Tag: Survey

Understanding your Survey Plan

I’m used to look at survey plans but I do understand that most people struggle to understand them.

Here is a quick guide to help you understand the survey plan for your new house.

The plan below shows a survey plan, with a North Point, has been provided.for the block previously mentioned in the Title Plan Post. It doesn’t include the easement to make it easier to see the other details.

The bearing and length of each boundary are the same as the title plan in the format.

For example the North boundary is at bearing of 92 degrees 0 minutes 15 seconds (92° 00′ 15″) and 38m long.

The footpath along the front of the block and the nature strip crossover (constructed by the developer is shown, as well as an electrical pit.

TBM stands for Temporary Bench Mark.

This means the surveyor will use this feature as the level on which all other level information such as slab levels will be based.

It is normal for the TBM to be set at a round number typically either 10.000m or 100.00m.

Usually the only time the TBM’s actual height will be the correct height above Sea Level (Australian Height Datum) is when there is a risk of flooding and the floor level will need to be above the 100 year flood level.

Once the TBM has been set the surveyor calculates the surface levels of the block.

This is shown by contours, (shown dashed) which are lines of equal height.

The normal contour interval for residential block surveys is 0.2m intervals and each contour is labelled with the height it represents.

In addition to the contours the surveyor will show spot levels at the corners and sometimes in the middle of the block. (These are marked with a ‘+’ and a height)

From this drawing you can see:

  • The lowest part of the block is the South East corner at 100.00m
  • The highest part of the block is the North west corner at 100.85m
  • The block slopes upwards from the front at approx 0.53m. (around 1 in 70)
  • The block slopes upward in a Northerly direction at approx 0.30m (around 1 in 60)
  • As the contours are roughly similar spacing from each other the slopes are fairly constant.

 

In summary although there is a slope on the block it isn’t too severe so the site costs for dealing with the slope could be around $4- $6,000.

 

For more see Blocks

 

What Sort of Plan?

Buying Land…….There are several sorts of Plans/ Surveys of your Block to think about before you can start building a house.

Here is a guide to the various plans based on the same block:

Title Plan

Title Plans are the legal document that describes the land. Initially they are usually the only plan that is available  They are limited to:

  • Showing the dimensions and bearings of the boundaries.
  • Showing the locations of Easement.

The drawing below is a typical title plan

Feature Survey

The Feature Survey is an accurate representation of the block prepared by a surveyor. Typically the information shown is:

  • Boundaries.
  • Site Contours.
  • Locations of trees.
  • Any other above ground features such as driveway crossovers and manholes.

If you buy direct from a project builder they will normally arrange the feature survey. If you want to get quotes from several builders it can be worth getting a feature survey done first.

Geo-Technical Plan

The Geo-Technical Plan is more in the form of a sketch than an accurate representation of the site. The main purpose is to indicate the approximate location of boreholes. Other information that may be included is:

  • Indication of location of trees as these may affect the Geotechnical Recomendations.
  • Any rock outcrops.
  • Direction of fall.
  • Ponds / swampy areas.

 

See Blocks for more information on buying land.

 

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