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Construction Site Surveying Guide for GCs

Construction Site Surveying

Construction Site Surveying Basics: What Every GC Needs to Know

If you have been in this business long enough, you have seen what happens when someone skips the survey or tries to wing it with a property line. Foundations end up two feet into the setback. Retaining walls get built on the neighbor’s lot. Drainage gets graded the wrong direction. And every single one of those problems costs ten times more to fix than the survey would have cost in the first place.

Site surveying is not the most exciting part of construction. Nobody got into this trade because they love reading plat maps. But understanding what surveys do, when you need them, and how to work with your surveyor will save you from the kind of mistakes that eat your margin and wreck your schedule.

This guide breaks down the three types of surveys you will deal with most often as a GC: boundary surveys, topographic surveys, and construction staking. We will cover what each one tells you, when to order them, and how to avoid the most common screw-ups.

Why Surveying Matters More Than Most GCs Think

Here is the thing about surveying: it is the foundation of everything else on the project. Your blueprints are only as good as the survey data they are based on. Your site plan only works if someone actually verified where the property lines are. Your grading plan only makes sense if the existing elevations are accurate.

I have talked to plenty of contractors who treat the survey as a checkbox. Something the engineer or architect ordered, something that showed up in the bid documents, something they glanced at and filed away. That is a mistake.

As a GC, you need to be able to read a survey, understand what it is telling you, and know when the information is missing or outdated. You do not need to be a licensed surveyor, but you need enough knowledge to ask the right questions and catch problems before they turn into change orders.

Think of it this way. You would not start framing without checking the foundation dimensions. So why would you start site work without checking the survey?

The cost of a survey is almost always less than one percent of total project cost. The cost of a survey-related mistake can be five to ten percent or more, plus weeks of delays while lawyers and engineers sort things out.

Boundary Surveys: Know Where Your Property Starts and Stops

A boundary survey establishes the legal limits of a property. The surveyor researches the deed, finds or sets monuments at the property corners, and produces a plat or map showing the property lines, dimensions, and any easements or encroachments.

This is the most fundamental survey you will encounter, and it answers one simple question: where exactly is this property?

What a boundary survey includes

  • Property corners and monuments. These are the physical markers (iron pins, concrete monuments, or other markers) that define the corners of the parcel. The surveyor will find existing monuments or set new ones.
  • Property line dimensions. The bearing and distance of each property line, tied to a coordinate system or reference point.
  • Easements. Utility easements, access easements, drainage easements. Anything that gives someone else the right to use part of the property.
  • Encroachments. If the neighbor’s fence, shed, or driveway crosses onto the property (or vice versa), the survey will show it.
  • Setback lines. The required distance from property lines where construction is prohibited. These come from zoning and land use regulations, not from the surveyor, but a good surveyor will show them on the plat.

When you need a boundary survey

You need a boundary survey before any project where the building location matters relative to the property line. That is basically every project. Specifically:

  • New construction on undeveloped lots. Always. No exceptions.
  • Additions or expansions. If you are building closer to a property line than the original structure, you need to verify where that line is.
  • Fence or retaining wall projects. These are the projects where boundary disputes happen most often.
  • Any project requiring a site plan for permitting. Most jurisdictions require a survey as part of the site plan submission.

Common boundary survey mistakes GCs make

The biggest mistake is assuming the existing survey is still accurate. Surveys can be 10, 20, or 30 years old. Monuments get disturbed by previous construction, utility work, or just time. If you are relying on an old survey, at least have a surveyor verify the corners before you start.

The second biggest mistake is assuming the fence line is the property line. It almost never is. I have seen fences that were off by three, four, even ten feet. Never assume a fence, tree line, or other visible feature represents the legal boundary.

Topographic Surveys: Mapping What Is Actually Out There

While a boundary survey tells you where the property is, a topographic survey (topo survey) tells you what is on it and how the ground is shaped. This is the survey that gives your engineers and architects the existing conditions they need for design.

A topo survey maps elevations, slopes, drainage patterns, existing structures, trees, utilities, and other physical features of the site. It produces a contour map that shows the shape of the terrain.

What a topo survey includes

  • Contour lines. Lines of equal elevation, usually at one-foot or two-foot intervals. These show slopes, ridges, valleys, and flat areas. On tight sites or detailed grading plans, you might need half-foot contours.
  • Existing structures. Buildings, pavement, walls, fences, anything built on the site.
  • Vegetation. Trees (with species and diameter for those over a certain size), tree lines, hedgerows. If there is a tree preservation ordinance, this data is critical.
  • Utilities. Visible utility features like manholes, fire hydrants, power poles, utility boxes, and valve covers. Underground utilities are typically located separately.
  • Drainage features. Swales, ditches, culverts, storm drains, retention areas. Understanding existing drainage is essential for your land development work.
  • Benchmark and control points. Reference points with known elevations that you will use throughout construction.

How GCs use topo survey data

The topo survey feeds directly into your site design. Your civil engineer uses it to design grading plans, stormwater management, and utility routing. Your architect uses it to set finished floor elevations and design the building pad. Your estimator uses it to calculate cut and fill quantities.

If you are putting together a bid, the topo survey is where your earthwork numbers come from. Bad topo data means bad earthwork estimates, and earthwork is one of the biggest cost variables on any site project. When you are building your numbers in your estimating software, the accuracy of your cut-and-fill calculations depends entirely on the accuracy of the topo.

A topo survey also helps you identify potential problems early. Weird drainage patterns, unexpected slopes, buried structures, or utility conflicts. Finding these in the office costs nothing. Finding them in the field costs a lot.

When to order a topo survey

Order the topo survey early in pre-construction planning. Your design team needs this data before they start drawing. If you wait until design is underway, you risk the engineers making assumptions about existing conditions that turn out to be wrong.

For bid-build projects, the topo survey should already be in the bid documents. Review it carefully. Check the date. If it is more than a year old, conditions may have changed, especially on sites with ongoing development nearby.

For design-build projects, ordering the topo survey is often your responsibility. Get it done as soon as you have access to the site.

Construction Staking: Putting the Plan on the Ground

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Construction staking (also called layout or field layout) is where the survey goes from paper to dirt. A surveyor takes the design drawings and marks the exact locations, elevations, and alignments on the ground so your crews know where to dig, pour, and build.

This is the survey work that happens during construction, and it is the one that most directly affects your day-to-day operations.

Types of construction staking

  • Rough grading stakes. Cut and fill stakes that tell your equipment operators how much dirt to move and in which direction. These typically show the amount of cut (marked with a C) or fill (marked with an F) needed at each stake location to reach design grade.
  • Building layout. Offset stakes or batter boards that define the building corners, foundation lines, and column locations. These get set just before excavation or forming.
  • Utility staking. Marks the planned location and depth of water, sewer, storm, gas, electric, and communication lines. Your soil testing results might affect utility trench depths and bedding requirements, so coordinate with your geotech.
  • Curb and gutter. Flow line grades and alignment for curbs, gutters, and pavement edges.
  • Final grade stakes. Finish grade elevations for parking lots, sidewalks, and other paved areas. These are the last stakes set before paving.
  • As-built survey. After construction, the surveyor returns to document what was actually built and where. Many jurisdictions require as-builts before they will issue a certificate of occupancy.

How to work with your surveyor during construction

Good communication with your surveyor during construction saves time and prevents rework. Here are a few practical tips:

Give them advance notice. Survey crews are busy. Do not call on Monday morning expecting stakes by Monday afternoon. Give at least a week of lead time for staking visits, more during busy season.

Protect the stakes. This sounds obvious, but stakes get knocked out by equipment, buried by grading, and pulled up by curious subcontractors constantly. Brief your crews on which stakes matter and where they are. When stakes get disturbed, call the surveyor back before proceeding.

Provide the right drawings. Your surveyor needs the most current design drawings, and they need them in a usable format. CAD files are ideal. PDFs work in a pinch. Hand-sketched napkin drawings do not.

Be on site or available. When the survey crew is staking, have someone available who can answer questions about the design intent. Surveyors are precise, but they are not mind readers. If there is an ambiguity in the plans, they need to know how you want it resolved.

Document everything. Take photos of stakes and markings before your crews start work. If a dispute comes up later about whether something was staked correctly, photos are your best evidence. Use a tool like Projul’s photos and documents feature to keep survey photos organized and tied to the project.

Reading Survey Documents: What GCs Need to Understand

You do not need to be a surveyor to read a survey. But you do need to know what you are looking at. Here are the key elements you will encounter on survey documents.

Plat maps

A plat map shows the boundaries of a property (or subdivision) with dimensions, bearings, easements, and other legal information. When you see something like “N 45°30’15” E, 150.00’” on a plat, that is a bearing and distance describing a property line. North 45 degrees, 30 minutes, 15 seconds east, for 150 feet.

You do not need to do the math. You need to know that those numbers describe a specific line on the ground, and if your building is supposed to be 25 feet from that line, you had better know where that line is.

Contour maps

Contour lines connect points of equal elevation. Lines that are close together mean steep slope. Lines that are far apart mean gentle slope or flat ground. A hilltop shows as concentric circles getting smaller toward the center. A valley shows as V-shaped contours pointing uphill.

When you are reviewing a grading plan, check the existing contours against the proposed contours. The difference between them is your cut and fill. Major differences mean major earthwork.

Benchmark information

Every survey references a benchmark, a point with a known elevation. All other elevations on the survey are relative to this benchmark. Make sure you know where the benchmark is and that it is still in place before construction starts. If the benchmark gets destroyed, your elevation control for the entire project is gone.

On many projects, the surveyor will set a temporary benchmark (TBM) on a permanent feature near the site, like a fire hydrant or utility manhole. Write down where it is. Take a photo. Share it with your superintendent and your grading sub.

Survey certifications and notes

The certification is the surveyor’s statement about what they did, when they did it, and the standard they followed. Read the notes section carefully. Surveyors use notes to flag things they found but could not resolve, like conflicting deed descriptions, missing monuments, or encroachments. These notes often contain early warnings about problems that will affect your project.

Common Surveying Problems and How to Avoid Them

After years of seeing projects go sideways because of survey issues, here are the problems that come up again and again.

Problem: The survey is outdated

A survey from five years ago might not reflect current conditions. Trees have grown, neighbors have built additions, utilities have been installed, and grading has changed. If you are working with an old survey, get the surveyor to update it or at least field-verify the critical elements.

Problem: Conflicting surveys

Adjacent properties sometimes have surveys that disagree about where the boundary is. This happens more often than you would think, especially in older neighborhoods where original surveys were less precise. If you discover conflicting surveys, stop and get a surveyor involved before you build anything near the disputed area.

Problem: Missing utilities

Topo surveys show visible utility features, but they do not show everything underground. Always call 811 (or your local one-call center) for utility locates before digging. The topo survey supplements utility locates but does not replace them. If you are doing significant underground work, consider hiring a private utility locating company for a more thorough investigation.

Problem: Elevation datum confusion

Different surveys on the same site might reference different elevation datums. If your topo survey uses NAVD88 and your benchmark certificate uses NGVD29, your elevations will be off by a foot or more. Make sure all survey data on your project references the same datum, or know the conversion factor.

Problem: Stakes getting destroyed

This happens on every project. Have a plan for it. Know your surveyor’s availability for re-staking, budget for re-staking visits, and document stake locations with photos and measurements to permanent features so you can verify if a stake has been moved.

Problem: GC does not review the survey before bidding

This might be the most expensive mistake of all. If you bid a project without carefully reviewing the survey, you are gambling. Check for access issues, easement restrictions, slope challenges, utility conflicts, and setback constraints. All of that information is on the survey. All of it affects your price.

ALTA/NSPS Surveys: What Commercial GCs Need to Know

If you do any commercial, multifamily, or institutional work, you will eventually run into an ALTA/NSPS survey. These are the heavyweight surveys in the industry, and they exist primarily to satisfy title insurance companies, lenders, and attorneys during real estate transactions. But as a GC, understanding what is in an ALTA survey gives you a massive advantage during pre-construction.

ALTA stands for American Land Title Association. NSPS stands for National Society of Professional Surveyors. Together, they publish a set of minimum standard detail requirements for land title surveys. The current standards (adopted in 2021) define exactly what the survey must include and offer a menu of optional items called “Table A” items that the client can request.

What makes an ALTA survey different from a standard boundary survey

A standard boundary survey shows you property lines, dimensions, and monuments. An ALTA survey does all of that plus a lot more. It includes a detailed title commitment review, where the surveyor plots every easement, restriction, and exception listed in the title report directly onto the survey map. It shows zoning classification, setback lines, flood zone designations, and access points.

Think of it this way: a boundary survey tells you where the property is. An ALTA survey tells you where the property is, what legal restrictions apply to it, who else has rights to use parts of it, and what regulatory constraints you are working within. For a GC reviewing a commercial site, that is gold.

Table A items that matter for construction

The Table A optional items let the client customize the survey. Not all of them matter for construction, but several are worth requesting if you have any say in the scope:

  • Item 1: Monument placement. The surveyor sets monuments at all property corners. Always request this. You need physical markers in the ground, not just coordinates on paper.
  • Item 6: Zoning information. The surveyor provides the zoning classification, setbacks, height limits, parking requirements, lot coverage limits, and whether the current or proposed use conforms. This saves you a separate trip to the planning department.
  • Item 8: Capped utilities. The surveyor locates observable evidence of utilities on or serving the property. This is more thorough than a standard topo and specifically focused on service connections.
  • Item 11: Contours. You can request topo contours as part of the ALTA survey, which essentially combines the boundary and topo survey into one deliverable. On smaller commercial sites, this saves time and money versus ordering two separate surveys.
  • Item 19: Offsite easements. The surveyor plots access easements or utility easements that serve the property but are located on adjacent parcels. If your only access to a public road runs across a neighbor’s property, you want to know exactly where that easement is and how wide it is.

How to use ALTA surveys in your bidding process

When you receive an ALTA survey as part of bid documents for a commercial project, do not just look at the pretty map. Read the surveyor’s notes, the title exceptions, and the Table A items. Specifically, check for:

  • Easements that conflict with the building footprint. If a utility easement runs through the middle of where the building is supposed to go, that is a major issue that needs to be resolved before you price the job.
  • Access restrictions. Some properties have specific ingress and egress points defined by easement. If those do not align with your construction access plan or the proposed site layout, you have a problem.
  • Flood zone boundaries. If any portion of the building pad falls within a FEMA flood zone, you are looking at additional requirements for foundation design, flood insurance, and possibly a no-rise certification from a civil engineer.
  • Non-conforming zoning. If the existing use is legal non-conforming (grandfathered), check whether the proposed project triggers a zoning change, variance, or conditional use permit. These add time and cost that need to be in your bid.

An ALTA survey is one of the most information-dense documents you will see on a commercial project. Spend time with it. The details buried in those notes and exception descriptions can save you from bidding blind.

Drone Surveying and New Technology: What Is Worth Your Time

The survey industry has changed a lot in the last decade. Total stations and GPS are still the backbone of boundary work, but aerial technology has opened up new options for topo surveys, progress monitoring, and volumetric measurements. As a GC, it helps to know what is available and where the real value is versus what is just marketing hype.

Drone photogrammetry

Drone-based photogrammetry uses overlapping aerial photos to create 3D models and topographic maps of a site. A drone flies a grid pattern over the property, takes hundreds of photos, and software stitches them together into an orthomosaic (a corrected aerial image) and a digital elevation model (a map of ground elevations).

The accuracy of drone photogrammetry depends on ground control points. Without ground control (survey-grade GPS points set on the ground before the flight), accuracy is typically in the one to three foot range, which is not good enough for construction. With properly set ground control points, accuracy improves to the two to four inch range horizontally and vertically. That is close to traditional survey accuracy for topo work, and it is good enough for earthwork estimates, progress tracking, and site planning.

Where drones really shine is speed and coverage. A 20-acre site that would take a two-person survey crew three or four days to topo can be flown in a couple of hours. The data processing takes a day or two in the office, and you get a deliverable that includes contours, an aerial image, and a 3D surface model.

LiDAR scanning

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) uses laser pulses to measure distances and create extremely detailed 3D point clouds. Drone-mounted LiDAR is becoming more common for construction surveying, and its big advantage over photogrammetry is that it can see through vegetation. If you have a heavily wooded site, photogrammetry maps the tree canopy, not the ground. LiDAR punches through the leaves and maps the actual terrain underneath.

LiDAR is also faster to process than photogrammetry for large areas and tends to be more accurate in challenging conditions like low light or uniform surfaces (think snow, sand, or freshly graded dirt where photogrammetry struggles to find visual reference points).

The downside is cost. LiDAR-equipped drones and processing software are significantly more expensive than photogrammetry setups, and that cost gets passed to you. For most standard construction sites under 10 acres with moderate vegetation, photogrammetry with ground control is the better value. For large sites, heavily wooded parcels, or projects where you need sub-inch accuracy over a big area, LiDAR is worth the investment.

GPS and robotic total stations

Your surveyor’s bread-and-butter tools are GPS receivers and robotic total stations. These are not new technology, but they have gotten significantly better and faster. Modern RTK GPS (Real-Time Kinematic) provides centimeter-level accuracy in real time, which means your surveyor can stake points much faster than with traditional methods.

Robotic total stations allow a single surveyor to work alone, controlling the instrument remotely while moving from point to point. This cuts crew size and cost, and it is particularly useful for construction staking where the surveyor needs to set dozens or hundreds of points efficiently.

As a GC, you do not need to buy this equipment, but understanding what your surveyor is using helps you evaluate their proposals and understand their pricing. A firm using modern RTK GPS and robotics should be able to work faster and often at lower cost than a firm still running older equipment with two-person crews.

When technology does not replace a licensed surveyor

Here is the important caveat. Drones, LiDAR, and GPS are tools. They do not replace the legal authority and professional judgment of a licensed surveyor. A drone can create a gorgeous topographic map, but it cannot establish a legal boundary. Only a licensed professional land surveyor (PLS) can sign and seal a boundary survey, certify property corners, and testify about property lines in court.

Some contractors have started flying their own drones for progress photos and rough earthwork tracking. That is fine for internal project management, and tools like Projul’s scheduling can help you coordinate drone flights alongside your construction activities. But do not confuse an internal drone flight with a professional survey. If the data matters for legal, financial, or design purposes, hire a licensed surveyor.

Budgeting for Surveys: Real Costs and How to Protect Your Margin

One of the most frequent questions I hear from GCs, especially those running smaller residential or light commercial shops, is how to handle survey costs in their bids and budgets. Survey costs are one of those line items that seem small in isolation but add up fast when you are running multiple projects.

Typical survey costs by type

These numbers vary by region, but they give you a ballpark for budgeting purposes as of 2024:

Survey TypeTypical RangeKey Variables
Boundary survey (residential lot)$500 to $2,000Lot size, deed complexity, monument condition
Boundary survey (commercial)$1,500 to $5,000Acreage, number of corners, title complexity
Topographic survey (under 5 acres)$1,000 to $5,000Terrain, density of features, contour interval
Topographic survey (5 to 20 acres)$3,000 to $10,000Same variables, plus access difficulty
ALTA/NSPS survey$2,000 to $6,000+Table A items requested, site complexity
Construction staking (per visit)$500 to $2,000Number of points, travel distance, complexity
As-built survey$500 to $2,500Scope of what needs to be documented
Drone topo (with ground control)$1,500 to $5,000Acreage, ground control requirements

Who pays for what

On a standard bid-build project, the owner typically pays for the initial boundary and topo surveys as part of the design phase. Those surveys end up in the bid documents that you price from. Construction staking, however, is usually the GC’s responsibility. Include staking costs in your bid. Most projects need three to six staking visits, sometimes more on phased projects or sites with complex utility layouts.

On design-build projects, you often carry the full survey cost because you are managing the design process. Build all survey costs into your design-phase budget, and do not shortchange it. An incomplete topo survey that forces your engineer to make assumptions will cost you more in the end than paying for a thorough one up front.

Re-staking is a cost that catches a lot of GCs off guard. Budget for at least one or two re-staking visits per project. Stakes get destroyed. It happens. Having budget set aside for it means you are not eating the cost out of your margin when it inevitably occurs.

How to vet a surveyor

Not all survey firms are created equal. Here is what to look for when choosing a surveyor for construction work:

  • Construction experience. Some surveyors focus on real estate transactions and boundary work. You want a firm that regularly does construction staking and understands the pace and demands of an active job site. Ask for references from other GCs.
  • Turnaround time. Survey backlogs can be brutal, especially in hot markets. Ask about current turnaround times before you commit. A firm with a six-week backlog for boundary surveys might not work for your timeline.
  • CAD capabilities. Your engineers need survey data in CAD format. Make sure the survey firm delivers in a compatible format (DWG or DXF files) and not just a PDF plot.
  • Responsiveness. Construction staking requires a surveyor who answers the phone and can get to your site on reasonable notice. If they take three days to return a call, they are not the right fit for active construction support.
  • Proper licensing. Verify that the surveyor is licensed in your state. This sounds basic, but it matters. An unlicensed survey has no legal standing, and if something goes wrong, you have no recourse.

When you find a good surveyor, hold onto them. A reliable surveyor who understands construction becomes one of your most valuable subcontractor relationships. Treat them well, pay them on time, and give them reasonable lead time. They will take care of you when you need a rush staking visit at 6 AM on a Monday.

Coordinating Surveys With Your Project Schedule

Survey work touches almost every phase of a construction project, from pre-construction through closeout. Poor coordination between your survey needs and your project schedule is one of the most common causes of avoidable delays.

Building survey milestones into your schedule

When you are setting up your project schedule, survey visits should be treated as milestone activities, not afterthoughts. Here is a practical approach:

Pre-construction phase. Block out time for boundary and topo survey completion before design begins. If you are waiting on survey data to start engineering, that lead time needs to be in the schedule with realistic durations. A complex boundary survey with title research can take three to five weeks from order to delivery. Do not assume it will be done in a week.

Permitting phase. Some jurisdictions require a site-specific survey as part of the permit application. Others need a tree survey, a wetland delineation, or a floodplain survey. Know your local requirements and build those into the permitting timeline. A missing survey document can hold up your permit for weeks.

Site work phase. Schedule your rough grading staking visit at least one week before your grading sub mobilizes. That gives you a buffer for weather delays, surveyor availability, or last-minute design changes. Do the same for utility staking, building layout, and curb staking. Each one should appear as a predecessor activity to the work it supports.

Vertical construction. On multi-story buildings, you may need floor elevation checks at each level. On structural steel projects, anchor bolt surveys need to happen after the foundation is poured and before steel erection begins. These are critical-path activities. A missed anchor bolt survey can shut down your steel erection and cascade through the entire schedule.

Closeout phase. As-built surveys and foundation location certificates take time. Schedule them early enough that they do not become the last item holding up your certificate of occupancy. Most jurisdictions will not sign off until the as-built is submitted and reviewed.

Dealing with surveyor availability

Survey firms, especially good ones, are chronically busy. In booming construction markets, surveyor availability becomes a real bottleneck. Here are some ways to manage it:

  • Book early. As soon as you know your staking dates, get on your surveyor’s calendar. Tentative dates are better than no dates.
  • Communicate schedule changes. If your schedule shifts, let your surveyor know immediately. They will appreciate the heads-up, and it keeps you in good standing for future scheduling.
  • Have a backup firm. Identify a second surveyor you can call if your primary firm has a conflict. This is especially important during peak season (spring and summer in most markets).
  • Bundle visits. If you need rough grading stakes and utility stakes within a few days of each other, see if the surveyor can do both in one visit. It saves you a mobilization charge and makes better use of their time.

Tracking survey deliverables

Survey documents, staking records, and field notes are project records that you need to keep organized and accessible. When you are managing multiple active projects, it is easy for survey documents to get lost in email chains or buried in someone’s truck. Use your project management system to store survey deliverables alongside your other project documents. Every staking visit should have a corresponding record with the date, what was staked, and any field notes from the surveyor.

This documentation matters for dispute resolution. If a foundation ends up in the wrong spot six months from now, you need to be able to pull up the staking record and prove that the surveyor set the points and your crew followed them. Without documentation, you are the one holding the bag.

Putting It All Together: Survey Workflow for GCs

Here is a practical timeline for how surveying fits into your project workflow.

Pre-bid or pre-construction

  1. Review existing survey documents. Look at what is in the bid package or what the owner provides. Check dates, completeness, and whether the information matches what you see on the site.
  2. Visit the site. Walk the property with the survey in hand. Do the features on the survey match what is actually there? Are there visible issues (encroachments, drainage problems, steep slopes) that the survey should address?
  3. Order additional surveys if needed. If the existing survey is outdated, incomplete, or missing, get a new one. Factor survey costs into your bid or pre-construction budget.
  4. Coordinate with your design team. Make sure your engineers and architects have the survey data they need in the format they need it (usually CAD files).

During permitting

  1. Verify setbacks and easements. Cross-check the survey against zoning requirements and permit conditions. Make sure the proposed building location works within all constraints.
  2. Address any survey issues. If the permit reviewer flags a boundary question or easement concern, get your surveyor involved immediately.

During construction

  1. Schedule staking visits. Work with your surveyor to schedule staking visits that align with your construction schedule. Build in lead time.
  2. Protect survey control. Know where your benchmarks and control points are. Protect them from construction activity.
  3. Document staked locations. Photograph stakes and reference them to permanent features before construction begins at each phase.
  4. Call for re-stakes when needed. Do not guess. If stakes are disturbed, get the surveyor back out.

Project closeout

  1. Order as-built survey. Many jurisdictions require an as-built survey or foundation location survey before final inspection. Schedule this early enough that it does not hold up your CO.

The survey is one of those things that is easy to take for granted when it goes right. But when it goes wrong, it can blow up an entire project. Spend the time and money to get it right up front. Your future self will thank you.

Curious how this looks in practice? Schedule a demo and we will show you.

Ready to keep your survey documents, site photos, and project details organized in one place? See how Projul can help with a free demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a construction site survey cost?
Costs vary widely by location and scope. A basic boundary survey might run $500 to $2,000 for a standard residential lot. Topographic surveys typically cost $1,000 to $5,000 depending on acreage and terrain complexity. ALTA/NSPS surveys for commercial work can run $2,000 to $6,000 or more. Construction staking is usually billed hourly or per visit, ranging from $500 to $2,000 per trip.
What is the difference between a boundary survey and a topographic survey?
A boundary survey establishes the legal property lines and corners of a parcel. It tells you where the property starts and stops. A topographic survey maps the physical features of the land, including elevations, slopes, trees, utilities, and existing structures. You need both for most construction projects, but they answer very different questions.
When should a general contractor order a site survey?
Order a boundary survey as early as possible during pre-construction, ideally before you finalize your bid. Topographic surveys should happen before design work begins so architects and engineers have accurate existing conditions. Construction staking happens after permits are approved but before site work starts.
Do I need a licensed surveyor for construction staking?
It depends on your state and what you are staking. Property corners and boundary lines must be set by a licensed professional land surveyor in every state. Construction staking for building layout, utilities, and grading can sometimes be done by the contractor, but having a licensed surveyor handle it reduces liability and ensures accuracy. Check your local regulations.
How long does a site survey take to complete?
Field work for a boundary survey on a standard lot takes one to two days. The office work, including research, calculations, and drawing the plat, can take one to four weeks depending on the surveyor's backlog and the complexity of the title history. Topographic surveys are similar. Construction staking is usually completed in a single day per visit.
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