Resi, UK’s Leading Home Extension Company, Serves More Customers With Matterport

Founded in 2016 with the vision of opening up fast, affordable, high-quality architectural services for every UK home, Resi is now the UK’s number-one home extension company. Since 2016, the business has expanded its platform to offer customers financing and supplier marketplace services, managed via a single, intuitive online dashboard.

Initially, Resi surveyors would undertake measured surveys for Resi customers by hand – a time-consuming process that was highly susceptible to human error. As Head of Predesign at the time, Lisa Westmacott, now Special Projects Lead at Resi, led the shift to laser scanning with the purchase of several 3D laser scanners in 2019.

“Accurate measurements are vital because they set a project up for success. We wanted to improve accuracy, productivity and quality,” Lisa explains. “The cameras we bought at that time were commonly used in larger commercial projects. They were very expensive but, using them, we were able to cut the average survey time from four hours to two.”

Shortly after the laser scanners were purchased, activity necessarily scaled back as a result of the pandemic lockdowns. At the same time, Resi began moving to a model which relied less on contractors and more on building an internal team of surveyors.

When the team began expanding again, Resi decided to review the market to ensure that the original decision was still the best. She says, “We realised the launch of the Matterport Pro 3 camera in 2021 had changed things.”

“We are always trying new technologies but I encountered a lot of scepticism and negativity in the industry as to whether Matterport could be accurate enough. It felt like a big risk because there weren’t many architectural businesses using Matterport,” Lisa continues. “We did a lot of due diligence. We tested numerous projects with both Matterport and the original 3D laser scanner. These trials demonstrated that Matterport delivers the accuracy we need.”

Resi’s surveyors love the new Matterport Pro 3 cameras. “They are lighter in weight and easier to use. That’s important when you’re carrying them around all day,” reports Lisa.

What’s more, Resi has reduced the average survey time by another half hour – down to just an hour and a half. Resi takes on approx. 150 new projects each month, so these time savings are significant. 

Lisa explains, “The switch to Matterport has saved us time on site. We are also saving processing time. Our survey team members spent three days on-site and two in the office. Now, because the processing is so much faster and easier, they only spend one day each in the office. Each surveyor has gained an extra day onsite. The same team can achieve much more.”

The productivity gains don’t stop there. Training and induction have also been streamlined, thanks the Matterport’s ease of use. Onboarding now takes one to two weeks, rather than three – of huge importance as Resi grows its national network of surveyors.

Choosing Matterport enabled Resi to make an 85 per cent saving on the hardware costs – making furnishing each of the growing national team of surveyors with a 3D laser scanner a viable option.

“Some of those cost savings are offset by the cost of the Matterport platform,” Lisa admits, “But the platform creates new possibilities for us – things we couldn’t have done before.”

One important advantage is the new ease with which information and 3D models can be shared – internally, with partners, with contractors and with customers. For example, structural engineers can access accurate 3D models, which speeds up the process of issuing calculations without the need for an additional site visit.

“Our customers enjoy a better experience. They are busy so they don’t want extra visits if they aren’t needed, and they are happy that the process is more streamlined,” reports Lisa. “Our customers love the Matterport 3D models as well. It’s enabled us to do a lot of new things, innovating with marketing and trialling virtual reality tours.”

Lisa concludes, “Our switch to Matterport has been very successful and we’ve enjoyed great productivity gains, we’re now in our customer's homes for less time (which is great for them!) and we spend less time in the processing phase, it’s a win-win.  We’ve completed more than 600 projects since the switch to Matterport and we’ve not had a single problem. Our aim is to enable all homeowners to extend their homes easily, and Matterport helps us to do just that!”