ServicesScan-to-BIM

MEP BIM Modeling and Drafting from 3D Laser Scans

The mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems of an existing building are a part the old drawings often get wrong: ductwork rerouted during a fit-out, a sprinkler main moved for a new wall, conduit that follows no plan at all. We provide MEP BIM services for existing buildings in every US state, built from our own laser scans. The systems are modeled in Revit as they run today, at the level of development the project names, and the MEP drawings are cut from that model.

What the MEP model contains

The model holds the systems the scanner could see. On the mechanical side that is the ductwork with its diffusers, grilles and air handling units, and the hydronic piping with its valves; on the plumbing side the domestic water, gas and drainage lines with their fixtures; on the electrical side the conduit, cable tray, panels and switchgear; and the fire protection mains and branch lines with their sprinkler heads. Roof and mechanical room equipment, pumps, boilers, chillers and rooftop units, is modeled as objects of the right size in the right place. At LOD 300 each run is modeled so that its quantity, size, shape, location and orientation can be measured; at LOD 350 the model also shows how the runs meet each other and the structure, which is the level the BIMForum specification intends for construction-level coordination. A scan model is geometry: it records what is there and where. It does not carry design data such as flows, loads or pressures, and it is not a replacement for an engineer's calculation; shop drawings and quantity takeoffs are not part of it either.

The delivery is the Revit model in your version, the registered point cloud in E57 and RCP/RCS with its registration report, and, when ordered, the MEP drawings described below. For teams that coordinate outside Revit the model is delivered as IFC, the open standard ISO 16739-1:2024, or as an ArchiCAD file. A typical model is represented at LOA30 in the U.S. Institute of Building Documentation's Level of Accuracy terms, and the quote names the level with the LOD. The architecture and structure the systems hang from are modeled on the same scan; that scope is on the Scan-to-BIM page.

How the systems are scanned

Most of the systems in an office floor run above the ceiling, so an MEP scan is planned around access to the plenum. Where the ceiling is a lay-in grid, tiles are lifted on an agreed pattern, by us or by the facility as the scope says, and the scanner is raised to look along the runs; where the ceiling is hard, the systems are captured through access panels and at the mechanical rooms, shafts and risers that connect them. Mechanical rooms, electrical rooms and roofs are scanned station by station, as any other space, with a scanner of the Trimble X7 class that holds a 3D point accuracy of 2.4 mm at 10 m (one standard deviation) by its datasheet. Stainless pipe and galvanized duct are reflective; the datasheet lists a high sensitivity mode for dark and reflective surfaces, stainless steel among them, and it takes about twice as long for the same point spacing. The 3D laser scanning page describes the instrument and the registration.

What the scanner cannot see is not in the model. A run inside a wall, a pipe above a hard ceiling with no access, a duct hidden behind another duct: these are drawn only where the ceiling is opened or where an existing drawing shows them, and the model marks them as unverified. The scope, agreed room by room before the visit, says which ceilings may be opened and who opens them; the site preparation checklist covers the access questions, and for mechanical and electrical rooms an escort is often required.

Coordination and clash detection

The reason to model existing systems is usually new work that has to pass them: a new air handler on the roof, a rerouted main, a tenant fit-out with its own ductwork. Clash detection is the check that the new design does not run into what is already there. In Navisworks, Autodesk's coordination tool, a hard clash is one where "the geometry of selection A intersects that of selection B by a distance of more than the set tolerance", and a clearance clash is one where selection A "comes within a distance of less than the set tolerance" of selection B; the clearance test is how insulation thickness and maintenance access are checked. Autodesk describes the tool as searching "through your total project model, identifying cross-discipline interferences (clashes) earlier in the design process", and notes that it can test a design against a laser-scanned point cloud as well as against modeled geometry.

An existing-conditions model is what those tests usually run against. We deliver the model coordination-ready, with the runs and their interfaces modeled so the design team can run its own clash tests, and we run the tests against the client's new-work model when that is in the scope, reporting the clashes by system with their location in the building. Resolving a clash is a design decision and stays with the engineer of record.

MEP drafting: drawings from the model

MEP drawings of an existing building, the mechanical, plumbing, electrical and fire protection plans with the sections through the plenum, are cut from the model, so a duct on the plan and the same duct in the model are one object. The sheets follow the discipline split the client's engineers work in, in DWG and PDF, and the ceiling plans show the diffusers, lights and sprinkler heads where the scan found them. A 2D-only order, a single system or a small space with no model, is drawn straight from the cloud; for a whole floor with several systems the model is the usual route to the same sheets.

Price and time

MEP work is priced inside the building ranges by the number of systems in scope and how dense the plenum is. Typical ranges from recent projects: an office or a commercial floor with its systems, $3,000 to $9,000, with several systems and a crowded plenum toward the upper end; a house or an apartment, $2,000 to $4,500; large buildings run from $12,000 and are quoted on their own. The registered point cloud alone starts at about $1,200. The exact price comes in a quote within one business day of your sending the address, the systems you need and the LOD; the LOD 200 vs LOD 300 guide shows what each level means on real elements.

The scan is scheduled as soon as the project needs it, often within days of the order, and usually takes a day for a floor. The model usually follows in four to eight weeks for a commercial floor or a whole building, depending on the systems and the LOD. We scan in all 50 states.

Frequently asked questions about MEP BIM services

What are MEP BIM services?

Modeling a building's mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in Revit. For an existing building the model is built from a laser scan, so the ducts, pipes, conduit and sprinklers sit where they run today, and the MEP drawings are cut from it.

Which systems do you model?

Ductwork and air handling equipment, hydronic and plumbing piping, gas and drainage, electrical conduit, cable tray and panels, fire protection mains and sprinkler heads, and the roof and mechanical room equipment. The scope names the systems; what the scanner cannot see is marked as unverified.

What LOD do you model MEP to?

LOD 300 for most orders, where each run is modeled so that its quantity, size, shape, location and orientation can be measured, and LOD 350 where the model has to support coordination with new work and the interfaces between runs matter.

Can you scan above the ceiling?

Yes, where the ceiling can be opened. Lay-in tiles are lifted on an agreed pattern and the scanner looks along the runs; hard ceilings are captured through access panels and from the mechanical rooms and shafts. Runs with no access are not in the cloud.

Do you do clash detection?

The model is delivered coordination-ready, and clash tests against the client's new-work model are run when they are in the scope, with the clashes reported by system and location. Resolving them is the engineer's decision.

How much does an MEP model cost?

It is priced inside the building ranges: an office or a commercial floor with its systems usually costs $3,000 to $9,000, a house or an apartment $2,000 to $4,500, and large buildings are quoted on their own from $12,000. The quote arrives within one business day.

How long does it take?

A floor is usually scanned in a day, and the model usually follows in four to eight weeks, depending on the systems and the LOD.