A measured survey of a typical single-story house takes one to two hours on site. Additions, split levels and basements each need their own reference. A house with several takes longer in proportion.

What a Chicago survey is reading against

The readings matter here because the ground does. Up to 44% of the mapped soil is clay, in hydrologic group D. That is ground that takes up and gives back water rather than passing it through. A single set of elevations on soil like this is a snapshot of a house that moves with the seasons. That is the argument for keeping the report rather than filing it.

The reasoning behind that

The time on site is mostly the readings. Elevations are taken at points across every floor plane, and a simple rectangular house over one basement is one plane. Every addition, every step down into a sunken room and every section over a crawl space is another. Each needs its own reference before the readings mean anything. Basement walls are read on their own, for bow and lean. Access is the other variable. Furniture, flooring, finished walls and stored belongings all hide the points a reading needs. A crawl space that cannot be entered is a section that cannot be assessed. Clearing access before the appointment shortens it materially. Time on site is not the same as turnaround. The report usually arrives afterwards: the readings, where each was taken, and the date. If a contract deadline is running, ask about that turnaround, not the length of the visit. If nothing arrives in writing at all, the visit produced an opinion, not a measurement. An opinion cannot be compared against a second reading next year.

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