emailed to me !!

Great service+ very accurate.

Before you survey "just the first floor," carefully consider what the potential scope of your project will be.  Renovations & selective demo work is notorious for scope creep, so you might end up needing information down the line from areas that you did not survey.  Also, doing reno work in one area can affect other areas (especially in terms of utilities), so you might want to have that information.  Bottom line, if you are doing anything beyond putting in new finishes or millwork, I'd survey the whole house.