> 1. My main purpose in this exercise is to learn something new. Can you fault me at 58 yrs. old for wanting to learn? Nope, we cannot fault you. In fact, we like to find folks with the same entrepreneur instincts that we have.
> 2. The cost of most likely over $600 for a surveyor to do this job is cost prohibitive for me at this time. Especially since this is to simply know the end (side to side) border lines of my property. I am not putting up a fence or anything else. Just want to know where my property begins and ends. I would assume that helicopter engineers would have a better retirement plan. But, we surveyors often don't. Ok.
> 3. I have heard from my co-workers who have hired a surveyor that when he was finished he could only guarantee that his findings were 80% accurate. For $600, I expect 98% accuracy! This sounds weird. Most surveyors don't want 80% accuracy. (Kinda like helicopter pilots.)
> 4. I understand your comments about my need for better understanding of the process first and that I should leave this kind of job to the “professionals” but if I did that with everything in life, I would have been destitute a long time ago.
Boy, can I relate. No problem there.
> 5. I have already visited my county seat and the Recorder of Deeds Dept. Good
> They told me that nowhere in my county has any iron rods or any other kind of corner marker been implanted into the ground. They just don’t exist. He/She/It does not know what He/She/It is talking about. No surprise. Talk to one of your engineer compadres, about Land Surveying, and they probably would ASSUME that they knew more than they actual do.
> 6. Just spoke with the surveyor that did my development several years ago and he contradicts what the Recorder of deeds office told me to say that he thinks there is a metal stake/rod right at the curb that he knows of. This would mark the corner. Hey, he'd be the guy to know!
> 8. Sorry Nate but you don’t know how to fly this helicopter. It is a tandem rotor Chinook that has no tail rotor. Our other big seller the V-22 flies like a plane and counter rotates to helicopter mode to land on an aircraft carrier. (I now regret mentioning that I build helicopters) ? You illustrate my point, better than I did. There are MANY things about helicopters I don't know. I know a smattering, and that (if applied) could get me killed. We don't want to give you a smattering of information, and get you down the wrong road. Surveying is a broad based subject. There is more there than meets the eye. Simplicity.... is a thing in the minds of those who do not know. (Same with my flying a choppper!)
> For you old-timers, here is your trivia question of the day. How many feet does a quarter-chain equal? (a.k.a. rod, perch or pole) Aw, most abstractors know that! That would be 16.5 feet. I would also think that most surveyors know that. Old timers.... say stuff like this "How long is that Quarter Mile? Ans: Well, let me see... 19.52 chains! Or something like that. That can throw you off, when you are thinking in an engineers world.
OK, so far, you have been nickle and dime-ing us, with questions, about our world. Let me tell you what you might do, to get more real answers: Post your complete legal description, along with the State and County, or Parish you are in. Give us information, and we will give you better info.
It reminds me of the Parts Man Prayer, Posted here for your convenience:
The Parts Man Prayer
I work behind the counter
In a motorcycle store
Sometimes I'm called a genius
Sometimes I'm called much more.
I say that I'm no mechanic
But when their job goes sick
Everyone comes in and asks me
What makes the damn thing tick.
I'm supposed to know the number
Of nuts and bolts and gears
For every cycle ever made
For more than a hundred years.
I'm supposed to have the answer
For everything unknown
To every Tom, Dick, and Harry
For all their questions thrown.
My life would be a pleasure
And I'd grin from ear to ear
If only they would tell me
Their Model, Make, and Year.
So, post us more info, and we could possibly help you in your quest. There is more to surveying than meets the eye, just like other things. And, we all have been peppered before, by engineers, who want to paint us into a simple little box. In fact, I have a survey, done by a civil engineer, who found 2 corners of a 40 acre tract, and proceeded to subdivide it up with 90° angles, and make lots. At one side, he ran over into the next 40 acres, and at the other side, he left a gap. The 40 acre tract was NOT 90° to the side. So, post your description, and we will see what we can do.
Nate
You forgot the sarcasm font.
B-) :good:
That's some good advice right there! We crave details because they can make all the difference in the world. One simple word can change the interpretation of a deed and boundary so best not to summarize, just lay it all out as is.
Your 58 years old and you can't afford $600 for a survey? It doesn't sound like you will be retiring early to me.
"I'm sorry, I felt that you were just a Lurker bored surveyor trying to stir the pot".
I don't think a surveyor would pull our chain. I do think this person has piled it on a little bit thick to be believable. I'm not buying in.
Good day gentlemen. Just felt the need to apologize if I offended anyone here and the work they do. I am sorry for that. I am not a troll and did not originally post here because I have too much time on my hands. Thanks for all your info.
Yer welcome. Surveyors are a tough lot. Kinda like a bikers bar.
N
> Your 58 years old and you can't afford $600 for a survey? It doesn't sound like you will be retiring early to me.
not only that but an educated engineer that works on some pretty high tech equipment??
Give me a break! I get people like him in my office all the time....Just bought a 700K house and don't want to spend a grand to find out what they actually bought. I have NO sympathy.
> Good day gentlemen. Just felt the need to apologize if I offended anyone here and the work they do. I am sorry for that. I am not a troll and did not originally post here because I have too much time on my hands. Thanks for all your info.
You are already forgiven, no need to ask.
as far as 80%... I am 81% sure you are a troll. but it does not matter either way. 😉
It appears you have done a lot of reading. Good!
keep reading, and please do seek out those rudimentary things. you have a steep learning curve ahead of you.
You said you just want to know where your boundaries are located. The key is that is the ultimate question of fact in a boundary survey. It is a legal question, not an engineering problem or mere technical exercise. Engineers use scientific principles reduced to engineering procedures and judgment to solve problems. Land surveyors do that too but with principles of law and legal procedure controlling the final outcome. The reasoning is closer to what the lawyer and judge does than what the engineer does. Engineers often fail to grasp this key point.
I think it's great that a few property owners are actually interested in understanding something about their boundaries beyond just assuming it's the fence or mowing line. But you should realize that the location of your boundary is the ultimate question that will be asked if you get into a legal battle with your neighbor due to something you do in playing around with located boundaries yourself without assistance.
$600 is cheap, you should grab that now.
:good:
Happens all the time. Biggest purchase that people make, and they're not entirely sure what they're buying.
But they will go out and buy a new front door for $1000.00 plus and redo the landscaping for several thousand.
> You said you just want to know where your boundaries are located. The key is that is the ultimate question of fact in a boundary survey. It is a legal question, not an engineering problem or mere technical exercise. Engineers use scientific principles reduced to engineering procedures and judgment to solve problems. Land surveyors do that too but with principles of law and legal procedure controlling the final outcome. The reasoning is closer to what the lawyer and judge does than what the engineer does. Engineers often fail to grasp this key point.
>
> I think it's great that a few property owners are actually interested in understanding something about their boundaries beyond just assuming it's the fence or mowing line. But you should realize that the location of your boundary is the ultimate question that will be asked if you get into a legal battle with your neighbor due to something you do in playing around with located boundaries yourself without assistance.
>
> $600 is cheap, you should grab that now.
Great response Dave.
Mr. Details: To be fair legal battles with neighbors is Vary rare, but if you get in a bind it is best to know what you are arguing about. $600? sounds cheep to me, maybe you should interview a couple more local surveyors before you jump on that.
I too struggled with the math thing for a long time. It is much more than Geometry.
I'm not an Aeronautic Engineer
Mr. Detail,
I'm trying to design my own helicopter for personal use to get to remote fishing spots. I'm not an aeronautic engineer, but if you tell me just how much more surface area is required on the top side of a rotor blade than is on the bottom side, and how much range of pitch I need to work in for them, I'm sure I can take it from there.
Sound a bit unrealistic? Like nearly all engineers, you've looked at surveying as little more than the application of (very simple) math by the use of moderately easy to use equipment. That's the rough equivalent of thinking that designing helicopters requires little more than knowing what shape the wings need to be, and figuring how to attach them to a motor to spin them round fast enough to lift the bubble the pilot sits in.
Math and measuring are the most readily visible tasks in what we do. They are also the simplest. So easy, that almost half of the practicing engineers and the majority of everyone else can be trained to do it adequately with minimal training.*
The rest of what we do requires several years of training, including in some cases, about the same amount of education as you were required to have to attain your license.
* Engineers are more difficult to train because they're usually already so convinced that they already know the basics by virtue of their engineering education and experience that they are no longer very teachable. It's very difficult for a person to learn something new when they already know virtually everything and know that they are smarter than the teacher.
