We are retracing a boundary that has a number of 1917 caps to locate. When working in the area about 15 years ago a number of the corners were tied with GPS but it was more of a "I'm driving past so I'll stop and locate it" type of location.
Now it's time to do a boundary so it's become lots more interesting.
PC comes in and says he's not hitting some of them very well; I'm thinking uh-oh, old files, something in the projection, something with updating files, ect.........
When I look I see that we are "off" about .2' at times.........
Clearly movement in the old brass caps that stick out 12-18" on skinny pipes.
.2' like I would have even noticed it 25 years ago, now it's so unexpected, yes times have changed, for the better...........I think;)
I am just curious and I sure as heck don't want to start a debate like some others going on right now, but are you inclined to "straighten them up" to where they were 15 years ago?
I most likely would as rehabilitation of a deteriorating condition.
Could be a case of where the shot was taken. Was it center of the cap or vertically above the apparent true/original location? If no notes were taken it is hard to tell.
KScott, post: 398081, member: 1455 wrote: I am just curious and I sure as heck don't want to start a debate like some others going on right now, but are you inclined to "straighten them up" to where they were 15 years ago?
I most likely would as rehabilitation of a deteriorating condition.
You are thinking just like we do, they have lasted 100 years now, but they can stand some TLC, a rock pile around some, a little plumbing for others............
I always like to plumb them if they are leaning. Around here, they are usually in sandy soil, so the digging is easy.
Many of the GLO quarter corners I've found(1" concrete-filled pipe with 2.5" brass caps) are not just leaning but also bent, often almost 90 degrees. I've often wondered why. Probably been run over sometime in the last 100 years since they were originally left projecting a foot or so. What do you do with a bent monument?
I don't like shooting an "estimated" original position that isn't marked and obvious to the next surveyor.
I don't like replacing it with a new monument if the original is in otherwise good shape but just bent.
I don't like digging it out and reorienting it so the cap is over where the base was. Leaving it bent. If somebody does some digging, they will see it has obviously been disturbed.
I don't like setting a new monument beside it if both monuments are visible, although if it's 3' deep because the road was elevated, setting a new monument over the base of the old one makes sense to me.
I've had good success so far in attempting to straighten them. If the pipe isn't corroded badly, I carefully place it under the pickup tire and drive over it repeatedly until it's straight. I've done half a dozen this way, and I haven't broken any yet. This one took about 15 minutes.
It's best to document whatever you did.
Good job, that's exactly what we are locating, and so far one is bent like that, if you can't rehabilitate it then it gets replaced with a new one.
These are in pretty good condition, so I don't see doing that, although a couple are missing.