My First Observed Pin Cushion

Unfortunately, this scene is becoming more common every day.

Thanks for sharing.

At least you aren't deciding between things a foot or more apart.

You did look further away to be sure there aren't more?

At least you aren't deciding between things a foot or more apart.

I would prefer that actually since that might mean a major piece of evidence was missed.  This right here is just "expert measurer" nonsense...

In the woods somewhere?  I'm sure that 2-3 tenths difference is huge

The pipe looks big enough to be an old fence post that is now broken off.  The two taller rebars are just witnessing the short one so they can find it easily.  Just my opinion.

This is where we earn our money. The job is to identify the first monument relied on by the owners. Measurements will be very far down the list on what governs.

Correct is an identity, not a distance...

I would call the two taller rebars witness posts/markers placed by a homeowner.
The pipe and the flagged rebar might be a pin cushion, but the pipe looks like it was broken off and used to be a lot taller, so that may have been a witness post too. 

All I see is an old pipe.  

It could probably use a shiny stamped 2" aluminum cap set inside it and recorded. All the rest of the loose junk should probably be picked up and a nice fence post set alongside. 

This is where we earn our money. The job is to identify the first monument relied on by the owners. Measurements will be very far down the list on what governs.

Correct is an identity, not a distance...

If this is a back corner in the woods, relied on is pretty vague.  They're all the same location to the landowners, and picking one over another doesn't change anything for them

picking one over another doesn't change anything for them

Found three irons and a pipe at the corner. Problem solved. 

@jph If we lived in a world populated only by reasonable people, you may have a point. We don't. In the end it's not my two inches to take or give.

Regardless, interviewing landowners and reviewing records is a small effort that will head off most fights. It also helps 50 years down the road when those few inches have real value.

I have found it unusual NOT to find pincushioning at the rear corners of simple lot and block subdivisions. Florida plat law requires subdivision centerline control be in place prior to recording the plat. "Mortgage Surveyors" or "Lot Surveyors" come in and usually find or set front corners using C/L control. Once the front corners have been located or set they are used to set the rear corners without taking time to try and buzz existing rear corners up (takes too long). Thus the pincushions. It's probably the same everywhere. I wonder sometimes how these people ever passed the LS exam.

is this in a platted subdivision?

Just curious.

The pipe looks big enough to be an old fence post that is now broken off.  The two taller rebars are just witnessing the short one so they can find it easily.  Just my opinion.

That was my thought as well.

In most of the places I have worked, the pipe would be a fence corner remnant (certainly looks ripped/cut off rather than smooth or pounded down), the two rods far above grade would have been placed by the landowner(s) because they're a lot easier to see than the flagged one 0.25' above grade which is likely the monument that was set by the prior survey.

Obviously the corner needs to be proven out and it varies by region.

@jflamm I agree. It is very possible there was only one monument at this corner and it was the one set by the surveyor and noted on his survey. Expert measurers were not necessarily involved. A fence post broken off and two other rebars/pins added by an owner so he could easily find the corner set by the surveyor. I find this scenario no less probable than 4 different corners and or surveyors marking the location.

At least you have monuments to choose from. Our neighborhood just got optical fiber put in. Of course gas, electrical, water, and prior comm lines were marked out, bt no lot corners. In our block they went along the back lot lines, but in some areas they went inside the sidewalk where typically there is 18-24 inches of ROW. 

In a 10-minute walk I saw two new utility tubs and a pedestal where I would expect the lot corners to be. I'm tempted to go buzz those spots to see if the irons are gone or just displaced.

@jitterboogie 

No. It’s in the woods.

At least you have monuments to choose from. Our neighborhood just got optical fiber put in. Of course gas, electrical, water, and prior comm lines were marked out, bt no lot corners. In our block they went along the back lot lines, but in some areas they went inside the sidewalk where typically there is 18-24 inches of ROW. 

In a 10-minute walk I saw two new utility tubs and a pedestal where I would expect the lot corners to be. I'm tempted to go buzz those spots to see if the irons are gone or just displaced.

I’ve watched low ball utility contractors literally dig up all the lot corners and toss them aside and place their pedestal where the pin was, along the entire length of the road. I called the utility to complain and they said to talk to the contractor, call the contractor and they say to call the utility. The local power company isn’t any better. One of their pieces of heavy equipment destroyed a section corner, the tracks lead to the machine parked 20’ away. Call them and they say I can’t prove that was us. I’ve given up holding them accountable. 

All those monuments and yet no "pin"!  (I hate the term "pin" to describe a monument.)  You cannot imagine how many property owners contact us asking what a "pin" is, what does the surveyor mean, and how to find it.