SIY0.TXT Introduction 0 SURVEY IT YOURSELF The Poor Man's Guide to Land Surveying Unpublished compuscript Copyright (c) 1985, 1991 by David Perry Beiter CAVE, Inc. 1/2 Fast Road Ritner, KY 42639 606/376-3137 Revision date: 22 Oct 90 Copied 15 Aug 91 for: PC-SIG 1030D East Duane Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Distributed as Disk No: 1826 ^Go forth & exponentiate^ SIY0.TXT Introduction 1 Property Evaluation When actually evaluating a property, I usually do the following: 1) I eyeball the property and sketch it on a topo map. I might pace survey at this time. Chapters 5 & 6. 2) I eyeball the deed, looking for problems in both the land description and in the chain of title. Chapter 11. 3) I plot a map of the property from the land description, if possible. Chapter 1. 4) I consult an aerial photo of the property. Chapter 5. 5) I have the owner show me the lines and corners. Chapter 11. 6) I check with the neighbors as to their opinions about the lines, corners, and deeds. Chapter 11. 7) I survey the property lines, corners, etc. as shown and plot a map. Chapters 3 & 1. * 8) I compare the map from the deed with the map from reality. Chapter 11. 9) I reconcile the two maps, resurveying as necessary. Chapters 7, 9, 10, 11. 10) I measure the acreage. Chapter 8. 11) I search the deed against its predecessors in the courthouse. I look for problems both in the land description and in the title. * 12) I may permanently mark the lines and corners. Chapter 11. You may wish to add or delete items to meet your particular needs. But do not follow this recipe while learning. Learn the chapters in order. And learn to survey in your backyard before you try it for real. * Disclaimer. I am neither a Licensed Land Surveyor, nor an Attorney. That I may, from time to time, act as my own surveyor or lawyer is certainly not any recommendation that you do so. The most important part of doing it yourself is knowing the limits of your [in]competence. Further legal inquires should be directed to Lyman M. Lyonn, Esq., at Pluckum, Phuccum, and Chuckem, Attorneys at Law, Route 572 Box 66-G, Delta, KY 42613. See Luke 11:46 for a legal opinion. SIY0.TXT Introduction 2 What Else Do You Need? This text was written assuming that it would be distributed on floppy disk, which is much cheaper than newsprint nowdays. If you received a paper copy, you can ignore the computer references, and they will ignore you. Ignorance is bliss. There are some things that just won't fit on a floppy disk. And some things might fit if I were a bit smarter. Besides, this forces you to register your copy of my book and programs. There are 5 levels of registration, which includes updated disk & graphs. Distributors, shareware vendors, libraries, & BBSs get a free updated disk. Collaborators, co-conspirators, & students pay only $5. If you will survey only one parcel of land then the price is $10. If you will survey multiple parcels then the price is $25. If you use this information commercially, then the registration is $50. If you will use this method for hire, such as with law firms, realtors & government agencies then the registration is $100. A durable plastic protractor and a ruler graduated in tenths of an inch and millimeters are two bux [$2]. To actually survey land, you will need a Silva Ranger type 15 compass. This does more than just tells you which way is north. It is the compass of choice for professional geologists, foresters, prospectors, and guides, as well as surveyors who need a preliminary survey. It has its own built-in protractor and ruler. This item will cost you forty bux [$40]. You may also need a surveyor's tape measure. For a small job, you could use a 50 or 100 foot carpenter's tape measure. For learning, you can simply count your steps (pace the distance). An unbreakable 200 foot Keson PVC coated fiberglass surveyor's tape measure, graduated in tenths of a foot, costs you twenty-eight bux [$28]. A 100' tape is $23 and a 300' tape is $35. I can also supply metric tapes, 50m for $29, and 100m for $46. Shipping and handling are five bux [$5]. Shipping is by US Postal "Service" First Class Priority Mail. For delivery to Kentucky addresses, add 6% "sales" tax on the merchandise or supply exemption. Our Kentucky sales tax # is 050222 Make checks payable to CAVE, Inc and send your order to: Dave Beiter, CAVE Inc, 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner KY 42639. Foreign orders are welcome, tho we will have to work out the details. There is a handy order form in file REGISTER.ME on this disk. You could copy it to your printer. Or you could import it into your word processor and fill it out the modern way, if you have nothing else interesting to do. It is a plain vanilla ASCII textfile, as are all these instructions. SIY0.TXT Introduction 3 How to Use These Instructions Land surveying involves two parts. Part of the work is done in the field. Here you actually walk around the real land and measure directions and distances. The second part is done in an office, or more commonly on the kitchen table. Here you evaluate what you have done in the field. You will actually have to survey some land and plot some maps in order to learn to survey land and plot maps. This should take you a weekend to learn. I think that it is pretty simple, altho I distinctly remember puzzling for hours while I was devising this method. Of course I didn't have any instructions and I was surveying alone in a deep dark dank hole in the ground. You got it easy! Applying your new abilities to your particular problem could be more difficult. I can't imagine, let alone write instructions for, all of your applications. If you have a question on either the basic method or on a specific application, ask. Dave, CAVE Inc, 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner, KY 42639. Phone 606/376-3137. Please don't expect me to think on the phone. Days, evenings, weekends-it's all the same to me. I'm retired. Are you interested in retiring young? When writing, enclose a copy of your deed, map, data, or whatever is in question. Tell me what you are trying to do, and why you can't do it. Enclose a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope [SASE] if you wish a reply. SIY0.TXT Introduction 4 MY GUARANTEE: I can teach you to survey land. If either you or I decide that you are incapable of learning and applying this technique, you get your money back. Or rather, I'll send you a check which your bank will exchange for those little green pieces of paper which drive men crazy. I get my instruments and instructions back. Used, please. To encourage you to start learning this evening, this guarantee is good only for three months from the date which you receive my materials. It can be renewed for $1 per month. Write or call if you get stuck. If your guarantee has expired, enclose a $10 service charge for questions about the basic method. Enclose a $20 service charge for questions about a specific application. If you enclose a signed statement releasing your material for inclusion as an example in future instructions, then the service charge is waived. I would appreciate any comments, complaints, criticisms, collaborations, corroborations, or corrections. I will consider any editing, from catching mspellings and typograhpic errors to co-authoring additional chapters. Negative feedback invited. One constructive criticism is worth more than a thousand adulations. CAVE Inc., 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner KY 42639. Dave, 606/376-3137 "Thou shalt not move survey corners." -Moses, in Deuteronomy 19:14 "Acursed is he who moves back survey corners." -Deut. 27:17 Dedication Dedicated to the memory of James Ballentine, the Union College IBM 1620 computer, and Wuckit's Skull Cave, without whose serendipitous congruence in 1965 none of the following would have been conceivable, let alone possible. SIY0.TXT Introduction 5 Table of Contents Chapter Name Page 0 Introduction 0 1/2 Compass Theory and Operation 6 1_C Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 9 2 Write a Land Description from a Map 19 3 Field Survey and Write a Land Description 21 4 Locate a Point on the Earth from a Land Description 27 5 Topographic Maps and Aerial Photographs 29 6 Township and Range 32 7 Slope Distance and Clinometers 33 8 Measure Acreage 39 9 Calculators and Computers 42 10 Error and Blunder 47 11 Helpful Hints for Surveying in the Real World 52 12 The Next Step Up 58 13 Self Defense Against Surveyors 59 14 Sources 60 G Glossary of Surveying Words Defined 61 B Biography and History of the Method 65 W List of Unusual Words with Their Meanings 66 1 Plot a Map from a Land Description 72