We’ve received a number of questions about Chief Architect’s new As-Built scanning tool, and we’re excited to see more innovation in the space.
Chief Architect’s As-Built feature gives users the ability to scan a space, generate a floor plan, make edits, and import that plan directly into Chief Architect. Like RENDR, it uses Apple’s LiDAR technology to dramatically reduce the time it takes to measure an existing home.
Both products are capable tools, but they were designed with different users and workflows in mind:
Chief As-Built was built to get a plan into Chief Architect
RENDR was built for the entire field workflow, including (but not limited to) getting plans into Chief Architect
RENDR was built for the busy remodeler
RENDR wasn’t built simply to create floor plans—it was built to document an entire job site as quickly and accurately as possible.
Every feature in RENDR is centered around helping remodelers, contractors, estimators, and designers move efficiently through a home, capture everything they need, and get back to doing what they do best.
That means RENDR is much more than a scanning app. It’s a complete field documentation platform.
With RENDR you can:
Scan a property in minutes and generate an interactive floor plan.
Attach photos directly to spaces and mark them up
Add field notes, annotations, and markups directly to the plan while you’re still on site.
Decide whether to fully edit the floor plan in the field or simply document everything and make edits later from your office.
Capture ceiling heights, including vaulted and varying ceiling elevations.
Benefit from years of continued investment in measurement accuracy, object detection, and reconstruction quality.
Import
Built around your entire workflow
For many contractors, creating the floor plan is only the beginning.
Once a job site has been documented, that information needs to flow into estimating, project management, design, and production.
That’s where RENDR really shines.
RENDR is the foundation for an expanding ecosystem of integrations, including:
Chief Architect for CAD and design.
JobTread, allowing users to sync a scanned project and generate takeoffs that feed directly into estimates built from their own templates.
Buildxact, with additional integrations continuing to be added.
Our goal isn’t simply to create a floor plan—it’s to eliminate duplicate work throughout your entire remodeling process.
Accuracy matters
We’ve spent years refining the way RENDR reconstructs homes.
From improved object detection to cleaner wall geometry and support for complex ceiling conditions, our focus has always been creating plans that require less cleanup and inspire confidence in the field.
As RENDR continues to evolve, we’re investing heavily in making scans faster, more accurate, and easier to edit, while giving contractors more control over the final plan.
Which solution is right for you?
If your primary goal is occasionally creating a floor plan for use inside Chief Architect, the new As-Built feature may be a great option—especially since it’s included with Chief Architect.
If you’re looking for a purpose-built field documentation platform that helps your team capture photos, notes, measurements, floor plans, and integrates with estimating and project management workflows, RENDR continues to provide capabilities that go well beyond creating an as-built drawing.
Our philosophy
We’re genuinely excited to see spatial scanning becoming more accessible throughout the industry. Better tools raise expectations for everyone and help more contractors move away from tape measures and graph paper.
At RENDR, we’ll continue focusing on what we’ve always believed matters most: helping busy remodelers save time in the field, improve documentation, and build what matters.