Dear all, Simple question from a novice, but if I ask two different land surveyors to give me quotes on surveying the same piece of land for a development whilst taking into account the building already on the land. Then so long as they both use the type of measurement that please the council & both produce a PDF & CAD (or similar), is it really simply picking the cheaper one? I suppose my question is simply are all land surveyors the same? With the same mark for the same development, are all soil testers the same in their output for this sort of thing? Thank you very much.
@HenryF Not all Surveys (or Surveyors) are equal, as with any profession. It can also depend how much time and or effort is involved and what is specifically required. However in your case, if it just a simple knock down and rebuild on a simple block of land via a Development Application (DA) to council then,........ as long as the Survey (Detail Survey) shows all the minimum requirements listed by Council, you might be OK with the cheaper quote as this may be adequate to get you past the approval. Most councils (some don't) also insist that all the structures are shown accurately in relation to the property boundary (not just diagrammatically). This is additional work, and the plan is to be signed by a Registered Surveyor. Your local council will list their minimum requirements on their website. But most Surveyors should already know this as we do thousands of these type of surveys. But if you have a difficult terrain and or the amount of detail is paramount to the future design of your development, then your Architect may require more specific information. This will increase the costs. Make sure you compare "apples with apples". I have done $1,000 surveys and $10,000 surveys depending on the specific requirements and future design. regards, Land Surveyor
Thanks @bmc. The development is actually to be the old keep the existing and new house in the rear yard. Sounds like you are a surveyor, should I simply therefore be asking the surveyor if they know for sure they meet the council's minimum requirements? It isn't very difficult terrain, maybe a slope of 1m to 1.5m, few trees. Thank you.
Your site sounds fairly straight forward. However for a Dual-Occ development i would hasten to guess that the council will require the boundary established accurately so they know the clearances between buildings. (but check with council minimum requirements) The Surveyors scope deliverables' should be listed in their quotation. maybe ask @lixas4 for a quote. He is in Vic.
Thanks @bmc, and any thoughts for the soil test, or is the advice much the same. Unfortunately the site is TAS not VIC based.
Survey - two types (neither "required" by the Council, but important for siting and design and future subdivision) 1.Feature survey - picks up site levels, vegetation, building positions, heights of buildings, window locations, adjacent profiles. Used for design 2.Re-establishment survey - as the name suggests confirms title boundaries, fence positions in relation to boundaries (not all are the same). Needed if you are going to build on or near boundary If asking for a quote also ask what is included. As a novice, maybe leave it to your designer/architect - they should know what is needed Soil test - arrange through a specialist company, or your engineers. Will be required for structural design, not preliminary design, certainly not planning . Typical cost for soil test for single house will be around $400 - $500
And please, not everything should be cost driven, especially professional service. Tap wear, or a bath, like for like, certainly, but professional services find out what you are getting, what you need and also consider the background, credentials and skills of the service provider
