While a lot of people think about land surveys in the standard sense, the drawing of the boundaries of a house, in actuality there are several varied and different means of surveying that service many different industries Property surveys certainly are a large portion of the business, but there are also surveys and surveyors that service the construction industry, environmentally friendly sector, and many others The kinds of surveys that are conducted would surprise a lot of people, and some items that you might think are surveys aren't surveys at all Rather than the standard two-dimensional measuring from one indicate another, today's surveys not only measure the land, but also the air and water above and below us The most frequent and well-known surveys conducted today are boundary surveys, mortgage surveys, and topographic surveys An ALTA survey, which is actually a shortened title for ATLA/ACSM, combines elements of all three, with a set of standards help with jointly by the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping ALTA surveys are most commonly useful for commercial properties; with a universal standard, companies can assure themselves of the amount of thoroughness and become confident when the email address details are guaranteed by an ALTA survey Boundary Surveys are exactly what the name describes a survey to establish the true boundaries of confirmed property Through previously recorded markers and the establishment of new landmarks, a surveyor will establish the true boundaries of a house and then mark the corners and lines of the plot, using markers such as iron rods, pipes or concrete monuments in the bottom, or nails occur concrete or asphalt Before, piles of stones, trees or other, less permanent markers were used, which resulted in confusion when the markers were either destroyed or changed Mortgage Surveys are simple surveys that, generally, determine land boundaries and building locations They're usually required by title companies and lending institutions if they provide financing showing there are no structures encroaching on the property and that any structures on the property meet current zoning and building codes It is important to ensure that you are getting an officially licensed mortgage survey performed by way of a licensed land surveyor, and not a mortgage inspection, which is a substandard survey which will not abide by any set standards and is not regulated or accepted as an official land survey Topographic Surveys are land surveys which locate natural and man-made features For instance, buildings, improvements, fences, elevations, land contours, trees and streams They are then measured because of their elevation on a particular piece of land, and presented as contour lines on a plot Topographical surveys are sometimes required by the federal government Engineers and architects also use topographical surveys to aid in the design of improvements or developments on a site One of many largest and most rapidly growing segments of land surveys are in the construction industry Surveys are necessary tools from inception and planning, to actual construction and maintenance afterwards Most construction surveys are categorized as the discipline of civil engineering, which might require additional degrees and certifications so that you can conduct All construction projects start out with the Plot Plan or Site Plan, which sets out the program for the whole project, including all existing and proposed conditions on confirmed site As-Built Surveys are conducted many times during a construction project to verify for local and state boards that the task authorized was completed to the specifications set on the plot plan Foundation Surveys certainly are a type of as-built survey which collects the positional data on a foundation that is poured and is now cured Foundation surveys are done to ensure the foundation has both been constructed in the proper location and has been built in the proper manner in line with the plan For existing structures, a Deformation Survey determines if a structure or object is changing shape or moving By https//castlesurveyscouk/ taking of three-dimensional positions on specific points on an object, then letting a period pass before retaking and measuring the points, a determination of whether a structure is moving can be made Although it may seem counter-intuitive, land surveyors are also responsible for performing Hydrographic and Bathymetric Surveys Hydrographic surveys collect data associated with any body of water, and the info collected can include the water depth, bottom contours, the direction of the existing, observing and recording high water marks and water levels, and also location of fixed objects and landmarks for navigational purposes They are able to also be conducted to gather information for engineering or resource management purposes, such as hydro power plants Bathymetric surveys deal exclusively underwater, and map the seabed profile Geodetic surveys are categorized as both the land and water category, as they map out the shoreline Thomas Jefferson commissioned a geodetic survey in 1807 because the Survey of the Coast Progress on the survey moved slowly at first, as they did not even have the proper instruments to perform the survey until 1815 It still exists today because the National Geodetic Survey and its own responsibilities now include the interior lands of america as well as its coasts Wetlands Delineation and Location Surveys belong in a category all by themselves; they're performed when construction work that's being planned on or near a site containing defined wetlands Local, state, or federal regulations vary, but wetlands are usually classified as areas that are completely inundated with water a lot more than two weeks through the growing season Boundaries of wetlands are determined by observing the soil colors, vegetation, erosion patterns or scour marks, hydrology, and morphology of the land involved Data is then collected on the locations of the placed flags and an idea is drawn to reference the boundary of the wetlands and compare it to the proposed boundaries of the surrounding plots or parcels of land and the construction work proposed within While there are lots of more types of land surveys, to list them all and their attributes would result in a very long article Your options presented above are simply the most common forms of land surveys, and the ones that everyone is most likely to encounter