Remote Site Survey with Photos for Gas Projects
Updated: 2026-10-27
The first job in a natural gas project is the survey: where is the service box, where will the meter go, which wall will the boiler hang on, is the room big enough? Visiting every site takes time. A remote survey with photos taken by the customer or a field team gives a first answer to most of these questions.
This guide explains GazPlan's survey feature and what can be read from photos. The key warning up front: measurements taken from photos are approximate. Use them for a first assessment and quotation; dimensions that go into the project are checked on site.
Why survey with photos?
- Fewer unnecessary site visits before a quotation.
- Missing information shows up early (no vent, boiler in a bedroom, etc.).
- The photos stay in the project file, so there is no later "what was there?" question.
- A draft plan starts taking shape during the survey.
Shot list
GazPlan's guided shot list has seven steps [5]:
| Step | What to shoot | Required | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service box | The gas service box outside the building and its surroundings | Yes | Box cover and building entrance in one frame |
| Meter location | Where the meter is or will be | Yes | Tape an A4 sheet to the wall and include it |
| Boiler location | The wall for the boiler, with window and ceiling | Yes | Show the whole wall and the nearby window |
| Kitchen and cooker | General view of the kitchen and the cooker | Yes | From the doorway, whole room visible |
| Flue outlet | Chimney outlet for flued appliances, outside wall for room-sealed | No | From outside, with the windows |
| Windows and vents | Windows and any vents in rooms with appliances | Yes | Put an A4 sheet next to the vent |
| Other rooms | Hall and rooms the pipe will pass through | No | From one corner, showing the opposite corner |
The program tells you which required steps are missing.
Why these photos matter
Each step links to a rule in Turkish gas distribution company specifications:
- Boiler and kitchen: for A and B type appliances the room needs at least 1 m³ per kW; the net volume must be at least 8 m³ for B type and 12 m³ for A type [1].
- Vent: a room with A or B type appliances needs a permanently open vent of at least 150 cm² [1].
- Prohibited rooms: flued appliances cannot go in a bedroom, bathroom, toilet or open balcony [2].
- Meter location: the meter cannot go above a chimney, above a lift door, on a balcony or above the flat's front door [3].
- Flue outlet: a room-sealed appliance must not discharge into a balcony, light well or corridor; there must be at least 3 m to the opposite building [4].
For the details, see the flue and ventilation rules guide.
Scale: measuring with an A4 sheet
To measure a length in a photo you need a reference of known size. The options in GazPlan [5]:
- A4 sheet, long edge: 29.7 cm
- A4 sheet, short edge: 21 cm
- Interior door width: assumed 80 cm (pick "another known length" if your door differs)
- Tile: you enter its size
- Another known length
How to do it:
- Tape the A4 sheet flat to the wall you want to measure.
- Take the photo as square-on to the wall as you can.
- Tap the two corners of the sheet and select the reference.
- Tap the two points you want to measure; the length is shown in metres.
Why are the measurements approximate?
The length is found by scaling against the reference object's size in pixels. That only works when:
- The measured item lies in the same plane as the reference (the same wall), and
- The photo was taken square-on to that wall.
Oblique shots, depth differences and wide-angle lens distortion at the edges all introduce errors. That is why photo measurements are flagged "verify" in the program. For values close to a limit, such as a room very near 8 m³, always measure with a tape.
Labelling
You can place these labels on a photo: combi boiler, cooker, water heater, space heater, meter, flue, window, service box, vent and a free note. Labels do two jobs:
- Anyone reading the photo sees at once what is where.
- When transferring to the plan, appliances land in the right room.
From photo to plan
With "Add room and appliances to plan":
- You enter the room's width, depth and ceiling height, and the room is added to the plan.
- Appliance labels in the photo become symbols inside the room. Their horizontal position is taken roughly from the photo.
- If the photo has a vent label, the room is given a 150 cm² vent. Check the actual vent size.
- If there is a flue label, a flue symbol is added to water heaters and space heaters.
Then, in the Drawing tab, "Suggest installation" proposes pipe runs along the walls, avoiding door and window openings. If photos are not possible, "Quick add room" adds a room from its width, depth and ceiling height.
Survey by video
A short video can be uploaded instead of photos. The program picks the sharpest frames automatically. On a phone, the upload button opens the camera directly.
Survey report and next steps
A survey report with the labelled photos and notes can be printed. Survey photos are also included in the submission package prepared for approval. After the survey you move on to drawing and calculation; for the order, see how to draw a natural gas installation project.
Photos and project data are stored in the user's browser; use export to keep a backup.
Limitations
- A photo does not show hidden obstacles on the pipe route (beams, columns, inside shafts).
- A flue report and chimney sizing cannot be done from photos.
- The distribution company decides whether the meter and service box locations are acceptable.
- A remote survey does not replace on-site measurement and the engineer's review.
How to do it with GazPlan
Open GazPlan and go to the Survey tab. Upload a photo or video for each step in the shot list, add labels and set the scale with the A4 reference. Clear any missing-shot warnings. Use "Add room and appliances to plan" to create the draft plan, then "Suggest installation" in the Drawing tab to connect the pipes and check the calculation.
This guide is for information only; projects are prepared by a certified engineer and the distribution company's current specification prevails.
Sources
- İGDAŞ Doğal Gaz İç Tesisat Teknik Esasları (Technical Principles) 2017, p. 36.
- İGDAŞ 2017, pp. 36–37.
- İGDAŞ 2017, pp. 32–33.
- İGDAŞ 2017, pp. 39–40.
- GazPlan user notes (Survey tab: shot list, scale references, transfer to plan), 2026-10-27.