Before anyone swings a sledgehammer at an old wall between two lots, a boundary survey should show who owns the ground under it. Many walls were built decades ago by owners who guessed at the line. Some sit squarely on one lot, some straddle the line, and some lean or bulge into the neighbor's yard. Tearing one out without knowing where it stands can start a dispute that outlasts the new wall. A survey answers the location question with measurements. It also flags encroachments , points you to the right records, and gives your contractor a line to build from. Both neighbors benefit when the facts come first. Where the Existing Wall Sits Relative to the Property Line Start by finding out exactly where the wall sits. The surveyor locates the property line and measures the wall’s faces at several points along its length. Old walls rarely run perfectly straight, so one end may be on your side while the other drifts across. A boundary survey will usually show distances from the line ...
A land surveyor can usually recover corners lost to a road widening, even when every front marker on the block is gone. Excavators, new curbs, and fresh sidewalks bury or remove pins that sat untouched for decades. Owners are left guessing where their yard ends and the public right-of-way begins. That guess matters when you want to put a fence back, rebuild a driveway, or sell. Recovery depends on records and on whatever markers survived the work. The surveyor combines old plats, the road project plans, and field measurements to rebuild the lines. Once you have the updated survey , you can make decisions based on facts instead of memory. Roadwork Can Bury or Remove Property Corner Markers Road widening usually means digging along the front edge of every lot. Crews cut into the ground for new pavement, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, and utility moves. Iron pins and concrete bounds near the old road line often get pulled out, broken, or pushed out of place. Other markers survive but ...