Schnepf & Murrell, P.C.

Did you know you may not have the freedom to remove trees from a piece of land you're planning to buy? If a particular tree is under a preservation order, you could receive a fine for uprooting it.

Ancient Greek and Roman land surveyors used a tool called a Groma whose dagger-like alignment point (called a ferramentum) went into the ground. The "umbilicus soli" contained rotating arms called "corniculi," which hung from a bracket and used hanging plumb lines for accurate sighting.

It’s important to remember that land surveys often become legal binding when it comes to property line disputes. If you believe the most recent survey or your property was handled incorrectly, you may want to bring in an independent surveyor to help.

During a site-planning survey, our professionals use a boundary and topographic survey as a base to design future improvements. The design can be anything from a house to a residential subdivision or even a new shopping center.

Did you know that there were four US Presidents who worked as a land surveyor before they became the leader of the country? They were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln.

When neighboring land, buildings, or construction moves past the boundaries of their property this is considered an encroachment or possession. A surveyor notes this when surveying a property.

If you need to determine your property boundaries, an official survey on file can help you narrow it down, but they typically only give approximate dimensions. To figure out the true distance of a lot line, a land survey is your best bet.

Up until the early 1900s, most land surveyors had access to little more than a level, tape measure and a theodolite. Modern land surveyors have access to some of the most advanced tools and technology in the world.

Land surveyors work mainly in an office, but their projects also take them into the field. They have to compete with and protect their fragile tools from all different kinds of elements like rain and wind.

Although records for surveying reach far back into history, it was the ancient Romans who actually made it a recognized profession, and even created an office expressly for the official surveyor of the empire.

Did you know that the Mason-Dixon line survey began in 1763 and took four years to complete? The cost to survey the 233-mile line was $75,000. Modern surveys have found the Mason-Dixon line to be quite accurate.

If you are planning to develop a commercial or residential site, you’ll need to invest in a topographical survey. This type of land survey measures the elevation points of the property and tracks all other relevant physical features.

A land surveyor is able to lay out streets, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers within a subdivision. He or she is also equipped to provide topographic surveys, supply control for aerial photography, layout construction surveys, and right-of-way surveys.