Early last year we did a site survey of an existing restaurant that was going to be torn down for a new Chik-fil-a.?ÿ The lot is rectangular and is about 3/4 of an acre.
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Friday I got a call from the contractor telling me that his surveyor couldn't get started because he couldn't find any of the corners.?ÿ He wanted to hire us to go out there and reset all the corners.?ÿ What he wanted was not unsuspected because I figured the demolition would have knocked those rebars out.?ÿ He told me that he couldn't understand why his surveyor wasn't able to work.?ÿ I told him sarcastically that I was a better surveyor than the other guy.?ÿ At least I thought it was sarcasm.
Well, this morning we go out there?ÿ and find three of the four corners.?ÿ
The other surveyor also wanted us to set another benchmark, even though the survey we sent to the owner has a benchmark on it (I don't know if it made it to the plans).?ÿ That's not going to happen.
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I hope you charged the contractor for your visit. The "other surveyor" doesn't seem to know what he's doing.?ÿ ??ÿ
I got roped in on a similar deal a few years ago?ÿexcept it was a Taco Bell about 2 hours away.?ÿ But I had not done?ÿany boundary work previously.?ÿ Long story short the original boundary & topo (by others) was a joke.?ÿ The?ÿsite was a satellite tract that?ÿsat in the middle of a Lowe's parking lot.?ÿ
I eventually realized a?ÿ25' "cross-access" parcel that abutted the site was drawn improperly on the 'cartoon' topo and NO corners were ever actually set.?ÿ This meant the whole planned mess needed to be scooted over to fit the property.?ÿ The city AND the AE firm (out of state)?ÿ kept mistaking me for the "original surveyor" who was doing a great job of laying low and not answering his phone.?ÿ I charged the sh*t out of them for that mess, but wished I had never stepped in it.
Sometimes money isn't enough to clean up other folks' little piles....
I hope you charged the contractor for your visit. The "other surveyor" doesn't seem to know what he's doing.?ÿ ??ÿ
He called here Friday afternoon.?ÿ I've already generated the invoice.
Curious why you won't set them another benchmark, especially since you set the original one?
No freebies go to bums.
?ÿWonder if the same company did the survey here!?ÿ?ÿ
We were asked to survey the lots for a new parts store.?ÿ ?ÿWe didn't get the job because we didn't have enough insurance.?ÿ ?ÿOk.?!?ÿ ?ÿWell we could of gotten it if we increased our insurance but they didn't want to pay the extra cost to reach those levels.?ÿ So they hire a huge survey/engineering firm from the big city to come in.?ÿ ?ÿNo problem.?ÿ ?ÿ Six months later we are hired by the contractor to mark the property corners.?ÿ I state that we will locate them.?ÿ ?ÿGoto the site and no property corners are marked.?ÿ ?ÿUsing the construction plans I calc the positions and still find nothing but two nails that fit well.?ÿ No record at the courthouse.?ÿ ?ÿHmmm... so I have the contractor call the surveyor.?ÿ ?ÿThey realize they didn't the corners.?ÿ ?ÿThey send up a crew.?ÿ ?ÿSo I drive by the site today and from where I calc the points to be and where they staked them, something is off.?ÿ By feet.?ÿ ?ÿEven a fire hydrant is now inside the property line. (palm slap to forehead)?ÿ ?ÿ So here we go again.?ÿ ?ÿGoing to survey in their points and then inform them which ones were incorrectly set.?ÿ ?ÿ
"So they hire a huge survey/engineering firm from the big city to come in."
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They sent the doofi (? plural of doofus?) they don't want screwing up anything close to home. ?ÿStandard problem.
The LS probably never saw the site, the crew was just told to pound in monuments where the data collector said, and the person who loaded the data collector didn't check that the datum and scale settings were the same as used to make the plat.?ÿ The crew just did what they were told, and didn't have?ÿ much to check the results by, nor the audacity to question orders if anything didn't look exactly right.
Curious why you won't set them another benchmark, especially since you set the original one?
No freebies go to bums.
Who said anything about doing it for free?
Tommy said?ÿ"the contractor .... wanted to hire us to go out there and reset all the corners." So I presume this is not a freebie. Why not give them what they reasonably ask for??ÿ
Have you tried squirting some gum out in your Surveyor's carberater??ÿ
Curious why you won't set them another benchmark, especially since you set the original one?
No freebies go to bums.
Who said anything about doing it for free?
Tommy said?ÿ"the contractor .... wanted to hire us to go out there and reset all the corners." So I presume this is not a freebie. Why not give them what they reasonably ask for??ÿ
I probably should have elaborated more on this.?ÿ First off that wasn't in the scope.?ÿ Second all of our control was obliterated and we didn't have time to do enough surveying to re-establish a benchmark.
As it turns out, the site benchmark was still there, but the engineer did not put it on the plans.?ÿ I gave that information to the contractor.
It said the work was being done for the contractor so that a different surveyor could do the rest of their work. ?ÿThen it said the second surveyor is the one who wanted the benchmark set. ?ÿThe second surveyor can do that himself or pay the first surveyor out of his own pocket.
Early last year we did a site survey of an existing restaurant that was going to be torn down for a new Chik-fil-a.?ÿ .....I figured the demolition would have knocked those rebars out.?ÿ ...Well, this morning we go out there?ÿ and find three of the four corners.?ÿ
.... all of our control was obliterated and we didn't have time
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Not to particularly knock on you, Tommy. Because this happens a lot, to all of us.?ÿ
But when we know, or suspect, that a site is going to be demolished - as they so often are -?ÿ why do we not think beyond stage 1 and sprinkle a little control just offsite? Why do we not invest in something more than nails in sidewalk cracks and alligatored asphalt as "monuments". Every construction contractor knows that the money is made not in the initial contract but in the extras that inevitably spring up. Didn't have time to actually make a profit on this job? Didn't have control? Well, a little foresight calls for something that will survive a few seasons set safely offsite.?ÿ What if you had leveraged your work and got the staking job?
Nevertheless you had three points and a benchmark existing.?ÿ So it seems to me that the chance to make an actual profit on this job, while actually saving he client money overall, and to make yourself look good to this contractor by solving his problems -win/win/win- has been passed up.
The data we collect is ours to keep and reuse as long as it remains reliably monumented. Reusing/repurposing that data is a chance to make some money.?ÿ?ÿ
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