Scoping Guide
Which 3D scan does your project actually need?
There are two grades of 3D scanning, and picking the wrong one costs you money or accuracy. Here is the honest breakdown of Matterport-grade reality capture versus survey-grade scanning, and a simple way to tell which one your project calls for.
The two grades
Centimeter-grade vs. millimeter-grade.
Reality capture
Matterport Pro3
±20mm
LiDAR-based, centimeter-grade, building and interior scale. Fast to capture, affordable, and delivered as a navigable 3D twin, point clouds, floor plans, and as-built CAD. This is what I run in-house.
The right tool for the overwhelming majority of design and construction work, where the decision the data feeds does not turn on a millimeter.
Survey grade
Terrestrial scanner + surveyor
~mm
Millimeter accuracy from a Leica or Faro-class instrument, tied to survey control by a licensed surveyor. Slower and more expensive, and required when the tolerance is real. I bring in a survey partner for this.
The right tool for boundary work, geo-referenced sites, and fabrication or structural tolerances where millimeters actually drive the outcome.
How to tell
Match the grade to the decision.
Matterport-grade is right for
- Existing-conditions capture for renovation, adaptive reuse, or additions
- Tenant-improvement and space-planning as-builts
- Construction progress documentation and MEP-before-drywall records
- Facility and closeout documentation for owners
- Historic and heritage building records for restoration and grants
- Marketing tours and listing presentation
Survey-grade is right for
- Boundary, ALTA, and legal property surveys (requires a licensed surveyor)
- Geo-referenced site data tied to a control network
- Large exterior sites, topography, and earthwork
- Steel or precast fabrication and tight-tolerance MEP clash where millimeters matter
- Deflection or structural-movement monitoring
The honest rule: if the data feeds a design, a renovation, a build, a closeout, or a marketing piece, Matterport-grade is the tool. If it feeds a legal boundary, a geo-referenced site model, or a fabrication tolerance, you want survey-grade. Plenty of projects use both, capture the interiors fast at reality-capture grade and bring survey control only where it is needed.
Straight answer
I will tell you which one you need.
A lot of scanning vendors will sell you the most expensive grade regardless of the job. I would rather scope it honestly. On the first call we figure out what the data has to do, and I tell you whether the Pro3 covers it or whether the project genuinely needs survey control.
If it is reality-capture work, I do it in-house, fast and affordable. If it needs survey-grade, I bring in a licensed survey partner and we handle it together. Either way you get the right grade for the decision, not an upsell.
Common questions
Reality capture vs. survey-grade, answered.
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What is the actual accuracy difference?
The Matterport Pro3 captures at centimeter-grade, roughly plus or minus 20mm. A survey-grade terrestrial scanner (a Leica or Faro-class instrument) captures at a few millimeters, tied to survey control. For most existing-conditions, renovation, TI, progress, and as-built work, centimeter-grade is exactly the right tool, and paying for survey-grade is money spent on precision the project will never use. When the tolerance genuinely matters, survey-grade is the right call and we bring in a partner. -
Which one do I get from Tex Kelly Productions?
In-house, I capture with the Matterport Pro3, centimeter-grade reality capture, and deliver 3D twins, point clouds, floor plans, and as-built CAD. For survey-grade tolerances, geo-referenced control, or a stamped survey, I coordinate with a licensed survey partner and scope it up front. You get the right grade for the job, and an honest answer about which one that is. -
Can Matterport-grade drawings be used for a permit?
For most renovation and tenant-improvement permits in Northern Arizona jurisdictions, yes. The drawings carry scan-derived measurements with an accuracy note. For anything that requires a stamped survey or boundary determination, that has to be certified by a licensed surveyor, which is where the survey partner comes in. -
Why not just always use survey-grade?
Cost and speed. Survey-grade capture and registration is slower and more expensive, and for existing-conditions and construction work it delivers precision the design never draws to. The honest recommendation is to match the grade to the decision the data feeds. We scope that on the first call so you are not overbuying.
Get started
Not sure which grade your project needs? Ask me.
Tell me what the scan has to do and I will tell you the right grade for it, honestly, on a 10-minute call. No upsell.