Land Surveying (a definition)

from Merriam-Webster online: Surveying, function (n)-: a branch of applied mathematics that is concerned with determining the area of any portion of the earth's surface, the lengths and directions of the bounding lines, and the contour of the surface and with accurately delineating the whole on paper.

Then, from Wikepedia we have:

Surveying or land surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space position of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the surface of the Earth, and are often used to establish land maps and boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes. In order to accomplish their objective, surveyors use elements of geometry, engineering, trigonometry, mathematics, physics, and law.

An alternative definition, per the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), is the science and art of making all essential measurements to determine the relative position of points and/or physical and cultural details above, on, or beneath the surface of the Earth, and to depict them in a usable form, or to establish the position of points and/or details.

Furthermore, as alluded to above, a particular type of surveying known as "land surveying" (also per ACSM) is the detailed study or inspection, as by gathering information through observations, measurements in the field, questionnaires, or research of legal instruments, and data analysis in the support of planning, designing, and establishing of property boundaries. It involves the re-establishment of cadastral surveys and land boundaries based on documents of record and historical evidence, as well as certifying surveys (as required by statute or local ordinance) of subdivision plats/maps, registered land surveys, judicial surveys, and space delineation. Land surveying can include associated services such as mapping and related data accumulation, construction layout surveys, precision measurements of length, angle, elevation, area, and volume, as well as horizontal and vertical control surveys, and the analysis and utilization of land survey data.

Surveying (as it relates to Civil Engineering) from Britannica:Online Encyclopedia:

Method of making relatively large-scale, accurate measurements of the earth’s surfaces.

Its principal modern uses are in the fields of transportation, building, land use, and communications. Surveying is divided into the categories of plane surveying (mapping small areas) and geodetic surveying (mapping large areas of the globe). The Romans are said to have used the plane table, which consists of a drawing board mounted on a tripod or other support and a straightedge along which lines are drawn. It was the first device capable of recording or establishing angles. With the publication of logarithmic tables in 1620, portable angle-measuring instruments, called topographic instruments, or theodolites, came into use; they included pivoted arms for sighting and could be used for measuring both horizontal and vertical angles. Two revolutionary 20th-century innovations were photogrammetry (mapping from aerial photographs) and electronic distance measurement, including the use of the laser.

Land Surveying

In wondering around the world wide web as much as I have been lately Land Surveying, as a profession, has been my focus for so long, sometimes I don't always look at all the possibilities, so, that's what I've been doing the last couple of days, you find a ton of articles and sites out there that are just "Survey" sites, and for the most part, it seems, most of the job hunting sites don't seem to recognize Land Surveying as it's own separate profession, it kind of makes me wonder sometimes, you can always find Real Estate, Architecture, Engineering, and the like, but a separate category for Land Surveying just doesn't seem to be one that most of these sites include, makes you wonder why that is. I guess it's my job to put us on the map. Maybe the term "Surveying" needs to be upgraded, I don't know, just thinking out loud here.

The Flyer

Linked above to the Mapquest,.. this is where I'm hanging out my shingle, so to speak, I'll scan one of the cards that I made at VistaPrint when they get here in a few days, got like 250 cards, a free pen, magnet for the car door, lot's of other goodies, for like $25.00,.. and most of that was the shipping charges.. anyway, here's the flyer, basically, that I've been carrying around.

Save 25-50% off on custom printed products at VistaPrint. Order today!

Leica Robotic Total Station

This is the robot that I'm getting, a Leica TPS1200+, linked above, and it's a sweet one. Fully contained, has a built-in antennae and internal batteries, Bluetooth Wireless Technology, with an Allegro Data Collector running Carlson Software, it's a perfect tool for a lone surveyor, the camera has been upgraded from previous versions, and I can actually run this, on an open site, faster than a conventional two-man crew. We used one a lot like if for the Lenoir City intersection job. That one was a little older version, the battery and radio for that one are both external ones, and you have to carry those around separate, what makes this one neat is all those parts are actually contained inside the station. So, I've printed my flyers, and today was partly marketing and partly meeting with my new favorite person, he's a financial guru that my step dad found that is maximizing his 401(k), this all AFTER the big crash, I think he was down in his like $100,000, and he's brought him, I think, all the way back from that and then some, in this market, that's saying a lot,. so,.. needless to say, I'm transferring my 401(k) over to his hands. That's what's been going on today, that and still building a marketing list.

Here's the Dream

This is the house that I've got picked out to build on our lot in Mt. Juliet, the lot, of course, I've surveyed in the past, and the current Site Plan I've created for it is below. Now, this is where we're going from here, I would love to become a force in the Land Surveying Business in the Mt. Juliet, Lebanon and Hermitage areas, basically, Wilson County, and parts of Davidson County, as this is where I've grown up for the most part, so, I'm now involved working on my Marketing, I guess you'd call it, for now I'm just posting this as references to all the different types of Surveys that I'm capable of, these include, of course, simple Lot Surveys and/or Fence Surveys, where folks just want to know where there Lot Lines are, mostly for building fences, which can be your bread and butter, however, I am also very capable and equipped to do Boundary Surveys, Topographic Surveys, ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys, have had a lot of experience at the Engineering Firm I worked at with Road Construction and Route Surveying for Government Agencies, Strip Topographic Surveys for Utility Companies, and another area I'm really looking to try and latch on the market for is Mortgage Loan Inspections or Mortgage Loan Surveys (we don't really like to use that term, as Surveyors, though) because as far as the Bank is concerned, it's all the same, but their terminology can be misleading to the General Public, and this is what the banks like to have any time there is a transfer of Real Property, but it's not truly a Survey, per se, as much as an Exhibit.