Really.
How many times have you surveyed a section of land, found all the original GLO evidence, placed every line where it ORIGINALLY was, and did it to min standards?
Never?
I thought so.
So, the telephone rings, it's a piddley little 1 ac survey, and it's SW corner is the C1/4.
OK, get out the GLO plat, and notes. Retrace the whole section, retrace the oddball fence corner, that is 25' east of the BB int c1/4.
Retrace the N C-1/16. It's about 6' east of the MID pt, using the Calc BB int c-1/4 cor. Ok, so if we use the Fence Corner for the C1/4, then it should move 7' east.
Retrace the E C-1/16 Nother one, shows as calc, and a survey is 210' north of it. Go 210' north of the E C-1/16, and the monument is laying on it's side. Ok, tie into a giggley mess of mons, and back that C E-1/16 back in. Got it within a foot. Ok, does that meet min stds?
Ok, go back to C1/4 cor. Clear an area 40' x 40', and look for monuments. Notice an aluminum monument, with NO magnet, and NO steel in it. It's 8' west of, and 3.5' south the Calc BB int. and it's leaning south, like a grader hit it. Dig it out. Sho nuff, it's a survey monument. But, you cannot tell who set it. Well, we mess all about, and determine that the fence came from the north, at 2640', via a compass, from a guy from the hwy dpt, about 20 yrs ago.
And, the alum mon... we cannot tell. So, we finally set our own, at the BB int. And finish our little 1 ac survey. That took a week, plus a few days research. And, we made $ 800.00. Fine and dandy, lets try again.
Client not happy, so now, due to cost. Next survey, he hires lowballer's and associates. They charge 450.00, and drive in from 4 counties away. But, they had a copy of your plat, and it did not take them as long.... BUT they RTK it, and they have slop of 0.9' on some of their mons, and you are now doing the neighbors survey to the south, and now we have to determine WHOSE coord, and WHOSE mon we are gonna use.
OK, still want to be a surveyor?
OK, now comes another surveyor, and they cannot find the E1/4 corner, that you used, so now they use a proportioned position, and reject yours, that was 6' south, and 12' east of the mid pt.
Now what?
Still want to be a surveyor?
It's a hoss to ride. Surveying.
And, now we need a new truck... and a new GPS system... Whar ye gonna get the money?
We are over committed. I'm thinking of asking the govt for a grant, to fund "retracement of survey monuments from antiquity, before they are lost for ever". How the heck do you do that? I don't know. Somebody gets money from them to study cow farts, and how to help nursing home residence, who have ED. I aughta be able to find a couple million! I actually do something good!
Happy cheers to all. Really!
N
PS, we chose to reject the aluminum monument, because the "break off" base it gone, cap on top is gone, we cannot tell who set it. And, it likely was set there, by some utility crew mangled it, or the grader hit it, and decided to "put it back". There is a buried water line there too.
🙂
N
Dey call dat preachin' to da kwire, Nate
It happens. Over and over and nothing gets done to prevent it from continuing indefinitely.
:gammon: Glad to hear that you are still hard at it.
Amen Brother!
Never
Never surveyed in the rest of the country...
I have gone to great lengths to show monuments up to a few thousand feet away that were used for the solution of the boundary in question. I try to show all my work.
So far, that's 3
You, me and Nate.....B-)
My favorite things are:
When the description says at the end "description provided by Grantor after Survey was advised"
The client says "I know that corner is correct, I set it myself!"
"Grandpa always built his fence 5 feet over on him"
"Just run it North!"
As my old boss use to say, "sometimes Surveying's like kissin your sister through the screen door!
Everything down to the 1/16th corners should be a public effort to establish, maintain and perpetuate. The public won't do it until Surveyors stop doing all inclusive $800 Surveys.
If you call the plumber to clear your sink drain for 50 bucks and he finds the septic tank is the problem he doesn't replace the septic tank gratis. If the clog is in the public sewer (happened to me once) you call the Sanitary District to clear which is included in the monthly bill. You don't build the sewer system all the way to the plant yourself. If the Civil engineers ran it like surveyors they would be out there themselves building the manholes, the lowball ers out of plywood.
Maybe
Roly Karoly should be committed!
"Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you *keep* it a *secret*! Why didn't you tell the world, EH?"
Buying that new truck and gps system can get us over extended, maybe get a used one.
I'm also over committed because I keep adding clients and jobs to my "to do" list.
I've been thinking about raising my rates until the list catches up, but I might wind up without anybody on it...
Nate,
I noticed your absence at yesterday's ASPS conference.
http://asps.site-ym.com/events/Sessions.aspx?id=547008
You missed:
Improving Our Profession
Economics vs. Ethics - The Surveyor's Recuring Dilemma
Restoring the Monument to the Corner
And the Mentoring Session
Just sayin'
DDSM
Maybe
The recall code is POE.
Gosh dang Nate, you keep stirring our pots. When are the pork pull sandwiches coming? Or is that pulled pork? Us MI guys get confused, but still like to eat them.
Center 1/4 corners are a perpetual "problem" to many of us over committed surveyors. Even the wannabe surveyors can't sort it out. But remember that centers are not "official" GLO corners, so thus are no different than holding a block corner in an old subdivision, or accepting a weird fence that has been accepted for yeays. You may or may not agree with it, but will you accept it? Likely so, and that is what I'd do.
So once they finally do commit us all to surveyor purgatory, we can just look down and say "it was Nate's fault"... 😉
Cheers
Don, besides...
Don't condemn the whole program because of a single slip up.
Wayne,
The supper last night at the ASPS convention at the 4H center was your choice of 'chopped' or 'pulled' pork from a whole hog...
Nate knows I always have an extra meal ticket for him and Big Help
DDSM;-)
The 4H center is a fun place for 'Veyors to get away
http://www.arkansas4hcenter.org/
:good: :good:
Cheers to you Arky guys. Never really spent much time there but beautiful country, but know a couple folks from there (old party chief who worked for me, and my dads new wife after mom died). Kind of a short list, but hog hunting in MI & AZ isn't exactly the way to go.
However I do love that "other white meat", and have some in the fridge now. Low heat, slow cook is how I always do it and maybe sear it first, and like to kinda sorta cajunize it, if that's ok with the Arky's? 😉
Well, I have no idea how or why anyone would do that much work for $800. edit... unless I misread that and you meant you "made 800" not billed $800... I know everyone's markets are different, but when you seriously break down the hourly rate for the time end energy spent, (not to mention liability) how can you sustain yourself on that?? I don't get it. I guess if $800 is what the market will bear for that amount of work, it sort of answers your question as to why others are cutting corners and doing such terrible work.
Not being a wise guy
being serious but you must have left off a zero
I have met the enemy.
He is me.
N