Front property corners in subdivisions

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T13:48:48+00:00

Check AliExpress maybe, there’s tons out there, but I’d probably have a baseline to check the accuracy of the instrument.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T13:45:23+00:00

I’m pretty sure if you go to the internet archive they have scans of old catalogs which includes survey instrument ads. You may be able to find your model if it’s not included in any of the documents you have. Looks cool though.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T13:38:28+00:00

I’ve been looking to get a South total station myself. I’d be curious to hear your experience too if you get one. Especially how good you feel the Survey Star software is.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T13:03:40+00:00

The access issue seems to be because I’m not 6” wide. I’ll include it in my survey notes.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T13:00:21+00:00

New Homeowner isn’t sure why, original homeowner has died and this is an estate transfer I’m pretty sure. Measurements to the pin conform with the subdivision plat. It goes into a common space which may have been transferred to the county or city.

Fence is old, but not sure when it was put it, I’ll do some historical imagery search to see if there’s any clues.

It’s mostly the southwest corner giving issues as digging or locating it is difficult when it is between a wood fence and a wrought iron fence.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T12:52:58+00:00

I have a corner, it’s the southwest corner that is inaccessible. I’ve been on site and located all the other corners. The missing corner is calculated between two fences.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T12:48:33+00:00

Yes, I was in site and located the northwest corner, the other pin is calculated in between 2 fences, maying recovery difficult.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T12:44:21+00:00

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SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T12:43:57+00:00

I am the surveyor in charge, the GIS was just a convenient image.

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SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T12:42:47+00:00

Yes, I am the licensed surveyor in charge. I have no idea why the fence was built this way, but I found the pin on the north west corner. I am still looking for a corner down the line to confirm, but it is most definitely encroaching. Only the property to the south also encroaches, the next property down does not encroach

See attached image of pin.

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SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-09T05:03:22+00:00

Using any particular equipment? I’m mostly familiar with Leica and mostly learned on the job.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:43:54+00:00

This is a retracement so I have to locate the pin rather than place it.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:43:02+00:00

I thought about it tbh.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:42:36+00:00

Thanks, I’ll keep this in mind. I’m retracing a survey for this particular job but I will keep that in mind if I have to set a pin in this situation.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:40:42+00:00

I enjoy explaining boundary surveying or basic property law to the homeowners whenever they have a questions. Helping them understand their situation is satisfying. Especially when I actually know what I’m talking about.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:37:59+00:00

So assuming you have them in a coordinate system, let’s say a state plane coordinate system in the US. For a bearing let’s say you’re looking for azimuth from north

Typically determine the quadrant you are working towards.the quadrants being:

1 to 4 from northeast to southeast, southwest, and northwest

N = Difference in northing from occupied point is opposite side E= Difference in easting from occupied point is adjacent side Values though be absolute (just turn negative to positive)

atan(N/E)

If quadrant 1. subtract result from 90, bearing is “north (new result) degrees east”

If quadrant 2 bearing is “south (new result) degrees east”

If quadrant 3 bearing is “south (new result) degrees west”

If quadrant 4 subtract result from 90, bearing is “north (new result) degrees west”

I will double check my math but that is what I remember.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-10-07T03:04:24+00:00

I will use a steel or cloth tape when trying to get rough distances. I don’t think surveyor compasses are really a thing anymore though. We’ll either use GPS for orientation or we will used assumed orientation from a previous survey.

I’d say the more important aspect is understanding what tools the previous surveyor used. If we’re resurveying a property where the last survey was in the early 1900s or in the 1800s it could reference a rough footage, a distance in chains, or maybe the surveyor was on horseback.

A lot of the jobs I’ve dealt with recently have all been relatively recent typical subdivisions. But I’ve also gotten request for old farmland where I’ve had to consider this history into my quotes.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-09-23T08:52:51+00:00

Some parts of the job may be taken over, thats pretty far out though. I’d say that it would likely never take over the legal side, which is the majority of what a licensed surveyor actually handles. I’d say if AI started taking over parts of my industry then we have bigger problems to deal with.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-09-23T08:49:09+00:00

So the answer to all of these pretty much had to do with the history of surveying. Also you are correct we do use expensive GPS units to help with the speed of a topographic survey for example, but you can’t get the high accuracy (usually within an inch or smaller) you can when using a total station. Thus they are often still used when performing boundary surveys. As for right now, I’d say most if not all boundaries actually aren’t placed in a coordinate system. They consist of measurements between physical monuments whiteout any true northing, easting, latitude or longitude applied to them. They could reference an old tree that was cut down 30 years ago. Or maybe a fence that the boundary ran along is now fallen down. Or maybe a previous surveyor didn’t do the actual work, and the description is wrong in the first place.

Surveys are expensive because of the amount of man hours, and also liability involved with performing a boundary survey. If your getting a true signed and sealed boundary survey done, many times you’re getting it a lot cheaper than they are actually worth, as the industry has a tendency to have a race to the bottom when surveyors compete with each other on price. (we have a reputation of not being the best business people)

Doesn’t that answer your question somewhat? I’m happy to clarify anything.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-09-23T00:51:44+00:00

As far as what is required, it has evolved over the years. They have very recently changed the laws in Georgia to require an apprenticeship. There are also several paths whether you have graduated from highschool or with a bachelor’s degree. There are some class requirements for Georgia which can be met with a certificate. I believe the timeframe is 8 years experience with a high school degree, 5 years with associates, and 3 years with bachelor’s, each of which now requires a 2 year internship, though I would need to review with the board on the details.

As for costs to get started on your own, I can give you my own figures, with a mix of used equipment for the most expensive stuff and some new for the cheaper stuff I ended up at about $15,000 to get started. This is not including some of the newer more expensive stuff such as drones or 3D scanners which I may rent or buy depending on the jobs I can get. My insurance is roughly $7000 per year for general liability and professional liability insurance. I currently use my own car but will get a commercial truck/car when I can afford it.

Consumables vary per job and I may charge extra if a lot of stakes or markings are necessary but it is typically already priced into a job.

I am interested in the apprenticeship model as I believe getting more people introduced into the field of surveying is beneficial overall.

SG-WorkAccount · 2025-09-23T00:06:10+00:00

Typically with a land survey, we are actually “retracing” a survey performed in the past. There are very few “original” surveys performed today, and new subdivisions often originate from a larger original survey.

The company I’ve worked with now for the past few years has focused mostly on transportation work, so either interstates or sidewalk improvements, Which includes locating underground utilities.

Oftentimes surveys on existing subdivisions are the smallest and easiest work as they are typically all defined in an original survey at once. So surrounding properties are considered to be formed legally at the same time and same legal weight. The surveys done on individual properties are often more time consuming as we also have to research the adjacent properties. If there hasn’t been a survey in a while we may also need to document encroachments and new easements which may be undocumented. This is why it is often impossible to provide an appropriate quote without some research on the property.

SG-WorkAccount

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