The Different Forms of Land Surveys

While most people think about land surveys in the standard sense, the drawing of the boundaries of a house, in actuality there are lots of varied and different means of surveying that service a variety of industries. Property surveys certainly are a large the main business, but there are also surveys and surveyors that service the construction industry, the environmental sector, and many others. The kinds of surveys that are conducted would surprise most people, and some things that it might seem are surveys aren't surveys at all. Instead of the standard two-dimensional measuring in one point to another, today's surveys not merely measure the land, but also the air and water above and below us.

The most typical and well-known surveys conducted today are boundary surveys, mortgage surveys, and topographic surveys. An ALTA survey, which is actually a shortened title for ATLA/ACSM, combines elements of all three, with a couple of standards put forth jointly by the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. ALTA surveys are mostly useful for commercial properties; with a universal standard, companies can assure themselves of the level of thoroughness and be confident when the results are guaranteed by an ALTA survey.

Boundary Surveys are just what the name describes: a survey to establish the real boundaries of confirmed property. Through previously recorded markers and the establishment of new landmarks, a surveyor will establish the real boundaries of a property and then mark the corners and lines of the plot, using markers such as for example iron rods, pipes or concrete monuments in the bottom, or nails occur concrete or asphalt. During the past, piles of stones, trees or other, less permanent markers were used, which resulted in confusion when the markers were either destroyed or changed.

Mortgage Surveys are simple surveys that, generally, determine land boundaries and building locations. They're usually required by title companies and lending institutions when they provide financing to show that there are no structures encroaching on the house and that any structures on the house meet current zoning and building codes. It is important to ensure that you are getting an officially licensed mortgage survey performed by a licensed land surveyor, rather than a mortgage inspection, that is a substandard survey which will not abide by any set standards and isn't regulated or accepted as an official land survey.

Topographic Surveys are land surveys which locate natural and man-made features. For example, buildings, improvements, fences, elevations, land contours, trees and streams. They are then measured for their elevation on a particular parcel, and presented as contour lines on a plot. Topographical surveys are occasionally required by the government. Engineers and architects also use topographical surveys to aid in the look of improvements or developments on a site.

One of many largest and most rapidly growing segments of land surveys are in the construction industry. Surveys are crucial tools from inception and planning, to actual construction and maintenance afterwards. Most construction surveys are categorized as the discipline of civil engineering, which might require additional degrees and certifications so that you can conduct. All construction projects begin with the Plot Plan or Site Plan, which sets out the plan for the entire project, including all existing and proposed conditions on confirmed site. As-Built Surveys are conducted several times throughout a construction project to verify for local and state boards that the task authorized was completed to the specifications set on the plot plan. Foundation Surveys certainly are a kind of as-built survey which collects the positional data on a foundation that has been poured and is now cured. Foundation surveys are done to make sure that the foundation has both been constructed in the correct location and has been built in the proper manner according to the plan.

For existing  Check out the post right here , a Deformation Survey determines if a structure or object is changing shape or moving. By the taking of three-dimensional positions on specific points on an object, then letting a period of time pass before retaking and measuring the points, a determination of whether a structure is moving can be made.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, land surveyors are also in charge of performing Hydrographic and Bathymetric Surveys. Hydrographic surveys collect data relating to any body of water, and the data collected can include the water depth, bottom contours, the direction of the current, observing and recording high water marks and water levels, and location of fixed objects and landmarks for navigational purposes. They can also be conducted to assemble information for engineering or resource management purposes, such as for example hydro power plants. Bathymetric surveys deal exclusively underwater, and map the seabed profile.

Geodetic surveys fall under both the land and water category, because they map out the shoreline. Thomas Jefferson commissioned a geodetic survey in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast. Progress on the survey moved slowly initially, as they did not even have the proper instruments to execute the survey until 1815. It still exists today as the National Geodetic Survey and its own responsibilities now are the interior lands of america and also its coasts.

Wetlands Delineation and Location Surveys belong in a category all on their own; they are performed when construction work that is being planned on or near a niche site containing defined wetlands. Local, state, or federal regulations vary, but wetlands are often classified as areas which are completely inundated with water a lot more than two weeks through the growing season. Boundaries of wetlands are dependant on observing the soil colors, vegetation, erosion patterns or scour marks, hydrology, and morphology of the land in question. Data is then collected on the locations of the placed flags and an idea is drawn to reference the boundary of the wetlands and compare it to the proposed boundaries of the encompassing plots or parcels of land and the construction work proposed within.

While there are many more types of land surveys, to list all of them and their attributes would create a very long article. Your options presented above are simply the most common forms of land surveys, and those that everyone is most likely to encounter.