Definition of "What does a land surveyor do?"

Kim Bergland real estate agent

Written by

Kim Berglandelite badge icon

Red Horse Real Estate

Any structure that was ever built on land had to first be evaluated by a land surveyor through a survey. If you are wondering, what is surveying, then you should know that surveying is a technique used to record characteristics of a land area.

Surveying is also a profession and the person certified to do a land survey is called a land surveyor. While the overall idea of a survey is to provide information regarding the land area that is going to be relevant for builders or setting boundaries, you may be wondering what does a land surveyor do?

There are multiple types of surveys, some more common than others, but overall a land surveyor is making the same measurements. A land surveyor is determining the position of objects by measuring angles and distances and factors that might affect the measurements that are also taken into account.

The data collected is then used to create bearings, coordinates, vectors, elevations, areas, volumes, maps, and planes. Land surveyors used different tools for the job and some of the main tools are theodolite, total station, 3D scanners, measuring tape, GPS/GNSS, level and rod. Most of these tools screw on a tripod so they are easy to use.

Land surveyors help determine the placement for railways, roads, reservoirs, pipelines, bridges, buildings, and many more. They also help establish boundaries of political divisions and legal descriptions. To become a licensed surveyor you have to receive a degree in surveying, and this is followed by an examination of their knowledge along with some on-the-job training that would build up their portfolio until they are awarded a license to practice.

Some of the best communities in the USA have undergone land surveying and if you want to be part of one you can start by finding a real estate agent to help you pinpoint those locations. 

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Questions

Popular Real Estate Glossary Terms

One-time charge assessed by a bank or other financial institution at the closing of buying real property. The fee increases the effective cost to the borrower. One discount point translates ...

One who represents a zone such an elected leader of a region. He or she have dealings with the county's officials in matters affecting that zone. ...

Building more than six stories high serviced by elevators. ...

Every borrower has his own definition of amortization schedule in mind. An amortization schedule is a table that reveals how the debt is going to be paid back and at what cost. For most ...

Counter action by a defendant against a plaintiff. It is an independent action and just a denial of plaintiff's action. ...

A lender can be a private individual, a private or public group, or an institution that loans funds to a person or business that the lendee would later repay with interest in most cases. In ...

Increasing tax rates with increasing levels of taxable income. ...

The American Dream has cemented the role of homeownership into the collective conscience of the US population. Homeownership provides a place for families to stay that is their own, as well ...

The arrangement of the walls and rooms in a structure. A two-dimensional horizontal scale drawing of the arrangements, size, and orientation of doors, rooms, walls, and windows of a single ...