Was wondering if anyone here could help me decipher some surveyor marks. I’m not sure if they are standard nationwide or not. The county has been out surveying along my property lately for some road improvements and has painted some marks on the road. As an example, one in blaze orange says m-1 then a circle with a plus sign in it. Don’t know what that circle means. Then there is a triangle with a dot in the middle which I am assuming stands for a pin set which is close by. Then +/- 3′ which is about the distance the pin is off the shoulder. Am I interpreting correctly here?
Furthermore, the different pins are flagged in different colors of tape and I don’t know if that is significat. For instance some are flagged in blaze orange some are in blue. And then there are several red flags tied to evergreens around the yard. It would be impossible to use a transit to sight from one corner to the next due to evergreens in the way. I was wondering if the red marks were where they sighted and triangulated to a second point.
Am I way off base here or headed in right direction? Maybe the colors are meaningless, I don’t know. I’m in Maryland if it matters. Curious more than anything.
TIA for any help.
Replies
There's no federal standard for surveyors as far as markings go, but there are some "typical" marks. The triangle might indicate a control point or traverse point to me. It's there for the benefit (and use) of the surveyor, simply a place where the surveyor set up his instrument and it's painted so it can be easily found again.
The flags on your trees may indicate that they will be either saved or removed. Only the county knows. The rest of the marks I have no idea. Best to call the county highway dept and ask them.
Also, the general practice in a given area is for surveyors to use different colors of flagging from each other, and for different things. There are standard colors of OSHA markings for buried utilities (either existing or proposed) so that may be another clue.
Maybe you will get more info from a bonafide surveyor but,
did some field work with a surveyor friend of mine a couple of years ago as a " rodman" for his new business. Will ask more if I remember when I see him
A pin/nail is usually a traversepoint and where instrument is set up, shoots as many points as he can see, then finds another to take shots from.
ribbon in the trees helps find markes on the ground, either a pipe, rebar, brass, steel nail, or a surveyors monument.
sometimes hung for "points on line" usually with wooden stake near it, it means-points in line but no line of sight from one far end to the other.(in line connect the dots)
painted marks on the road, some are standard, some not so you guess is probably close if its intuitive.
Surveyorrs use either meters or tenths of a foot so work off that. and good luck interpreting the rest