Hire a fence guy you get a pretty fence you can look at.
Hire a surveyor you get a guy that wanders around scratching his head when all he needs to do is use the camera scope thingy to plot out the coordinates from Google Earth then he gives you a map with all sorts of unintelligible numbers on it.
There is a company here in Helena that's owned by brothers that marks "approximate property corners" all the time. They're also known for being the low-ballers in town.
Personally, I think any surveyor who sets a stake that says "approximate" is chicken-s**t and should have their license yanked. ❗
Good. Surveys should cost more than the fence.
Around here that is almost never the case. A fence costs materials + labor (which is the same as materials). Almost everyone just doubles the money when they bid a fence. If materials are $2000, the total job is $4000. Half up front to cover materials.
Its a family tradition with them boys. I've actually spoken with the corporate one in the last couple of weeks.
Honestly, I am amazed at the number of clients that will, in back-to-back sentences, tell you that they know your job better than you do, and also that they have no idea what all the numbers and symbols and text on your survey mean.
