Surveyor Directory

A land surveyor is an investigator of evidence. The land surveyor creates evidence on and under the ground to reference/preserve/perpetuate existing evidence. It is not the position of a land surveyor to make legal determinations; instead, the surveyor provides evidence that can be ruled on by a judge in a court of law (regarding legal decisions as to boundary lines). Evidence found and set by the land surveyor can be filed of record to be used for decisions as to land boundaries. In most States, it is the first one to the court house with that evidence that wins a boundary dispute unless other evidence is found with senior importance to the contrary. In most circumstances, the survey marker is of the highest priority as evidence of the boundary, unless evidence exists to show it was moved.

References to nearby survey markers are important when determining the “preponderance of evidence” for use by a judge who can set the legal boundary of land. A surveyor’s opinion is valuable as evidence for legal boundary decisions, by those in authority, to legally settle a boundary dispute. In most cases, it is wiser for both parties to obtain the evidence and settle the dispute with the help of a land surveyor, than to press a suit in court.

It has become more common for title companies to try forcing a surveyor to change the measured distances and bearings to match existing documentation. If the title company is invested in the closing and promoting a faster “close” to avoid the cost of record corrections, this is a conflict of interest. Title company employees may not understand the importance of a bearing base and measured boundary, based on points found and missing points set, and based on the best fit provided by the surveyor. This has become more and more of a problem with the lack of common knowledge of the importance of land surveying evidence. The survey boundary based on survey field evidence, especially measured boundary markers, should overrule previous written documentation that does not include the description of the survey markers found by the land surveyor.

Many do not understand the true meaning of a “metes and bounds” boundary description. The “bounds” or physical location and relationship of the survey markers has priority over the “metes” or measurements in the recorded description of a boundary. For example, an old measurement of 420 yards at a bearing of 120 degrees does not take priority over the actual positions of the survey markers on both ends, unless a marker is missing and needs to be re-set using that information. Other evidence that will verify the position of the missing marker, based on the senior evidence nearby as first priority, is preferred in such a case

The art of surveying

Many properties have considerable problems with regards to improper bounding, miscalculations in past surveys, titles, easements, and wildlife crossings. Also many properties are created from multiple divisions of a larger piece over the course of years, and with every additional division the risk of miscalculation increases. The result can be abutting properties not coinciding with adjacent parcels, resulting in hiatuses (gaps) and overlaps. The art plays a role when a surveyor must solve a puzzle using pieces that do not exactly fit together. In these cases, the solution is based upon the surveyor’s research and interpretation, along with established procedures for resolving discrepancies.

Land Surveyor:

Cadastral land surveyors are licensed by state governments. In the United States, cadastral surveys are typically conducted by the federal government, specifically through the Cadastral Surveys branch of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), formerly the General Land Office (GLO).^[10] In states that have been subdivided as per the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), the BLM Cadastral Surveys are carried out in accordance with that system. This information is required to define ownership and rights in real property (such as land, water, mineral, easements, rights-of-way), to resolve boundary disputes between neighbours, and for any subdivision of land, building development, road boundary realignment, etc.

The aim of cadastral surveys is normally to re-establish and mark the corners of original land boundaries. The first stage is to research relevant records such as land titles (deeds), easements, survey monumentation (marks on the ground) and any public or private records that provide relevant data. The job of a boundary surveyor retracing a deed or prior survey is to locate such monuments and verify their correct position. Over time, development, vandalism and acts of nature often wreak havoc on monuments, so the boundary surveyor is often forced to consider other evidence such as fence locations, woodlines, monuments on neighboring property, parole evidence and other evidence.

Monuments are marks on the ground that define location. Pegs are commonly used to mark boundary corners, and nails in bitumen, small pegs in the ground (dumpys) and steel rods are used as instrument locations and reference marks, commonly called survey control. Marks should be durable and long lasting, stable so the marks do not move over time, safe from disturbance and safe to work at. The aim is to provide sufficient marks so some marks will remain for future re-establishment of boundaries. Examples of typical man-made monuments are steel rods, pipes or bars with plastic, aluminum or brass caps containing descriptive markings and often bearing the license number of the surveyor responsible for the establishment of such. The material and marking used on monuments placed to mark boundary corners are often subject to state laws.

A total station, GPS or other instrument is set up over survey marks placed as part of a previous survey, or newly placed marks. The bearing datum is established by measuring between points on a previous survey and a rotation is applied to orientate the new survey to correspond with the previous survey or a standard map grid.

The data is analysed and comparisons made with existing records to determine evidence that can be used to establish boundary positions. The bearing and distance of lines between the boundary corners and total station positions are calculated and used to set out and mark the corners in the field. Checks are made by measuring directly between pegs places using a flexible tape. Subdivision of land generally requires that the external boundary is re-established and marked using pegs, and the new internal boundaries are then marked.

A plat (survey plan) and description (depending on local and state requirements) are compiled, the final report is lodged with the appropriate government office (often required by law), and copies are provided to the client.