# Interior Site Measurement Checklist: What to Record Before Design Starts

> A room-by-room site measurement checklist for Indian apartments and villas: walls, openings, ceilings, services and society rules, and how each measurement becomes a BOQ quantity.

## Category: project-management
- **Published**: 2026-10-25
- **Reading Time**: 7 min read
- **Author**: DecorFlow Editorial Team
- **Canonical HTML**: https://decorflow.in/blog/interior-site-measurement-checklist
- **Markdown Mirror**: https://decorflow.in/blog/interior-site-measurement-checklist.md

Most expensive mistakes on interior sites start at the first site visit: a wardrobe built to a wall that was 20 mm out of square, a kitchen plan that ignored the plumbing stack, a false ceiling designed under a beam nobody noted. This checklist covers what to record in each room before design starts, and how each measurement turns into a BOQ quantity.

> **Download the printable checklist**
>
> Use the [site measurement checklist (CSV)](/templates/interior-site-measurement-checklist.csv) in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. Print one sheet per room or fill it on a tablet.

## Before you reach the site

- [x] Floor plan from the builder or client, even if it is only a brochure plan
- [x] Client brief: rooms in scope, what stays, what goes
- [x] Laser distance meter, 5 m tape, spirit level or digital level, torch
- [x] A way to record in feet-inches or millimetres consistently (decide which before you start)
- [x] Phone or tablet charged for photos of every wall

## Walls: take three readings, not one

Walls in Indian apartments are rarely perfectly straight or square. Measure each wall at three heights (near the floor, at about 1 m, and near the ceiling) and note all three. Studio Matrx, a design-tools vendor, recommends exactly this and suggests sizing built-ins to the smallest reading so they don't jam at one end.

- Length of each wall at three heights
- Both diagonals of the room; if they differ, the room is out of square, so note by how much
- Plaster bulges or uneven corners where wardrobes or kitchen units will sit
- Wall material if known (brick, block, RCC) for fixing and drilling
- Seepage or damp patches, with a photo

## Openings: doors, windows and everything that cuts a wall

| Record | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Width and height of each door and window | Deducted from paint and wallpaper areas; decides wardrobe and bed positions |
| Sill height of each window | Decides whether a study table, seat or unit can sit below it |
| Distance of each opening from the nearest corner | Needed to draw elevations and place furniture |
| Door swing direction | A wardrobe shutter and a door that open into each other is a common snag |
| Balcony or sliding door tracks | Flooring and skirting have to stop around them |
| Beams and columns: drop below ceiling and projection from wall | Decide false ceiling levels and wardrobe depth |

## Ceilings

- Floor-to-slab height at two or three points in each room
- Beam drops and their positions
- Existing false ceiling: type, level, and whether it stays
- AC indoor unit positions and drain routes, if already fixed
- Fan hooks and existing light points

## Services: the measurements that move furniture

Services decide where kitchens, wardrobes and TV units can go. Missing one usually means civil rework later.

| Service | Record |
| --- | --- |
| Electrical | Distribution board location, existing switchboards and points per wall, phase (single or three-phase) |
| Plumbing | Plumbing stack and floor trap positions in kitchen, bathrooms and utility; inlet and outlet heights |
| Gas | Gas pipeline entry point and meter position in the kitchen |
| AC | Planned indoor unit positions, outdoor unit ledges, copper pipe and drain routes |
| Data and TV | Router position, TV points, inverter or UPS location |

## Site conditions and society rules

These don't appear in drawings but decide your schedule and cost:

- [x] Lift size and whether material can go up in it
- [x] Working hours allowed by the society
- [x] Society permission or NOC needed before work starts
- [x] Debris disposal point available
- [x] Water and power supply available on site
- [x] Parking and unloading space for material deliveries
- [x] Seepage or structural cracks to flag to the client before design

## Room-by-room: what to add for each room

| Room | Add to the standard readings |
| --- | --- |
| Kitchen | Platform height, sink and hob preferences, chimney duct route, gas point, plumbing stack, window over the platform |
| Bedrooms | Wall for the wardrobe (three readings), bed wall, AC position, balcony door clearance |
| Living and dining | TV wall length and points, false ceiling scope, main door swing, shoe rack space |
| Bathrooms | Floor trap and outlet positions, existing fittings that stay, ventilation, ceiling height under the duct |
| Utility and balconies | Washing machine inlet and outlet, drain, grille or railing type, floor slope |

## How measurements become BOQ quantities

A survey is only useful if each reading turns into a quantity someone can price. Here is one bedroom, with illustrative measurements.

Bedroom: 12 ft × 11.5 ft, floor-to-ceiling 9.5 ft. One door 3 × 7 ft, one window 5 × 4 ft. Wardrobe planned on the long wall, 7 ft wide and 8 ft high.

| BOQ item | Working | Quantity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wall painting | Perimeter 47 ft × height 9.5 ft = 446.5 sq ft, minus door 21 and window 20 | 405.5 sq ft |
| Ceiling painting or false ceiling | 12 × 11.5 | 138 sq ft |
| Skirting | Perimeter 47 ft minus door width 3 ft | 44 Rft |
| Wardrobe (shutter area) | 7 × 8 | 56 sq ft |

In practice the wardrobe area may also be deducted from the painted wall. Write down which way you measure so every BOQ from your studio is consistent. Our [BOQ format guide](/blog/interior-boq-format-guide-indian-firms) covers units and how to define them.

## Common measurement mistakes

- One reading per wall. The room turns out 15 mm narrower at the top and the wardrobe doesn't fit.
- Mixing units: some walls in feet-inches, others in millimetres, on the same sheet.
- No photos. Three weeks later nobody remembers which wall had the switchboard.
- Ignoring the plumbing stack and floor traps until the kitchen layout is already approved.
- Not noting society rules, so the schedule assumes work hours and lift access you don't have.

Measurement errors are one of the most common sources of cost overruns; see [how to avoid cost overruns](/blog/how-to-avoid-interior-project-cost-overruns-indian-firms).

## Recording the survey on a phone

Paper sheets work, but they have to be retyped into drawings and BOQs. DecorFlow's site survey records rooms on a phone in feet-inches or metric, with a feet-inches keypad, room templates seeded from the BHK type, wall-wise measurements with door and window deductions, a site conditions checklist and photos. It works offline and syncs later, and a completed survey can be turned into a BOQ. Site survey is included from the Starter plan; the Free plan does not include it. [See site survey](/features/site-survey).

[Start Free](https://app.decorflow.in/signup)

### Common questions

**How many readings should I take per wall?**

Three: near the floor, at about 1 m and near the ceiling. Use the smallest reading when sizing built-in furniture.

**Feet-inches or millimetres?**

Either works. Pick one per project and use it consistently on every sheet, drawing and BOQ.

**Should the client be present during measurement?**

Ideally for the first part, to confirm what stays and what goes. The measurement itself is quicker without interruptions.

**When should I re-measure?**

After civil work such as wall changes, plastering or flooring, and before ordering factory-made carpentry like modular kitchens and wardrobes.

## Sources

- [Studio Matrx: room measurement worksheet (vendor source)](https://www.studiomatrx.org/utilities/room-measurement), checked 25 Oct 2026