Full Answer
How to find pins on property?
You can manually search the boundaries of your property for the pins or use a metal detector to find them.
How does duct tape hold a flag?
The duct tape only holds the flag to the pin long enough for you to rebury the pin and the bottom of the surveyor's flag . Once the pin's reburied, the dirt holds the flag in place.
How to get a flag out of the ground?
Use duct tape to connect the wire end of a surveyor's colored flag to the top of the pin. Use the trowel to fill in the hole and rebury the pin; the flag should extend a few inches above ground level.
What happens when you rebury a flag pin?
Once the pin's reburied, the dirt holds the flag in place. Once you rebury a boundary pin, don't let it be uncovered by anyone except a registered professional land surveyor.
How far above the ground should you sweep a metal detector?
Sweep a metal detector back and forth about 2 inches above the ground at the corner of the property if you don't see the boundary pin sticking up. When you get a "hit" with the metal detector, stick a surveyor's colored flag in the ground to mark the place where the signal is strongest.
What is a boundary pin?
They are boundary pins, driven into the ground at the corners of your lot by a licensed surveyor. If it matters to you, the surveyor's name and license number is either embossed onto a colorful plastic cap atop the pin or stamped into its side. The pins mark the ends of each side of the property, so you can tell for certain where your property ...
Can you rebury a surveyor's flag?
Once the pin's reburied, the dirt holds the flag in place. Once you rebury a boundary pin, don't let it be uncovered by anyone except a registered professional land surveyor.
How to stop rebar from sinking?
To restrict any "sinking" of the rebar into the ground when applying the survey marker, clamp a vice-grip pliers to the rebar at ground level. The handle of the pliers will prevent the rebar from sinking into the soil as you drive on the survey cap.
How to cut rebar to length?
Cut your rebar to your desired length using a hacksaw or power press. Remove any burrs and/or mushrooming on the end that will be receiving the survey marker. For maximum grip, bevel the end of the rebar that will be receiving the survey marker. Installing the Rebar:
What to do if playback doesn't begin?
If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
How to mark a cap on a rebar?
With a felt-tip permanent marker, place a mark about 1½" from the end of the rebar. This mark will be your guide to assure the cap is tightly and completely seated on the rebar.
What is a survey marker?
Survey Markers. A surveyor places survey markers to label major points on the land's surface. For instance, she may place marks at the northeast and southwest corners of a piece of land to physically represent the boundaries.
What is a private surveyor?
Private surveyors usually inscribe their markers with information that easily identifies them, such as their state license or certificate number. A surveyor for a government project may use the project name and number or another official label approved for use by the agency.
What materials do surveyors use?
Surveyors used less permanent materials, such as wood stakes, local landmarks and stones, in the past. The surveyor places the marker into the ground and secures it when finished, but may tie ribbons on trees and use other temporary markers while doing field work.
What does a survey marker represent?
Survey markers represent the legal boundaries of a person's property. Moving markers may create land line disputes with neighbors. For example, John's neighbor Sandy moves his northwest marker 3 feet in so she can have her fence cross his land. John may have to take Sandy to court to dispute the placement.
What do surveyors use to settle disputes?
An attorney can present a licensed surveyor's work in court to settle a land boundary dispute between neighbors. Surveyors use different tools, such as compasses, to do their jobs. One important tool is the survey marker, which the surveyor uses to set boundaries.
What is legal description?
The legal description for a property, which is the land's dimensions in words, may reference the placed markers. A property's legal description is needed for real estate documents such as deeds and mortgages.
Can you move a survey marker?
You Can't Move Markers. It's illegal to remove or alter permanent survey markers in some states, including California, but penalties vary. Tackman Surveying warns that only licensed surveyors and government officials with a permissible purpose, such as a land resurvey, should remove or alter permanent survey markers.
What is a metes and bounds survey?
If your deed features a metes and bounds survey—a survey that describes the exact distances and directions from one established point on your property line to the next —you’ll have all the information you need to locate your property lines. Unfortunately, this type of legal description is notoriously difficult to comprehend unless you’re a surveyor.
How far apart are survey pins?
For example, if you locate survey pins 60 feet apart on opposite sides of your property but the plat says your lot is 50 feet wide, one of those pins may have been moved, and your property is still just 50 feet across. Advertisement.
How to find a hidden survey pin?
Locate a Hidden Survey Pin. Survey pins are thin iron bars, two to three feet long and sometimes capped with plastic, which the original survey crew inserted on the property lines. If you have access to a metal detector, move the device over the ground along the sidewalk to the curb to locate the survey pin.
How to retrace a surveyor's steps?
You can retrace the original surveyor’s steps by locating the starting point, which will be labeled on the plat as either the “common point” or the “point of beginning” (POB). It is often the center point of a side street. The original surveyor’s measurements will all be listed on the plat. With a long measuring tape, follow the plat as you would a treasure map, measuring your physical property as you go. Your measurements should correspond with the ones on the plat.
How to tell if sidewalk is on property line?
Examine the lines that are cut in the sidewalk in front of your house. Often, the contractor who poured the sidewalk started and stopped on the property lines, so those cut lines may coincide with the edges of your property. As well, the appearance of the concrete on your side of the property may be slightly different from that on your neighbor’s side. Streetlights, too, are often placed on property lines. While these visual clues are good indications of property lines, if you intend to build or install something on your land, you’ll need additional verification.
What is zoning department?
The zoning department is the municipal office that records plats: the maps, drawn to scale, that show land division. Unless your home was built more than a hundred years ago, you can probably obtain a copy of your block and lot plat for a minimal fee. This will give you the exact dimensions of your lot—in other words, the property you legally own—in relationship to other lots on your block.
Can a survey pin change your property line?
Survey pins are not foolproof markers. Over the years, previous owners, utility workers, or even a tree-removal company may have dug up a survey pin and reinserted it nearby, or just tossed it aside. Your actual property line, however, does not change just because someone messed with the survey pin. For example, if you locate survey pins 60 feet apart on opposite sides of your property but the plat says your lot is 50 feet wide, one of those pins may have been moved, and your property is still just 50 feet across.
What is the size of rebar for a monument?
Rebar – According to statute, this must be a minimum of 18” in length and ½” in diameter. It is a solid iron rod that is typically placed flush with the ground. When a survey monument is set by a surveyor, it must have a cap placed on the rebar which has the company name and license number stamped into it. Common colors of the caps are pink, orange and yellow.
What is a cotton spindle?
Crosses are typically etched into the concrete. Cotton Spindle – This is a 6”- 8” spindle from a cotton picking machine. Farmers sell “worn out” spindles to surveyors, who use them to monument property corners that fall into asphalt, tree roots, etc.
What is a spindle in a survey?
The spindle has a sharp tip that allows it to be set where a traditional survey monument, such as a rebar, cannot be set. The wood markers and pin flags that are commonly seen are not the property corner themselves. They are witness items to help you find the property corner that is located flush with the ground.
Is information provided legal advice?
Information provided should not be considered legal advice and all buyers, agents and title companies should consult their attorneys for legal advice.
