Survey and grading plan

[Rt jam]

I'm between honouring this request for a 30 x 38' garage I want to build OR skip it but then they want it 10' from the property line.
It's going in my backyard, behind the house. The area back there is 60 x 100'. I want to keep this 2' from the property line which will cost me $5000 to $10,000 Canadian. That's about $3,600 to 7,300US.

What do you think of the survey quotes I'm getting, Seems like alot and it's hard to compare because they are all offering different items or packages.

 

[HPRifleman]

When I had my garage built in 2021, survey costs were:

• Topographic survey - $625US
• Site grading plan - $650US

 

[pcmeiners]

The area back there is 60 x 100'...... $7300 ? Do they charge per square millimeter?

Best get other prices. $2000 for everything would be closer to it at the high end, that would include the garage layout.

 

[reader2580]

Those prices certainly seem high. I only paid around $900 to have my three acre property surveyed around 2017. That survey included taking elevations in many spots because the survey was being done to see if my property was really in a flood zone. (It is not.)

 

[Rusty Wrench]

20 years ago I charged $1200 for the boundary and topographic survey and another $800 for a grading plan. Those were mid size civil engineering firm prices in Chicago area. We were not cheap and those products usually had a slim profit. Mainly did them for preferred clients.

We always extended topo 25-50 feet beyond the property line. If grading is to be changed, the last thing you want is to create a drainage problem for the neighbor.

I don't understand "They want it 10' from property line" vs "I want to keep this 2' from the property line"
Who is 'they'
Are you governed by ordinance?

Anything to be built tight to the property or setback line should be layout by surveyor (extra cost). Any problems are less likely and shifts the burden back to them.

I'm retired 20 yrs now but think 5K US is not unreasonable. If you go cheap; check Dept of Professional Regulation that surveyor is in good standing and that they carry standard Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance. If they are active member in local/national Professional Organization even better.

 

[coldh2o]

Did these in Ontario for 30 years.

$5,000 for a topo survey and engineer-stamped lot grading plan is not unexpected. That does not include layout prior to construction, which needs to be done by an OLS.

 

[Rt jam]

I don't understand "They want it 10' from property line" vs "I want to keep this 2' from the property line"
Who is 'they'
Are you governed by ordinance?

To obtain a garage permit, the city of Hamilton requires a survey and grading plan. They will exempt the permit if I build it 10' from the property line.

 

[Ing3018]

To obtain a garage permit, the city of Hamilton requires a survey and grading plan. They will exempt the permit if I build it 10' from the property line.

Chicken or Egg question: How would they know it was >10' from your property line without a site plan and without the property lines being staked?
I read that the average age of licensed land surveyors in my state is 57 years old. Prices are bound to go up with so few kids being willing to work in this discipline.

 

[ycgoat]

Our area did not have an exemption to 10’ from property line. For the building permit we provided the Platt and construction drawings, but for the septic drain field we needed a topo survey showing grade at 2’ spacing which cost about $1500 for the drain field area. It is a large property and he had to survey one long property line through the woods that bordered the drain field

 

[Chaznsc]

To obtain a garage permit, the city of Hamilton requires a survey and grading plan. They will exempt the permit if I build it 10' from the property line.

There’s a reason for this. I’m guessing they have had more than their share of buildings built over the property line. I’ve seen entire houses built on the wrong lot.

Moving metal carport/building

Long story short, my enclosed carport was placed on the property line of my neighbor. I'm about 3 feet over the line, and was wondering if moving my building 10 feet to the left is possible? My concrete guy said there will be no problem pouring into the slab to extend it. I I would like to keep...

www.garagejournal.com

Costs Of the plot plan may be high for a reason, such as a challenging review process. I’d think you could get this done for under 5k.

 

[no704]

Just had this site plan done $1200 usd

 

[WisJim]

We just got the bill for some survey work we had done earlier this year. Under $4,000 and it included dividing up our 76 acre parcel into a 3 acre and a 4 acre lot, a 46 acre parcel, and the remaining 23 acres. No topographic work. The surveyor did a lot of work for us with a couple of different layouts until we got something that we and our buyers liked. We thought that it was a good deal. We spent a good part of a day tramping through woods and fields with the surveyor, his assistant, and the purchaser of the 46 acres to get things the way we wanted.

 

[Stuart in MN]

It's pretty difficult to compare prices from other areas for different situations. For one thing, a survey for one property may be simple because existing documentation is good and known survey stakes are nearby, while a survey for another property may need digging into the records going back decades and replotting stake locations from a half mile down the road.