Drennan Surveying Services, LLC

KEEP YOUR PROPERTY CORNERS CLEAR It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s so important to keep your property corners clear of obstructions, trash and debris, burn barrels, trees or weeds, and even special planted shrubs. I have found that birds and squirrels often plant things for you as well. Two biggies are poison ivy and multi-floral rose. Those two always seem to go together. First you get clawed to bits with the rose thorns and then a big dose of poison ivy to end up s...ending you to a hospital for cortisone shots. Use some powerful weed killer to keep that stuff out. A surveyor’s job is to find and measure these corners and if they are hidden due to a pile of trash or someone’s flower garden, the corner could end up elsewhere, due to ambiguities and perhaps miscalculations. So, go take a look at your property corners. A lot of times, they are in the fence corners. Keep the corner cleared out so the surveyor can readily find the monument. Sometimes, if you ask him, the surveyor will set them in concrete. As a non-surveyor, individuals cannot touch the property corner pins/monuments. Any movement of those corners and your boundary could be void and have to be re-established. It’s against the law for you to move or remove a boundary corner, so please leave the actual pin alone. One of the things surveyors do is set guard stakes beside the pins. Bright colored plastic flagging is tied on these stakes, or on fences or in the trees next to the corner pin, so the next person coming through to find the corner, will be able to find it easily. If these old stakes have rotted and fallen over, you can replace them; just keep the stakes a boot-width away from the actual pin. Tee-posts are great for guarding the pins, just don’t set them directly beside the pin, it will move the pin. All I’m suggesting is make sure you can see the corner or find it easily. It will give you peace of mind knowing where the corner is and save the surveyor time when he does a survey of your or your neighbor’s property. That will save you money because it will save him time. Preserving your property corner not only helps you, but the folks that buy the property from you and the ones that buy it from them, and so on til the Lord returns. For all of us surveyors and landowners, we thank you. See more

WHY BECOME A SURVEYOR? A FB post of an article supposedly written by a third grader: What Is A Sirvayur? A sirvayur is something that grubs around in the woods looking for sticks and stones. When he finds them he does some kind of weerd dance around them with a funny looking 3-leg crutch wich he leans on and looks at. When he don’t find them walks around all day like he’s lost. Sometimes you see them squashed by cars along rodes, espeshelly in the sumer when all the other...Continue reading

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON SURVEYING This is largely based on my observations and opinions and may not be as accurate as it should be, but here goes. It seems as if any time we have a political agenda of more taxes, more regulations, more protection for the environment, and more government intervention in anything, we have less development and the housing market goes stale. When the economy feels strangled by big government, people don’t want to spend anything for fea...Continue reading

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SURVEYS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES Most people see a surveyor as a guy walking around in the woods looking lost, writing down a few things, maybe looking through a telescope, and measuring something without really understanding why. I hope to enlighten the public about what we surveyors do and why. For the most part, our jobs are purpose-driven; we’re out there for a specific reason. There are many types of surveys for a myriad of purposes; boundary survey, ...Continue reading

CHANGING METHODS OF MEASURING. How far is it from here to there? How many acres do I have? When land was sold by the quarter (160 acres) or half-quarter (80 acres) or quarter-quarter (40 acres) it was relative. Measurements were to the nearest chain and/or link (66 feet and 0.66 feet respectively). When land became so valuable, such as commercial property in downtown St. Louis or the like, where land is priced by the square foot, then measurements became more precise out ...Continue reading

I'm so tired of the rain, or snow, or ice, or bitter cold. I just want some sun and clear weather for awhile...without the leaves popping out. I noticed this morning, I have flowers sprouting up. Wait, wait, wait. Too much to do while the leaves are off.

I thought this was especially appropriate today, with it starting out at 5 degrees. TOO HOT, TOO COLD, JUST RIGHT Sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s true. I’ve worked in 125 Heat Index to -60 Wind Chills and it’s no fun either way. If you must work in those conditions all the time, you acclimate yourself and your equipment to it. As it is, we’re in an area that we have to be prepared for anything. With extreme heat, your displays can bleed over to see one big blog. In ext...Continue reading

NORTH IS THAT A WAY Sounds like a simple answer, That way pointing to the direction of the north pole. You know, where Santa or Superman hang out. But surprisingly enough, the answer ISN’T so simple. It has to do with when the description was written or when the measurement was made. If the description was written in somebody’s office without actually seeing the land, it was likely to be written in simple North, South, East, West (cardinal) directions and probably to the...Continue reading

SURVEY RESULTS MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU EXPECT An unfortunate and common belief is that the limits of your property are from fence to fence or some other obvious or visible line of possession. Things like I’ve been mowing over there for years or We’ve always thought that tree over there was near the corner and so on, are heard by surveyors constantly. Another is, Well the realtor said my property went to _________ or, The Assessor’s map shows my property goes to ________...Continue reading

WHY ARE LAND SURVEY COSTS SO HIGH? This is one of the most asked questions from clients. So, I’ll try explaining. There is a lot of work done by a surveyor that is never seen by the public. Nearly everyone who calls to inquire asks one question, How much does it cost to survey.? There are a lot of things that factor into the cost of any survey: physical address, topology (i.e.: flat, hilly, with trees or open land), copies of the deeds, county the land is in, proposed u...se, weather, time frame, etc. Once a surveyor knows where the property is located at least by ownership and/or address, he can then look up other sources of information. Other sources we use are the Survey Repository with the State of Missouri, individual County Assessor’s and Recorder of Deeds records, respective City records (where they apply), FEMA, USGS maps, National and State Geographic Reference Systems, the old Public Land Survey System maps and surveys, Google Earth maps, National Weather Services, and any other information provided or discovered to help us all out. A survey is an attempt to locate the deed on the ground. As surveyors, we try to find evidence, written, verbal, and physical, that will help us locate what the deed says you own. Sometimes it becomes a process of elimination to find your property, and we must find it with respect to your neighbor’s properties. So, before we ever get out in the field to look for things, we must do our research to see if we can find out what we are to be looking for, and where it should be. Once we’re in the field, and if we have copies of old surveys or references, we can look for property corners, fence corners, and house or other improvements that are noted. Even the road or street that the property is accessed by can become an important feature in finding the property and its effect on the property. For example, the acquisition of additional right-of-way for the road itself, can affect the overall acreage of the resultant parcel. With the office research and field searches that are necessary, it’s hard to see the time involved and those up-front fee costs involved in your survey. It’s simply a factor of time and time costs. More information and answers to questions are forthcoming.

I thought I'd start a process of Public Education in regard to the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How's of Surveying. So, if you have a question about surveying, ask it. If you have interest in surveying, look for my posts. Could be entertaining if nothing else.

Traffic was really flyin' down the Interstate today!