Can we talk about how I wasted 3 months digging a test pit in the wrong spot because I misread the old survey map?

I finally looked at a LIDAR scan from the county office and found the actual foundation line was 15 feet east of where I was digging, has anyone else had survey maps from the 1930s just be completely off?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer_west7d ago

Dig that hole all the way down to China only to find a pancake at the bottom, that sucks. Old maps from the 30s are basically ancient history in surveying terms, they used chains and magnetic compasses back then. LIDAR is a lifesaver for sure, I had a similar thing happen with a property line that was 20 feet off from a 1940s plat. Always double check with modern tools before you break ground, learned that one the hard way myself.

luna_sanchez7d ago

Oh man, that’s brutal. I’ve heard old surveys can be off by that much, but 15 feet is a whole different level of wrong. Maybe the original surveyor had one too many coffee breaks. At least you can laugh about it now, or cry, which is basically the same thing right?