What Surveyors Do
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Land surveyors are licensed to locate the rights of people (or entities) on the ground. That may be a real property boundary such as a lot with a house on it, wooded lands, or the limits of an easement which gives rights to others to use your land, like a power line easement which may be used to serve your house and the houses of your neighbors as well. Locating the rights can involve showing on the ground where the limits of the rights or ownership are, but it can also involve showing on paper or in digital form where those lines are and how they relate to each other. Such a map is commonly called a map or plat, but can also be called an exhibit, a plan or a topo (topographic map) depending on the circumstances. Locating rights on the ground is the sole purview of licensed land surveyors, as was upheld by a Florida Supreme Court case.
A recent change to the law in Missouri states that the only people allowed to create new property descriptions, including rights-of-way and easements, are licensed land surveyors. Lawyers and individual property owners may no longer write new descriptions for property rights. The reason for this is that it is not unusual for poorly written descriptions to cause problems with the ability to locate rights on the ground.
As an example, I have seen many utility easements which call for utilities as built in the field, where the utility lines were later removed and there are no longer any records or witnesses to the old location of the lines. In such a case, the easement often remains in existence, but unusable because its location cannot be determined, or the utility then insists it can put in new facilities wherever it wants with no approvals from the property owner.
In another recent case, I saw a full page description of a property which called for “Jones” to own parcels A (10 acres) and B (40 acres) and C (30 acres), except what was previously sold to “Smith”. After some research, I found that “Smith” was sold parcels B and C, so that “Jones” only owned the 10 acres of parcel A. A properly written new description could have been reduced from one page to five lines in length, significantly reducing the confusion for everyone involved.
“Land surveying is like a puzzle. All the pieces have to fit together.”
– C. Stephen Heying, PLS
What Land Surveyors Do In The Office
Surveying a piece of land is a process with many steps. It typically begins with researching the records for the property with the County Assessor for ownership information, tax maps, air photos and clues as to what is recorded in the County Clerk’s office. At the County Clerk’s office, we may find plats, maps, deeds and easements. A copy of a deed abstract or title commitment is tremendously helpful and sometimes required in order to do the job properly. Additional records that may be searched include State highway plans, monument records filed with the State, USGS topographic maps, State survey repository records, in-house records, the records of other surveyors if we think they might have something that would be useful. Other records may also be consulted as available and required.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Field
With the research completed, the next task is to go out in the field and look for useful information. Using the record information, air photos, tape measures and experience, try to find existing monuments. This task is aided with the use of magnetic locator, which is very good at finding magnetized objects, such as nails, rebar and pipes. While searching for the monuments, we also plan on how we will be locating the monuments and other objects and points needed for the survey.
Land Surveyors are expert measurers of land. We use both modern technology and traditional methods to measure where things are located relative to each other and sometimes relative to standard reference marks, such as benchmarks or the center of the Earth.
“Geographic intelligence is the art of ‘knowhere’.” - Jonathan Cole, PLS
In the case of retracement surveying, we are charged with following in the footsteps of the previous surveyors, which means we must understand the methods, equipment and limitations of the earlier survey work performed, all the way back to using compasses and chains for measuring.
“Most people become surveyors because they love being outdoors most of the year, but if you think field work is easy, try hiking up and down hills with a forty pound load on your shoulders and under your arms, then do mathematical calculations while standing in the sun on a 100 degree day with 60% humidity; and get the correct answer.,”
In the world of surveying, locating an object means determining its mathematical coordinates relative to all the other points of interest. This can be done using many different tools and is why land surveyors are considered to be expert measurers of land. Some of these tools include Differential GPS, total stations, compasses, tape measures, levels, plumb bobs and, sometimes, even pacing. Every measuring method has advantages and disadvantages, including cost, accuracy and time. Each measuring method requires a different set of skills to achieve the accuracy required and also requires a good understanding of accuracy, precision and statistics in general.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Office, Part 2
Once the data from the field is collected, we then have to make sense of it. For a topographic map, this is simply applying the skills and software to create a map that shows the existing field conditions, however, a boundary survey is a different thing entirely. With a boundary survey, the surveyors must understand land law, local history, survey history, and how each of these apply to that particular piece of property. Entire books have been written about this subject and doing it properly requires years of study and practice under the mentorship of a licensed land surveyor. The professional judgment of the land surveyor is used to weigh the evidence found, from both the field work and the records research, and to come to a well supported conclusion as to where the boundary is located.
These are a few of the basic underlying principles behind land surveying. Keep in mind that the law may modify any of these, depending on the circumstances. Please remember, I am not a lawyer. Land surveying bridges the worlds of law, mathematics and the land as it is found in the ‘real’ world. Every situation is different. If you have questions regarding the law, please consult a qualified attorney.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Field, Part 2
Once the boundary determination has been made, most of the time we need to go back into the field in order to show on the ground where the boundary line is. This typically means setting new monuments where none were found before and setting nails or monuments on the boundary line so that you can see from one point to the next along the line. If you want more points than what is the minimum required by regulation for the survey, now is a good time for them to be set. These extra points come in handy for following long lines through brush or woods, over hills, or just so that a fence line may be placed accurately.
A recent change to the law in Missouri states that the only people allowed to create new property descriptions, including rights-of-way and easements, are licensed land surveyors. Lawyers and individual property owners may no longer write new descriptions for property rights. The reason for this is that it is not unusual for poorly written descriptions to cause problems with the ability to locate rights on the ground.
As an example, I have seen many utility easements which call for utilities as built in the field, where the utility lines were later removed and there are no longer any records or witnesses to the old location of the lines. In such a case, the easement often remains in existence, but unusable because its location cannot be determined, or the utility then insists it can put in new facilities wherever it wants with no approvals from the property owner.
In another recent case, I saw a full page description of a property which called for “Jones” to own parcels A (10 acres) and B (40 acres) and C (30 acres), except what was previously sold to “Smith”. After some research, I found that “Smith” was sold parcels B and C, so that “Jones” only owned the 10 acres of parcel A. A properly written new description could have been reduced from one page to five lines in length, significantly reducing the confusion for everyone involved.
“Land surveying is like a puzzle. All the pieces have to fit together.”
– C. Stephen Heying, PLS
What Land Surveyors Do In The Office
Surveying a piece of land is a process with many steps. It typically begins with researching the records for the property with the County Assessor for ownership information, tax maps, air photos and clues as to what is recorded in the County Clerk’s office. At the County Clerk’s office, we may find plats, maps, deeds and easements. A copy of a deed abstract or title commitment is tremendously helpful and sometimes required in order to do the job properly. Additional records that may be searched include State highway plans, monument records filed with the State, USGS topographic maps, State survey repository records, in-house records, the records of other surveyors if we think they might have something that would be useful. Other records may also be consulted as available and required.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Field
With the research completed, the next task is to go out in the field and look for useful information. Using the record information, air photos, tape measures and experience, try to find existing monuments. This task is aided with the use of magnetic locator, which is very good at finding magnetized objects, such as nails, rebar and pipes. While searching for the monuments, we also plan on how we will be locating the monuments and other objects and points needed for the survey.
Land Surveyors are expert measurers of land. We use both modern technology and traditional methods to measure where things are located relative to each other and sometimes relative to standard reference marks, such as benchmarks or the center of the Earth.
“Geographic intelligence is the art of ‘knowhere’.” - Jonathan Cole, PLS
In the case of retracement surveying, we are charged with following in the footsteps of the previous surveyors, which means we must understand the methods, equipment and limitations of the earlier survey work performed, all the way back to using compasses and chains for measuring.
“Most people become surveyors because they love being outdoors most of the year, but if you think field work is easy, try hiking up and down hills with a forty pound load on your shoulders and under your arms, then do mathematical calculations while standing in the sun on a 100 degree day with 60% humidity; and get the correct answer.,”
In the world of surveying, locating an object means determining its mathematical coordinates relative to all the other points of interest. This can be done using many different tools and is why land surveyors are considered to be expert measurers of land. Some of these tools include Differential GPS, total stations, compasses, tape measures, levels, plumb bobs and, sometimes, even pacing. Every measuring method has advantages and disadvantages, including cost, accuracy and time. Each measuring method requires a different set of skills to achieve the accuracy required and also requires a good understanding of accuracy, precision and statistics in general.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Office, Part 2
Once the data from the field is collected, we then have to make sense of it. For a topographic map, this is simply applying the skills and software to create a map that shows the existing field conditions, however, a boundary survey is a different thing entirely. With a boundary survey, the surveyors must understand land law, local history, survey history, and how each of these apply to that particular piece of property. Entire books have been written about this subject and doing it properly requires years of study and practice under the mentorship of a licensed land surveyor. The professional judgment of the land surveyor is used to weigh the evidence found, from both the field work and the records research, and to come to a well supported conclusion as to where the boundary is located.
These are a few of the basic underlying principles behind land surveying. Keep in mind that the law may modify any of these, depending on the circumstances. Please remember, I am not a lawyer. Land surveying bridges the worlds of law, mathematics and the land as it is found in the ‘real’ world. Every situation is different. If you have questions regarding the law, please consult a qualified attorney.
- Someone always owns the property, it just may be very difficult to determine who it is.
- In some cases, junior-senior rights apply, which basically means that you cannot sell the same property to two different people. Whomever bought the property first, gets it. This includes narrow strips.
- Simultaneous property transfers, such as when lots are created in subdivisions, do not have junior-senior rights. They set the distances proportionally based on the platted distances.
- The record is the dominant source of declaration of rights. The record beats verbal commitments in almost all cases.
- Adverse possession does not exist until a judge says so. Claiming a piece of property by adverse possession is generally very time consuming and expensive. The situation must also meet a very strict set of rules to see if it is eligible for adverse possession.
- Barring gross error or fraud, the original survey is without error, with extremely rare exceptions that must be decided by a judge.
- The recorded survey and the monuments in the ground are both evidence of a boundary location, not proof of a boundary location. The professional judgment of a Land Surveyor is commonly relied upon to decide the location. If that location becomes disputed, only a court of law can make the determination, which is time consuming and expensive.
What Land Surveyors Do In The Field, Part 2
Once the boundary determination has been made, most of the time we need to go back into the field in order to show on the ground where the boundary line is. This typically means setting new monuments where none were found before and setting nails or monuments on the boundary line so that you can see from one point to the next along the line. If you want more points than what is the minimum required by regulation for the survey, now is a good time for them to be set. These extra points come in handy for following long lines through brush or woods, over hills, or just so that a fence line may be placed accurately.