Welcome to my blog. My name is Deborah. About 15 years ago, I bought an old home. We worked with several contractors to rehabilitate it, but ultimately, the foundation simply wasn't stable enough, and we had to tear it down. After that, we worked with a construction crew to build a home from the ground up. The experience was exciting and challenging, and I learned a lot through that process. I want to share construction and contracting facts and information with others so I decided to start this blog. I hope that you like the results, and I thank you for reading. Enjoy!
When you're building on land, the chances are you'll need a surveyor. Land surveyors prevent you from making costly mistakes that you'll inevitably need to address later. Their role is often surrounded by misconceptions, though. Here are some to remain mindful of.
You Don't Need One for Small Projects
Small projects that could yield results you're yearning for may seem innocuous. It's natural to feel as though you can lead the way alone and avoid consulting a professional. For example, you want to build a granny annexe. However, there's always a risk that elements of your project could encroach on public land or your neighbour's land. If it requires you to remove natural structures, such as trees, you may be wading into muddy waters. A land surveyor can identify whether your project is entirely legal. If it isn't, they'll offer advice on how to make it so.
Land Surveyors Are Costly
As with any professional, you'll need to pay to get a land surveyor's opinion. However, the nature of their work can prevent you from hitting much bigger costs as your project progresses. Using a surveyor before you reach your design phase can help you avoid entering into pointless or incorrect contracts. It also stops you from discovering mistakes later that you may need to undo. Without the right guidance, construction work may come to a halt altogether. As any project delivery pause or mistake can cost a lot of money, it's best to have a survey.
Existing Surveys Are Okay
If you find an existing survey for the land you're working on, you might breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, surveys can become irrelevant over time. Land surveying practices change, which means an existing survey might feature mistakes. Additionally, someone introducing a new law locally can impact whether any plans you make based on an old survey are legal. Other more niche cases, such as the discovery of a blooming species nearby, can nullify a survey. Your land surveyor will likely look at the existing survey and may use it as a basis for their work. As they're the people who have knowledge of the local area and its laws, they're in a good position to identify whether a survey's contents still stand.
Overall, using a land surveyor ensures your project runs smoothly from the design phase through to completion. Their findings may result in you making adaptations to current plans, but that can avoid costly mistakes further down the line.
Reach out to a land surveyor near you to learn more.
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