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The Essence of Land Surveying

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According to research, land surveying has existed ever since the beginning of recorded history. They believe that it has long been used in making the great pyramids; in which historians believe to be very accurate in the calculation of its land area. It was also used in ancient Egypt in re-establishing lost land boundary markers whenever Nile River overflowed its banks. Finally, historians believe that prominent people back then created this practice in order to have refined sharing of the lands they own.

land surveyingAlso, there are verses in the Bible that support the practice of land surveying

  •  Proverbs 22:28 Do not move the ancient boundary, which your fathers have set. 
  •  Deuteronomy 19:14 "You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.
  • Deuteronomy 27:17 'Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 

Now what does land surveying really mean?

Land surveying basically means measuring and mapping lands. It is the science of accurately calculating the land’s area; determining the points of distance between a land and another. The actual purpose of this is to establish land maps and set boundaries for ownership. It is commonly used in the execution of nearly every form of construction.  The system of land surveying has proved itself to be a very important factor in the development of human environment as the earth’s surface continues to change according to the lifestyle of people.

land surveyingJust imagine a world where people freely claim an area of land for their benefit without even thinking of the others. Imagine people crossing over another person’s land because there are no borders that would express the ownership of anyone. Imagine people building any construction they want in any land they prefer. Or just simply imagine your neighbors removing your fences. If this happens, it would lead to chaos. That is why land surveying has been made to follow.

The importance of land surveying is identical to its purpose. It is responsible in the establishment of the maps of every city, region, country, continent or the earth itself. Through this system, there would be definite borders blocking any people from owning what another person owns. With this procedure, the distribution of the vast space of land would be fair enough. Everything would be organized and regulated.  This would mean that the buildings, railroads and even our houses would be made without having any complications.

As you can see in books, magazines, websites and other things that contain information about our world’s structure, we can see that there are boundaries which separate one place from another. This diminishes the complications in the ownership of lands among people. Since humans tend to get selfish, it is best to have everything in order, up to the issue of allocating land areas for everyone. This is the real essence of land surveying.

Call Phenix City Land Surveying today at (334) 408-4311  or fill out a contact form request for more information concerning your land surveying needs.

What Is A Land Surveyor?

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A Land Surveyor is essential whenever you plan on building a house, buying or selling a property, or dividing your property amongst your children. Many land surveyor made it down to history. In fact, three of the four faces carved in Mt. Rushmore are land surveyors (Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were all three surveyors, Teddy Roosevelt was not.). Others popular names were Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (Lewis & Clark), Sir George Everest, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon (of the Mason-Dixon Line fame) and author Henry David Thoreau practiced for a time in Concord, Massachusetts.

What is a Land Surveyor?

A land surveyor is a person with the academic qualifications and technical expertise to measure and plot the lengths and directions of boundary lines and the dimensions of any portion of the earth’s surface (including natural and other structures). That definition is quite a mouthful, but in actuality the field of surveying (geomatics) includes many other facets.

If you plan to purchase a lot, build your dream house, divide your property to your children, or simply want to know the details of a land property, a land surveyor is the best person to help you out. A land surveyor locates the boundary of your property and the location of your home within that boundary to determine if there are any encroachments by your neighbors onto you or vice versa. Common encroachments are fences, driveways, etc.

These days a land surveyor in the United States is regulated and licensed by the various state governments. In Alabama, the Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors was established in 1935 to protect the public.  A land surveyor’s duty is “to safeguard life, health, and property, and to promote the public welfare by providing for the licensing and regulation of persons in the practices of engineering and land surveying. This purpose is achieved through the establishment of minimum qualifications for entry into the professions of engineering and land surveying, through the adoption of rules defining and delineating unlawful or unethical conduct, and through swift and effective discipline for those individuals or entities who violate the applicable laws or rules.”

How to become a land surveyor?

As of 2007, a newly licensed land surveyor is required to finish a four year degree in surveying or a closely related field, a four to eight years of on-the-job training under a licensed practicing surveyor. In addition to that, licensed land surveyors are mandated to attend 15 hours of continuing education annually to ensure that they are kept updated with the new know-hows that would help them on their professional growth.

What does a land surveyor do?

As part of a standard lot or mortgage survey of a property, expect your land surveyor to review tax maps, aerial maps, deeds, subdivision plats, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations and possibly even flood maps. For a typical lot survey, the subdivision plat is the most important of these because it tells the exact dimensions of your lot and the relative location of your property corners. The surveyor uses this to locate and/or re-establish your property corners.

In the field, a land surveyor will search for your property corners along with some of your neighbors’ corners. If yours can’t be found, they’ll measure the distances and angles between all of the points, locate the improvements on your property, including your house, pool, out-buildings, retaining walls, fences, driveways, sidewalks, and other home improvements. Other improvements like sanitary sewer mains, storm drainage ways, overhead power lines and the like are located because these might indicate an easement across the property. The plat should show these, but may not in all cases.

Once all of the field information is gathered, the crew chief takes the field notes and prepares a preliminary sketch of the work. This is passed along to a draftsperson who prepares the final outline for your use. The draftsperson will check all of the maps mentioned earlier to make sure that all building setback lines and easements are shown on the draft. The surveyed distances and directions are compared to the plat distances and directions as well. Any discrepancies or encroachments are shown on the drawing. Your lawyer may use the draft to determine if any other legal work is needed during the closing. The mortgage company or the bank may also use the survey for their records.

So now, what do you have for your money. You have a drawing which shows your house on your lot. You should have stakes and/or flagging by all of your property corners. Make sure you know where they are located. The actual corner is marked by an iron pin or pipe of some sort. (The type of monument should be shown in your survey drawing.) You might also want to take a look at them at least once a year to make sure they’re still there. (Even animals mark their territory more often than that.)

For more specific information about what type of survey you need, Contact your local land surveyor at Phenix City Land Surveying at  (334) 408-4311 or fill out a Contact form request.

The Basics of Land Surveying

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What is Land Surveying?

Land Surveying dates back to ancient history. Surveying is used for multiple projects.  A survey is done to establish a specific location of a parcel of land along with its exact acreage.  It is used to ascertain boundaries for defining an area of ownership and tax liability.  It is also used to identify a piece of property by a written legal description or to provide a review of the accuracy of an existing description. Data from land surveying is of the utmost importance with regard to buying and selling land, and is also used to insure a clean and marketable title.

Other types of Land Surveying

There are many different kinds of surveys that can be performed. Boundary surveying is typically done for undeveloped land. This type of land surveying measures the actual physical extent of the property in question. Most surveys progress through the basic procedures regardless of the type being done. Any pertinent deeds, contracts, maps or other documents that contain a description of the property’s boundaries are located, studied and interpreted. A determination is made of what the actual property description is deemed to be, along with the locations of any physical evidence of the boundaries. This can be in the form of both natural and man-made monuments or markers that exist in the field. The property is then measured to establish the boundaries, not only using the appropriate existing monuments but with the creation and referencing of new markers where necessary. Measurements are accomplished using a total station and other land surveying tools. A total station measures both vertical and horizontal angles, as used in triangulation networks. After these steps are accomplished, the property description and plat are prepared.

Results of land surveying

Interpreting the results of a land survey is not as difficult as it may first seem. For instance, a property plat will usually contain a directional orientation which is typically indicated with an arrow pointing north. It will contain the bearing and distance of each boundary line, the property lines of other properties shown on the plat, and the names of adjacent property owners listed in the areas of their property. Corner monuments, along with the names of any natural monuments (such as “Smith’s Creek”, for example) or a brief description of any unnamed natural monuments (such as the "30-inch pine tree”) are on the plat. There is also a title block containing the property’s location and name of owner, the surveyor’s name, the date the survey was performed, the scale of the plat and any other relevant data.

If you need the services of a surveyor for your land surveying needs, ALWAYS be sure that you’re hiring an experienced, certified, and highly competent professional surveyor. You can find out if the surveyor is licensed by visiting the Board of Licensure's website.

Call Phenix City Land Surveying today at  (334) 408-4311  or fill out a contact form request for more information concerning your land surveying needs.

"Only Transact with a licensed land surveyor for your land surveying needs"