Land Surveying Simplified

This is a book about boundary surveying. It is written for anyone who is interested in learning about how boundary surveys are performed. The book will provide the reader with a background on basic boundary surveying techniques and some of the common legal issues encountered during boundary surveying. This is the second edition of the book which substantially enlarges upon the first edition. A chapter on easements has been added. There is more detail on Global Navigational Systems (GNSS or GPS). Lower cost survey grade GNSS receivers are now widely available so surveyors are now able to take advantage of this technology. GNSS can save considerable time and cost while increasing the reliability and permanence of surveys. Nevertheless, use of GNSS has certain limitations which cannot be ignored, and this book discusses some of these issues. The second edition also goes into more detail on state plane coordinate systems which are an integral part of GNSS surveying. Prior to the widespread use of GNSS connecting a survey to state plane was often cost prohibitive but now that GNS is commonly used it is easy and commonplace to have surveys tied to state plane. The second edition discusses the state plane coordinate system and the benefits of using it. At the college level, Land Surveying is usually taught in civil engineering departments. In many ways this makes sense because there is a close relationship between the disciplines of civil engineering and land surveying. In fact, many practicing civil engineers are also licensed as land surveyors. However, there are substantial differences between the professions, particularly with regard to knowledge of the laws relating to real property which all boundary surveyors must understand. For this reason, many states make it unlawful for licensed civil engineers to practice boundary surveying unless they are also licensed as a land surveyor. In many respects boundary surveying has more to do with the legal studies division of a university than the engineering division. In fact, when prospective surveyors take the licensing exams at both the national and local levels, substantial portions of these examinations are legal questions relating to boundaries, easements, professional practice and other legal issues that a lawyer, rather than a civil engineer, may feel more comfortable with. You can't learn to be a competent surveyor by taking a course, acquiring a degree or reading a book - although all of these things help to provide the necessary foundation. Boundary surveying includes the disciplines of mathematics, engineering, science and law. Becoming a licensed boundary surveyor requires years of experience. Although no book can hope to provide this experience, my hope is that this book will provide the reader with some insight into the techniques which surveyors use and the issues which surveyors face on a daily basis. Boundary locations are sometimes difficult to establish with a high level of certainty. With modern electronic measuring devices, surveyors can measure thousands of feet within fractions of a foot simply by pressing a button or clicking on a computer screen. And it only takes a few seconds to get the measurement. It may seem paradoxical that even with this ability surveyors are sometimes unable to determine the actual extent of ownership within several feet - and, occasionally, a great number of feet! This book will help the reader to understand why such uncertainties exist. We will also consider what remedies and solutions may be available to a surveyor.

"This is a book about boundary surveying. It is written for anyone who is interested in how surveys are performed. The book would also be useful for land surveying students who are interested in developing an overall view of how land surveyors go about surveying a parcel of land. This book will provide the reader with a background on boundary surveying techniques and some of the common legal issues which govern boundary establishment. A primary purpose of this book is to acquaint people who are not land surveyors with the principles used by land surveyors to establish boundary lines. The information in this book will be useful to home owners, real estate agents, attorneys, engineers, city planners, building officials, students, bankers, title researchers, GIS practitioners and others. I hope this book will be an important resource for those who have questions relating to boundaries and land surveying in general."--Back cover.

This is a book explaining the mathematics used by land surveyors during the course of boundary surveys. It provides a hands-on approach to commonly used equations and concepts covering angles, bearings, trigonometry, coordinate geometry and traverse closure. Many examples are given to help the reader understand the concepts. The presentation in this book is intended to be as simplified as possible and the author has attempted to provide clearly worded explanations of each subject. Although a background in algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics would be helpful, none of these is strictly necessary in order for the reader to work through these materials. This book is intended to be a companion book to ""Land Surveying Simplified"", written by this author, which is available on Lulu as and eBook or soft cover.

This is a book about boundary surveying. It is written for anyone who is interested in learning about how boundary surveys are performed. This book will provide the reader with a background on basic boundary surveying techniques and some of the common legal issues which govern boundary establishment. This is the second edition of the book which substantially enlarges upon the first edition. this book includes a chapter on easements which was not included in the first edition. This book also goes into more detail on Global Navigational Systems (GNSS) sometimes referred to simply as GPS. Survey grade GNSS receivers are now available for relatively low cost so most surveyors are able to take advantage of this technology which has the potential to save considerable time while increasing the reliability and permanence of surveys. Nevertheless, use of GNSS has certain limitations which cannot be ignored, and this book discusses some of these issues.The second edition also goes into more detail on state plane coordinate systems which are an integral part of GNSS surveying. Prior to the widespread use of GNSSconnecting a survey to state plane was often cost prohibitive but now that GNS is commonly used it is easy and commonplace to have surveys tied to state plane. The second edition discusses the state plane coordinate system and the benefits of using it.At the college level, Land Surveying is usually taught in civil engineering departments. In many ways this makes sense because there is a close relationship between the disciplines of civil engineering and land surveying. In fact, many practicing civil engineers are also licensed as land surveyors. However, there are substantial differences between the professions, particularly with regard to knowledge of the laws relating to real property which all boundary surveyors must understand. For this reason, many states make it unlawful for licensed civil engineers to practice boundary surveying unless they are also licensed as a land surveyor. In many respects boundary surveying has more to do with the legal studies division of a university than the engineering division. In fact, when prospective surveyors take the licensing exams at both the national and local levels, substantial portions of these examinations are legal questions relating to boundaries, easements, professional practice and other legal issues that a lawyer, rather than a civil engineer, may feel more comfortable with. These remarks may seem a bit odd at this point but, after reading this book, the reader will hopefully develop an understanding of why this is so.You can't learn to be a competent surveyor by taking a course, acquiring a degree or reading a book - although all of these things help to provide the necessary foundation. Boundary surveying includes the disciplines of mathematics, engineering, science and law. Becoming a licensed boundary surveyor requires years of experience. Although no book can hope to provide this experience, my hope is that this book will provide the reader with some insight into the techniques which surveyors use and the issues which surveyors face on a daily basis. Boundary locations are sometimes difficult to establish. With modern electronic measuring devices, surveyors can measure thousands of feet within fractions of a foot simply by pressing a button or clicking on a computer screen. And it only takes a few seconds to get the measurement. It may seem paradoxical that even with this ability surveyors are sometimes unable to determine the actual extent of ownership within several feet - and, occasionally, a great number of feet! This book will help the reader to understand why such uncertainties exist. We will also consider what remedies and solutions may be available to a surveyor. A primary purpose of this book is to acquaint people who are not land surveyors with the principles used by land surveyors to establish boundaries.

This book is designed to provide the reader with an understanding of basic mathematics commonly used by land surveyors. This book is intended to be a companion book to Land Surveying Simplified Second Edition, which is available as and eBook or soft cover. The presentation in this book is intended to be as simplified as possible and the author has attempted to provide clearly worded explanations of each subject. Although a background in algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics would be helpful, none of these is strictly necessary in order for the reader to work through these materials. Many examples are given to help the reader understand the concepts. Computers and software have made surveying calculations very quick and easy. This does not relieve a land surveyor from understanding the principles underlying a specific task or calculation. The material presented in this book is intended to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the mathematics used by boundary surveyors.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This book provides an overview of boundary surveying in the metes and bounds states of the U.S. The focus is on legal issues facing land surveyors when performing boundary surveys. The book is the result of a college level course on the legal aspects of boundary surveying taught by the author. The focus is Massachusetts and Rhode Island but the materials presented are applicable to other states in the U.S. that do not use the Public Land Survey System. This includes most of the states east of the Mississippi River, Texas and Hawaii.Topics include legal concepts affecting real property, the judicial system, statutes and case law, evidence, deeds, plans and recording systems, monuments, calculations, reconciling record and physical evidence, water boundaries, drawing plans, adverse possession, easements, contracts and professional practice.The book assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the technical aspects of boundary surveying but the materials are presented in an easy to understand manner using plain language. The book starts with a brief review of some of the technical aspects of boundary surveying so even readers with a minimum amount of surveying experience should be able to take advantage of the materials in the book.