RBH-Aimee Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Have imported a DWG file using a special unit conversion of 1:20 which is the scale of the survey. However, the footprint of the floor plan comes through as the original 1/4":1' scale so it is tiny on the plot plan. Please advise how to change the scale of the residence/footprint. Perhaps I need to reverse the unit conversion to shrink the survey? Attached is the plan. I'm using Chief Architect Premier x10. I'm a new user who has tried to follow training videos to the best of my ability. Would appreciate some advice on how to resolve this issue of different scales. Plans_29_August_2018_with_plot_plan_draft.plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chief58 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 not sure but you might want to try to bring it in just in ft and inches since the program deals with ft and inch then when you send it to a layout page scale it to the 1=20 scale, since I don't have your survey to import I can only give it a guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbensonone Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 I'm having the exact same issue with a .DWG survey that is scaled at 1"=40'. I created a custom unit conversion to that scaling, and upon import there is no difference. I opened a ticket with support today. I also tried the reverse where kept the multiplier at 40, but instead of selecting ft, I selected inches. No difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 If you post the DWG file someone may be able to take a look and provide some suggestions. I would not suggest messing with unit conversions. Most North American surveys seem to import in ft unless it is clear they are metric and they may still import in ft. Bring the survey in and measure a known distance an use transform and replicate to correct the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 I would import it in feet to the plan. When you send it to layout, send it at whatever scale works for the paper size you're using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlackore Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 I'm having the exact same issue with a .DWG survey that is scaled at 1"=40'. Tommy is correct. Survey data isn't scaled. Just like your house plan, it's drawn in "real world" units. When importing a dwg the critical factor is: "what units were used to create the data?" It's likely that a survey uses decimal feet, so when you import you would choose this setting: There shouldn't be any need to set up a custom unit conversion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 The general rule for me is all surveys should be imported in decimal feet. All dwgs of a plan from an Architect or any one using Autocad or similar should be imported in inches. This however may vary depending on the country you're in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 11 hours ago, rlackore said: Tommy is correct. Survey data isn't scaled. Just like your house plan, it's drawn in "real world" units. That is definitely how it should be but I recently got one from a surveyor that was scaled and when I asked about it they said they have always done it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 22 minutes ago, Chopsaw said: That is definitely how it should be but I recently got one from a surveyor that was scaled and when I asked about it they said they have always done it that way. Agreed. That's how it SHOULD be, but not all surveyors are great surveyors, not all of their helpers are great helpers, and they may or may not be the best draftsmen either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Alaskan_Son said: Agreed. That's how it SHOULD be, but not all surveyors are great surveyors, not all of their helpers are great helpers, and they may or may not be the best draftsmen either. Boy is that ever an understatement! I have found over the years that 40 to 60% of the surveys I get are not correct. Two months ago I had it out with a client who just had a survey done that cost him $950.00 and I told him that survey was way off by as much as 4' in two areas which was where we were doing the remodel. He said that couldn't be for they had a very good reputation. I finally had to meet the client out there and physically show him where it was off. He was shocked and couldn't believe it. I told him to have them do the survey again because if I found two places off that much that I didn't trust the supplied survey. They finally gout it right. I played hell initially on that job trying to get my initial dimensions of the as-built to come close to matching the survey. I find that most surveys can be off by 3 to 5 inches. There have been times when a survey has been bad and the client got a different survey company to do another one and have found that the differences from the house to the property lines were different. So now which one do you trust? I helped one person in California years ago who had a dwg of the property and I couldn't make it work. Come to find out that the survey company told us that there was a typo on the bearing distance and would correct it. Anyway, I take all surveys with a grain of salt but it's the only legal document I can use to create a site plan. It's amazing what they can get away with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlackore Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 9 hours ago, tommy1 said: I have found over the years that 40 to 60% of the surveys I get are not correct. ... I take all surveys with a grain of salt but it's the only legal document I can use to create a site plan. Sometimes I run into bad surveys. On commercial work it's rarely an issue because the surveys are done by large civil engineering firms. Residential can be more troublesome, which is why we usually recommend a surveyor we know and trust, or hire the surveyor ourselves and bill the client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitaldesigns Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I just had a problem with a surveyor on a residential addition project. The lot was sloped in several directions. We ordered a topo and boundary survey. We were taking down a large carport on the side of the house and building a two story addition in its place. When I got the survey they showed that at two of the posts holding up the carport were each in there own 6' deep holes. This was not correct. The posts were at grade, not in a 6' deep hole. The surveyor also showed contour line under the existing house, again showing that there was an 8' deep hole under the house. I asked the surveyor how he was able to survey under the house. He had no answer. He had to redo the survey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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