THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAND SURVEYS

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A SURVEY CARRIED OUT DURING OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT FOR RECORD, COMPLETION EVALUATION AND PAYMENT PURPOSES. AN AS-BUILT SURVEY IS ALSO KNOWN AS A ‘WORKS AS EXECUTED SURVEY’ AND DOCUMENTS THE LOCATION OF THE RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED ELEMENTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO COMPLETION EVALUATION. AS BUILT SURVEYS ARE OFTEN PRESENTED IN RED OR REDLINE AND OVERLAID OVER EXISTING DESIGN PLANS FOR DIRECT COMPARISON WITH DESIGN INFORMATION.  

A SURVEY THAT ESTABLISHES OR REESTABLISHES BOUNDARIES OF A PARCEL USING ITS LEGAL DESCRIPTION WHICH TYPICALLY INVOLVES THE SETTING OR RESTORATION OF MONUMENTS OR MARKERS AT THE CORNERS OR ALONG THE LINES OF THE PARCEL, OFTEN IN THE FORM OF IRON RODS PIPES OR CONCRETE (CONCRETE) MONUMENTS IN THE GROUND, OR NAILS SET IN CONCRETE OR ASPHALT.  

PHYSICAL SURVEY IS A SIMPLE SURVEY THAT DELINEATES LAND BOUNDARIES AND BUILDING LOCATIONS. IN MANY PLACES A MORTGAGE SURVEY IS REQUIRED BY LENDING INSTITUTIONS AS A PRECONDITION FOR A MORTGAGE LOAN. THE ALTA/ACSM LAND TITLE SURVEY IS A SURVEYING STANDARD JOINTLY PROPOSED BY THE AMERICAN LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION AND THE AMERICAN CONGRESS ON SURVEYING AND MAPPING THAT INCORPORATES ELEMENTS OF THE BOUNDARY SURVEY, MORTGAGE SURVEY, AND TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY.  

CONTROL SURVEYS ESTABLISH REFERENCE POINTS THAT SURVEYORS CAN USE TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN POSITION AT THE START OF FUTURE SURVEYS. MOST OTHER FORMS OF SURVEYING WILL CONTAIN ELEMENTS OF CONTROL SURVEYING.  

THOSE SURVEYS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENGINEERING DESIGN (TOPOGRAPHIC, LAYOUT AND AS-BUILT) OFTEN REQUIRING GEODETIC COMPUTATIONS BEYOND NORMAL CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE. FOUNDATION SURVEY: A SURVEY DONE TO COLLECT THE POSITIONAL DATA ON A FOUNDATION THAT HAS BEEN POURED AND IS CURED. THIS IS DONE TO ENSURE THAT THE FOUNDATION WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE LOCATION, AND AT THE ELEVATION, AUTHORIZED IN THE PLOT PLAN, SITE PLAN, OR SUBDIVISION PLAN.  

AN ELEMENT OF MANY OTHER SURVEYS WHERE THE CALCULATED OR PROPOSED POSITION OF AN OBJECT IS MARKED ON THE GROUND, EITHER TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ENGINEERING AND CADASTRAL SURVEYING.  

A SURVEY THAT MEASURES THE ELEVATION OF POINTS ON A PARTICULAR PIECE OF LAND AND PRESENTS THEM AS CONTOUR LINES ON A PLOT. 

PER CHAPTER 42: THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS REQUIRE AN EXISTING CONDITION SURVEY FOR THE PURPOSE PLATTING THAT COMBINE SEVERAL ELEMENTS OF THE ABOVEMENTIONED SURVEYS.  

EACH CLASS II AND CLASS III PRELIMINARY PLAT SHALL PROVIDE AN EXISTING CONDITIONS SURVEY THAT ILLUSTRATES THE LOCATION OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: CURBS, DRIVEWAYS, UTILITY POLES, METERS, FIRE HYDRANTS, STORM SEWER INLETS, AND OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES ON THE TRACT OR IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY WITHIN TEN FEET OF THE TRACT; RECORDED EASEMENTS ON THE TRACT; TREES LOCATED WITHIN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY WITHIN TEN FEET OF THE TRACT OR WITHIN THE BUILDING SETBACK AREA AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED BY ARTICLE V OF CHAPTER 33 OF THIS CODE; ROADWAYS AND SIDEWALKS INCLUDING THE PAVING SECTION WIDTH ON THE TRACT AND IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY WITHIN TEN FEET OF THE TRACT; AND PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY INCLUDING THE WIDTH ON OR ADJACENT TO THE TRACT. 

ALL SUBDIVISION PLATS MUST BE BASED UPON A SURVEY UPON THE GROUND USING THE OFFICIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM. THE OFFICIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM IS DEFINED AS "THE STANDARD SYSTEM OF COORDINATES AND ELEVATIONS BASED UPON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION DATA KNOWN AS THE TEXAS STATE PLAN COORDINATE GRID SYSTEM OF 1983 ... " 

ALL CLASS, C2, C3F AND STD PLATS MUST CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. BOUNDARY POINTS WITH COORDINATE VALUES FOR EACH 

2. ADD THE FOLLOWING PLAT NOTE FOR PLATS LOCATED IN HARRIS, FORT BEND AND WALLER COUNTIES: THE COORDINATES SHOWN HEREON ARE TEXAS SOUTH CENTRAL ZONE NO. 4204 STATE PLANE GRID COORDINATES (NAD83) AND MAY BE BROUGHT TO SURFACE BY APPLYING THE FOLLOWING COMBINED SCALE.