Georgia Land Surveying

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Georgia Land Surveying has been in business for over fifty years. Josh L. Lewis III has been the owner for over thirty years. He also served on the board of directors for the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia (SAMSOG), and is a member of SAMSOG's litigation committee, as well as the current Vice President.

Our surveyors and drafters have extensive surveying experience, and the majority of our employees have been with our company for many years.

Georgia Land is committed to providing clients a variety of residential and commercial surveying services in a timely fashion at competitive rates. Our goal is the complete satisfaction of our customers. We currently serve over 60 closing attorneys on a regular basis in addition to providing residential and commercial surveying for individuals and businesses.

What is a Survey?

Land Surveying is the science of accurately and precisely determining and recording areas of land.  It is important to point out that there is a degree of uncertainty in all forms of measurement.  When a plat is produced the accuracy is stated in the title block. Surveying relies heavily on geometry, but also on elements of engineering and physics. 
            Surveys are used to determine ownership, rights and responsibilities.  Historically, the US has been very interested in measurement of land.  Much of this stems from the ability of individuals to own land, and at one time it being a prerequisite to vote.   Today surveying is often required for land transactions and any type of construction to take place. Find more information at en.wikipedia.org

Why get a survey?

Obtaining a survey ensures your protection in any real estate transaction.  A survey discloses exactly what portion of property is being purchased and everything on that property.  Every buyer should obtain a survey before a real estate transaction closes.

Many real estate transactions have some type of problem.  These problems can be minor (a fence is over the property line) or more serious (a driveway, pool, or deck is over a property line, the deed outlining the parcel of property is incorrect, the house is in a flood zone, etc.).  Some problems are irreparable.  If a driveway is completely off the property, for example, the buyer has no ingress or egress to the home.

By getting a survey, you can be sure that you know the location of everything on your property and whether or not it lies in a flood zone.  Using an older survey of the property does not ensure your protection because new improvements may exist that are over the property line. 

A survey is essential for any buyer, whether it is for the re-sale of a home or sale of a new home.  Our average residential survey is $400, well worth the price for the protection it provides to the buyer.  If a buyer obtains a survey of the property and owner's title insurance on that property, the title company will insure you for any surveying issues that may arise.  

If a buyer elects to avoid the expense of obtaining a survey, any related property issues that would have been revealed by a survey will be the sole responsibility of the buyer.  These problems cost many times more what a residential survey would cost.  If a fence is over the property line, for instance, it must be replaced.  If a driveway is over a property line, it must be cut and re-poured.  If your air conditioning unit is not on your property, the unit must be rewired.  A problem that may initially seem small can quickly become complicated and expensive.  As mentioned above, more serious problems are sometimes irreparable.  If the house is over the property line, for example, nothing can be done to correct the situation unless the buyer negotiates with the neighbor to buy a piece of their property.  Problems such as the ones described above can greatly reduce the value of the property.   

Getting a survey before closing is the key to a positive real estate transaction.  The surveying company is the only group that looks out for the best interests of the buyer.  Other people involved in the real estate transaction are most interested in finalizing the deal.  By getting a reliable survey from a respected company before closing, the buyer has a negotiating tool to use regarding the price of real estate if a property issue arises. 

Commercial Survey Types

Elevation Certificates
An elevation certificate provides documentation as to where improvements sit on the land according to the FEMA 100 year flood zone. This certificate can be used to help lower insurance flood rates for the owner.

Liquor Licenses
A liquor license is required by the county for all businesses wishing to serve alcohol. To get a liquor license, a surveyor must come to the property and complete county paperwork that details where schools, churches, playgrounds, etc. are in relation to the business.

ALTA Surveys
Georgia Land Surveying is fully equipped to handle all ALTA surveys and special requirements. We guarantee a quick turn-around time for ALTA work anywhere in the state of Georgia.

Topographic Surveys
Using topography shows the slope of a property using contour lines. Georgia Land usually uses 2' contours (unless the client request differently). Topographic surveys are necessary for builders wishing to make site improvements. Although Georgia Land can include additional information at the client's request, a basic topographic survey shows all existing improvements in addition to the contour information.

Elevation Datum
There are two different ways Georgia Land Surveying can show the contours. One way and the most inexpensive way is to start at an assumed elevation. An example is to pick a reference point like the finished floor elevation of the house and assign it an elevation of 100 feet, every thing that is equally high would have the 100 foot contour line running through it and everything 2 feet lower than the finished floor would have the 98 foot contour line running through that and so on.

MEAN SEA LEVEL
The other way to show the elevation is to tie it into mean sea level. This is a standard that most public maps use. In the Atlanta area the elevations range is around 900 to a 1000 feet above sea level. There is an added expense for doing this and that comes from the extra work of finding a public reference monument and physically running the survey to it and determine how high or low the project site is from the public marker. For more information on vertical datum’s (mean sea Level) see this site www.ngs.noaa.gov

Tree survey
A tree survey is exactly that, a survey off all the trees on the property an a overlap off the property of five feet. The size, diameter at Breast height, and the type are shown on the survey. Georgia Land Surveying policy is to show all trees > 6”.

As-Built Surveys
As-built surveys show the location of all existing improvements on a property, including parking areas, buildings, sewer locations, and drainage areas. This survey is typically performed after a construction project. It shows how every thing was built as opposed to how it was proposed to be built, thus the As-built. Sort of a god check to make sure the General contractor used the correct size and type of pipe or the detention pond does retain the correct amount of water run off. Many counties will require an As-built survey before they will issue a certificate of occupancy.

Boundary Surveys
Boundary surveys define the area of a property by reestablishing the property lines. The process is a combination of research (usually at the appropriate county courthouse) and data acquired in the field. The final product is a drawing detailing the property corners. When the surveying crew visits the property, iron pins will be placed and flagged at all property corners.

RESIDENTIAL SURVEY TYPES

Georgia Minimum
Boundary surveys define the area of a property by reestablishing the property lines. The process is a combination of research (usually at the appropriate county courthouse) and data acquired in the field. The final product is a drawing detailing the property corners. When the surveying crew visits the property, iron pins will be placed and flagged at all property corners. Click Here for details.

Site Plan
A site plan is a pre construction survey that shows the placement of the proposed house in relation to the property. Georgia Land’s site plan will meet the requirements for the county or city in which we are submitting the drawing to. The price for the survey will vary depending on which government authority has jurisdiction over the location we are proposing to build. For the city of Atlanta, they require a tree survey, a topographic survey, a boundary survey, a grading plan and a plethora of notes, for more information see their website at www.atlantaga.gov. After the plan has been approved we will stake the house out; it is included in the price. If there are any revisions that the county imposes on the plan they will be done with in 72 hours and there will be no charge for making them.

Dekalb

Atlanta

Ordering a Survey

To request a quote for a survey, fill out and then print and fax or email the PDF order form. Once your request had been evaluated by our staff, you will be contacted with a quote.

(Please note that we have changed our order form)
(Requires version 7.0.5)

Once you agree to the services to be rendered, we will need a property description or warranty deed. You may either fax or E-mail them to us. The owner of the property should have at least one of these pieces of information in his/her possession.  If not, this information is on file with the county courthouse. 

When E-mailing or faxing this information, please include:

*Your name
*Daytime contact number
*Address of property to be surveyed
*A brief description of the services you need

Before any work can begin, we require a signed authorization form*
*we will fax you a proposal, if you agree with the terms of the contract sign it, and fax it back.

Driving Directions

Contacting Georgia Land Surveying

155 Cliftwood Drive
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone (404) 255-4671
Fax (404) 255-6607

Survey E-mail inquiries: info@glsurvey.com

Owner:  Josh L. Lewis, III
Commercial Surveying contact: Josh L. Lewis, IV
Residential Surveying contact: Ken W. Edenfield
Administrative Assistant: Lisa Silvey

Click here for Driving Directions

Employment at Georgia Land Surveying

Georgia Land encourages each employee to advance according to his or her goals.  Sorry we are not currently hiring.

Rod man/Job description
No experience required.
Daily duties are organizing and researching jobs in the office using existing files and computer databases, initial inspection of survey jobs in the field, finding pins, measuring up lots or commercial sites, cutting line. This position is a good one for someone who is looking to get into survey, a stepping-stone into higher positions.
Benefits: health coverage after 90 days of employment, 5 days of paid sick leave, 5 days of vacation time after a years employment, 10days of vacation after 2 years of employment, ability to enroll in scholarship program, use of the company hunting lodge during hunting season.
Salary: $7.50-$11.00

Party Chief/ Job Description
Experience required. Must know how to survey. You are expected to know how to research a job at the court house pull deeds, Grantee Grantor property, use the plat index to look up plats in the area. You must be able to run a closed traverse and prove that the job closes. You must be able to set up a total station and gather data, employ the use of line codes and provide field sketches of surveyed land. You must have a Georgia Drivers License and a clean driving record
Benefits:  health coverage after 90 days of employment, 5 days of paid sick leave 5 days of vacation time after a year’s employment, 10days of vacation after 2 years of employment, ability to enroll in scholarship program, a company truck, use of the company hunting lodge during hunting season.
Salary: $10.50-$19.00

AutoCAD Technician/job description
Experience is required. You must be able to draw in AutoCAD and be familiar with surveying calculations. We are currently using Carlson Software.  Some of the expected tasks are but not limited to: importing and exporting an ASCII file, inserting blocks, processing a raw file, editing points, a rough grasp of auto line generation
Benefits:  health coverage after 90 days of employment, 5 days of paid sick leave 5 days of vacation time after a year’s employment, 10days of vacation after 2 years of employment, ability to enroll in scholarship program, use of the company hunting lodge during hunting season.
Salary: $13.50-$21.00
Georgia Land Surveying Scholarship program: We will pay for you to go to school pursuing a career in land surveying. The tuition will be loaned to you at the beginning of the semester and so long as you get a C or above in the class at the end of he semester the cost for classes will be paid for. If you do not pass the class (a grade of D or F or a W) the cost will be deducted from your pay. There are two programs that you can pursue. A certificate in surveying that will meat the minimum requirements for licensure which is four semesters of surveying classes one of which is hydrology. With the completion of this course Georgia Land Surveying will award a bonus of $1000. If the employee pursues a degree in surveying there will be a bonus of $7500 awarded.