But sometimes, doing some construction work is the primary goal on a piece of land that primarily requires a survey and inspection. Before anything large can be built on a certain piece of land, a construction survey needs to be performed, resulting in the placement of roads, culverts, driveways, etc.
Land Surveying vs Construction Surveying
Before starting anything, one first has to figure out the intent for the piece of land in question. Even though a land surveyor is quite capable of doing various types of surveys (mortgage or title surveys, condominium surveys, construction surveys, etc.), getting the right person for the job is important from the get-go.
A land surveyor is a licensed professional who dictates the survey teams and is legally responsible for the results that are acquired. Some of the most typical duties of a land surveyor are to write legal descriptions, deeds, and documents. But they are also quite capable of performing exhibit surveys that help settle boundary disputes, subdivision surveys, or traffic accident investigations. Their job is to help divide the land into blocks, parks, and streets and help to create complete subdivisions.
On the other hand, construction surveys are land surveyors that are specialized in the construction field. Students that want to become land surveyors need to take special courses in construction surveying in order to acquire skills to become construction surveyors. A construction survey is a special measurement of the topographic features of a certain area. The purpose of it is to determine where in the given area manmade objects like highways, bridges, pipelines, and buildings should be located.
Construction surveys help in determining that a project, like highway construction, for instance, has been finished properly in terms of length and overall dimensions.
How can Land Surveying Services Help with Pre-Construction Project Planning?
Pre-construction planning is given a high imperative before any work is done. The idea behind pre-construction planning is to provide some site analysis and get information on the boundaries, maps, plats, and topographic surveys. But what they also do is:
- Mitigate potential risk from future regulatory enforcement actions.
- Maximize project startup efficiency by involving regulatory planning.
- Minimize costly delays when it comes to project scheduling.
- Provide data that helps immensely with strategic pre-construction planning.
Benefits of Land Surveying
The involvement of professional land surveyors or construction surveyors when planning any kind of construction work comes with numerous benefits. What you are going to get is:
- Greater understanding of the topography: A survey will determine if the land has some potential structural or soil issues that one needs to have in mind.
- Increased boundary accuracy: With the correct property, and boundaries established in advance, construction and development can be planned out and performed properly.
- Improved construction preparation: Before the construction team approves and begins construction, a land survey will give them enough data about the plot they are about to start working on.
- Better property division: It needs to be ensured that construction is not performed on a piece of private property. A land survey will provide them with proper property division that shows where the public property starts and ends.
- More accurate value estimation: A land survey can help provide accurate information about the worth of the land they are going to be working on.
Construction Survey Equipment
No matter the type of survey, a surveyor is nothing without his equipment. Even though the type of equipment used in construction surveys is rather similar to general land surveying equipment, there are some that are mainly specific for construction surveying purposes. Construction surveys may use advanced equipment like drones, robotics, GPS, or modern software, but still mainly comes down to the following:
- Total stations: A piece of equipment that includes electronic distance measurement to calculate distances and angles. With their high standards, total stations provide maximum opportunities when performing work on construction sites.
- Prisms: Prisms are used to secure control points at an accessible height for more precise accuracy. Prisms are used in conjunction with surveying poles and EDMs to help provide the most accurate measurements.
- Levelers: These are used to provide a difference in elevation between two points. Levelers are used combined with level rods or tripods and can be optical, digital, or simply handheld.
- Poles, tripods and mounts: An unstable mount can easily throw away even the most precise measuring instruments. In such a case, various poles, tripods, and mounts will ensure surveyors get the most accurate readings.
- Reflective targets: A quality reflective target is there to ensure precise measurement as well as building or site layout. Targets used for construction work are made out of durable, UV resistant materials that are meant both for correct and discreet measurements.
- Magnetic locators: While determining the location of such features as pipes, utility covers, and underground tanks, magnetic locators can help a surveyor quickly determine the location of ferrous materials.
- Safety gear: Each type of survey, let alone a construction survey, requires the use of standard safety equipment. You never know what land or weather conditions lie ahead.
