Building a house? Three surveying steps you can’t get a permit or registration without
Design base map, building setting-out and as-built survey — what they are, when you need them and how to save time and money on a new build in Croatia.
When building, people mostly talk about the architect, the contractor and materials. The surveyor is mentioned in passing — yet they are actually the first and the last expert on your project. They survey the site before the first sketch and survey the finished building before registration.
Here are the three surveying steps every new build goes through.
1. Base map for design
Before the architect draws the first line, they need to know what the site is like: parcel boundaries, levels, existing buildings, trees, fences, utilities and roads.
That is why we prepare a topographic base map (a survey of existing conditions) and, depending on the type of works and regulations, a special survey base map for the main design.
Why it matters: a design based on inaccurate data leads to design changes, delays and — at worst — building too close to the boundary.
For larger parcels and demanding terrain we can also produce the base map by drone — with a complete relief model and an orthophoto.
2. Setting-out the building
Once you have a building permit, the design must be transferred onto the site. Setting-out means a licensed surveyor precisely marks the position of future walls, axes and levels on site — according to the design, not by eye.
A setting-out report is prepared and kept as part of the documentation on site. An error of a few tens of centimetres at this step can later mean a mismatch with the design, problems at the technical inspection or a dispute with a neighbour.
Tip: agree the setting-out with your contractor so that the stakes and marks stay protected until excavation starts.
3. As-built survey
When the building is finished, an as-built survey report is prepared. It is the basis for the technical inspection and use permit, and for recording the building in the cadastre and entering it in the land register.
Only after this step is your house formally “on paper” — ready for a mortgage, sale or inheritance.
How to save time and money
- Involve the surveyor early — before buying the land or at least before design.
- Check that the cadastre and land register match — differences are better solved before construction.
- Use the same surveyor through all phases — data builds on itself and there is no duplicated work.
- Plan the timeline — setting-out and the as-built survey follow the pace of the site.
A complete service, start to finish
Together with our partners — architects and engineers — we offer a complete service from the first base map to registration. You have one contact person, and we make sure all the pieces fit together.
Planning to build? See our new construction services or contact us — we’ll gladly look at your parcel.