How I document a renovation site before design commences

“Measure twice, cut once” is a lesson I’ve definitely learned the hard way. I once mis-measured a landing height for a client wanting to install a wheelchair ramp. I designed four gorgeous ramp options—none of which wound up working because they were six feet too short. Luckily, we had time to re-design to the appropriate height, but I will never make the same mistake again.

When I set out to measure a site, I used to make field sketches of rough layouts, adding dimensions as I went. This time around I’m experimenting with doing a basic layout in the computer, then filling in the dimensions onsite.