Had a client in Springfield who wanted a fence right on the property line with a neighbor they hate.

This was about two months ago. They were very clear they wanted the posts as close to the line as possible, no room for error. I told them flat out that without a fresh survey, we were asking for trouble. They said they knew where it was and pointed to an old stake. I put in the first post and the neighbor came out screaming that we were six inches onto his land. The client started yelling back. I had to stop work, tell them to get a proper surveyor out here, and that I wasn't touching it until I saw the stamped papers. It cost me a day's pay, but saved a huge legal mess. How do you guys handle clients who want to skip the survey step to save a few hundred bucks?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinn_fox5h ago

Classic case of penny wise, pound foolish.

tara_moore6628d ago

You did the right thing, never start without a survey.

adam_thomas28d ago

Yeah but sometimes you gotta start without one, @tara_moore66. A full survey isn't always possible right away, like with a super tight budget or an emergency fix. The key is knowing the risks and being extra careful. You document everything you can see and make your best guess, but you also warn the client it's a guess. Starting blind is a bad idea, but waiting forever for a perfect survey isn't always real life either.