Your measuring and sketching process

[TC]

My area covers 6 counties, a couple I don't trust and always measure. One county practically draws a blueprint.

 

[TC]

FWIW, I have never lost a file in 12 years of using a tablet. I hit the save button after every part of the inspection. When I first started, I had your same fears. I would just hotspot my phone and upload the report the cloud before I left the home.



Now, I have two saved reports.

On this particular aspect of the appraisal process, I am a full blown Luddite!

 

[Mike Ault]

On this particular aspect of the appraisal process, I am a full blown Luddite!

Take the plunge, the water is fine! Once you get used to it you will never go back. It took me several months to adjust my fieldwork after 22 years of using the clipboard though. I got tired of hearing my competitors brag about how much they liked it, so I was basically shamed into the process.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Once you get the initial angle figured out

I apply a rise over run "angle" because it is often easier than trying to figure an accurate "angle". I find most P & S's are using common ratios - 60º,, 45º, aka 4 to 6 and 5:5: Alternatively I see that the angle when the garage is at an angle to the house is 135º - which is just 180º - 45º

 

[Mike Ault]

I apply a rise over run "angle" because it is often easier than trying to figure an accurate "angle". I find most P & S's are using common ratios - 60º,, 45º, aka 4 to 6 and 5:5: Alternatively I see that the angle when the garage is at an angle to the house is 135º - which is just 180º - 45º

The "run" is the easy part to come up with. The "rise", sometimes not so much… We have one house here with basically the same exterior as a B-2 Stealth bomber with a flat nose, wish I could remember the address because it is an interesting sketch.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

"run" is the easy part to come up with.

If you accurately measure (the unicorn ANSI way) and you really are that precise, then you don't even need the angle because there is only one angle that it will fit. You can do it manually in the sketch program.

 

[Mike Ault]

If you accurately measure (the unicorn ANSI way) and you really are that precise, then you don't even need the angle because there is only one angle that it will fit. You can do it manually in the sketch program.

That's a good way to do it, draw separate, discrete rectangles and then rotate & move them with your sketch program until they fit together perfectly. Excellent way to proceed on angled houses with vine covered walls making it impossible to get an accurate measurement with your angle finder tool. You can also determine exterior angles from the interior walls in some cases but it's even better for those non-45° homes to import the survey into your sketch program (Apex Photometrics) and draw your measured dimensions on top of their angle. If it squares with your measurements, then your golden.

 

[George Hatch]

^^^ I do rise/run, but I also do components/rotate. One advantage to doing a component separately is that it's easier to get the interior floorplans to square up with the structure.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

One of the worst houses I've ever had to sketch was a log home with walk out basement. The lower level was fairly straightforward but it had a weird bulge in the backside upper level. The appraisers before me obviously had a real problem sketching it as shown below. The front and back were actually parallel on each end of the house. But the bump out was there - just not like they drew it. BTW, they valued it about 50% higher than I did, and it sold 10% lower than I appraised it after I reported that the mold in the lower level had been covered with Kilz. I had a great assistant back them. Mold like that made her sick and in less than 10 minutes in the lower level she had to leave. Investigating why some tiles were missing near the bath tub and why there were space heaters in the lower level when it had CHA, I found the Kilz on a shelf in the bathroom. Then carefully I could see the black specs under the thin places in the paint and the more hidden areas. But yes it had 5 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms and was meant to be a family rental.

 

[Airstream]

I have used Total Mobile sketch for years and have a digital angle measuring devise. I can simply plug in the angle. The hardest house I ever had to measure didn’t have one square corner in the entire house. Came out just about perfect. Didn’t measure to the nearest inch though LOL!!!