Survey questions,
answered plainly.
A working knowledge center for property owners, architects, contractors and developers across Southern California. If your question is not here, a short call usually settles what a site needs — 818-919-8133.
30 questions
Choosing a survey
Figure out which type of survey your project actually needs.
It depends on your goal. Confirming where your property lines fall points to a boundary survey; mapping the existing ground and features for design points to a topographic survey; laying out approved plans on the ground points to construction staking; and a lender or title company closing a commercial deal usually requires an ALTA/NSPS survey. If you are unsure, describe the project and we will scope the right survey before any work starts.
Related:Boundary SurveyTopographic SurveyConstruction StakingALTA Survey
A boundary survey establishes the legal limits of your property — where the lines and corners fall based on the record and the evidence on the ground. A topographic survey maps the physical surface and the features on it: elevations, slopes, structures, walls, trees and visible utilities. Many projects need both, and combining them in one mobilization is usually more efficient than ordering them separately.
If the fence goes near a property line and its position matters to you or a neighbor, a boundary survey removes the guesswork. Fences are built for convenience and rarely sit exactly on the legal line, so building to an existing fence can carry an old error forward. A boundary survey marks the corners so the fence starts from the right place.
Related:Boundary Survey
Usually, yes. Cities commonly require a topographic survey with the design submittal, and a boundary survey matters whenever the work is near a setback or property line. Together they give your architect a reliable base to design on and keep the permit set from getting held up over site information.
A boundary survey gives you a factual, neutral starting point: it shows where the recorded line actually falls and documents what is on either side of it. We report what we find without taking sides. From there, whatever you decide to do — from a conversation to a formal process like a lot line adjustment — rests on evidence rather than assumption.
Related:Boundary SurveyLot Line AdjustmentLegal Description & Exhibit
No. Assessor and GIS parcel maps are approximations maintained for taxation and reference; they are not measured to locate your boundary on the ground and should not be used to set fences, walls or structures. Only a licensed land surveyor can establish where your legal boundary actually falls.
Related:Boundary Survey
Cost & timing
How pricing and scheduling work, and what drives each.
It depends on the parcel, the terrain, the quality of the public record and what you need delivered, which is why we scope each project individually. Describe the property and the goal, and we come back with a defined scope and price before any work begins.
The main factors are parcel size and shape, how many corners or points must be set, terrain and vegetation, site access, the quality and clarity of the recorded maps and deeds, whether neighboring parcels also have to be resolved, and the specific deliverables and datum your project requires.
Most jobs are completed in one to two weeks from mobilization to delivery. Fieldwork is usually the shorter half; research, computation, drafting and a review pass happen after the crew leaves the site. Timing varies with the scope, the record and site access, so we confirm a schedule when we scope the work.
Sometimes, depending on the scope, our schedule and site access. Tell us the deadline when you request the survey and we will tell you honestly whether it is workable rather than promising a date we cannot control.
For work that involves a public agency — a lot line adjustment, a dedication, or certain permit certifications — the survey and documents may be finished quickly, but the jurisdiction's review and recording timeline is outside our control and is often the longest part of the process. We prepare submittals to reduce review cycles, but we do not guarantee an agency's turnaround.
Usually not. We do need safe access to the areas being surveyed, including yards or specific corners in some cases. When access needs to be arranged, we coordinate it with you in advance.
Deliverables
What you receive, in what formats, and who we hand it to.
It depends on the service. Deliverables commonly include marked corners or stakes on the ground, a survey map or exhibit, a layered CAD file, cut sheets for construction, or a signed certificate — provided in the formats your project and your agency expect. We confirm the exact deliverables with you when we scope the work.
Yes. Tell us the layers, units and datum your design team works in and the CAD file arrives ready to use, so your architect or engineer can start designing on it rather than cleaning it up first.
Related:Topographic Survey
Where a signed and sealed document is required — such as maps, exhibits and certificates that go to an agency, a lender or a title company — the work is prepared under the responsible charge of a licensed land surveyor and signed accordingly.
Yes, and we prefer it. We deliver in your design team's CAD standards, coordinate staking around your contractor's schedule, and work directly with title companies, lenders and attorneys on transaction surveys so everyone is working from the same information.
Related:ALTA SurveyConstruction Staking
Yes. Deliverables are provided digitally, and signed hard copies are available where a wet-signed document is needed for recording or submittal.
Property access
What happens on site, and what a survey does and doesn't cover.
Often, yes. Corners, monuments and features frequently sit in side and back yards, so we may need access to those areas. When that is the case, we arrange it with you ahead of the visit.
For a typical survey we work within your property and the public record and do not need to notify neighbors. Some processes that formally involve an adjoining owner — such as a lot line adjustment — do require their participation, and we will tell you when that applies.
Related:Lot Line Adjustment
Missing or disturbed monuments are common, especially on older parcels. We widen the record research and search for related evidence — adjacent corners, ties and physical marks — and reconstruct the boundary from the best available evidence following standard surveying practice.
Related:Boundary Survey
No. A fence reflects where someone once chose to build; it is not evidence of the legal boundary and often does not sit on it. Only a boundary survey can establish where the recorded line actually falls.
Related:Boundary Survey
A standard survey locates visible surface evidence of utilities — meters, vaults, cleanouts and the like. Full underground utility mapping requires specialty locating services, which we can coordinate around when your project needs it.
Related:Topographic Survey
Yes. A topographic or improvement survey can locate structures, hardscape, walls, trees, drainage and other site features to the level of detail your design or agency requires.
Specialized services
The specific surveys agencies, insurers and engineers ask for by name.
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is the comprehensive survey used in commercial real estate transactions. It combines a full boundary resolution with improvements, easements and encroachments, prepared to a national standard that lenders, title companies and attorneys rely on to close.
Table A is the menu of optional items in the ALTA/NSPS standard — things like topography, utilities, zoning and specific improvements. The buyer, lender and title company negotiate which Table A items apply to a given transaction, and we help scope which ones your deal actually needs.
Related:ALTA Survey
Construction staking translates approved plans into precise stakes and marks on the ground, so crews build the building corners, curbs, utilities and grades exactly where they were designed. Each staked point is documented on cut sheets for the field.
Related:Construction StakingPile Staking
A form verification survey checks formwork against the approved plans after the forms are substantially complete and before the pour is confirmed — typically the day before — so there is time to correct anything out of tolerance while it still costs minutes instead of demolition.
Related:Form Verification
A FEMA Elevation Certificate documents a structure's elevation relative to the base flood elevation. Insurers and floodplain administrators use it to rate flood risk, and it is the first step toward a Letter of Map Amendment when one is justified. It documents elevations; it is not itself a guarantee of a lower premium.
Related:Flood Certificate
In hillside areas, how much can be built depends on how steep the land is. A slope density analysis maps the site into slope bands and runs the calculations the local ordinance prescribes, giving your architect and the planning department a defensible basis for the buildable envelope.
An as-built survey measures what was actually constructed — structures, utilities, grades and site features — and documents them against the design. It produces the record your closeout, your client and the next phase of work depend on, and is most accurate when underground work is captured before it is buried.
Related:As-Built Survey
Still not sure what you need?
Try the advisor for a quick suggestion, or describe the property and we will scope the right survey before any work begins.