Construction Survey: Types and When You Need One

Several products get called "a survey." They answer different questions and arrive at different points in a project.

These definitions follow how Fenstermaker and municipal handouts describe them. A location survey sits between a boundary survey and an as-built: it shows more detail than a boundary survey by documenting the improvements on the site. Names vary by city, so use your building department's term, not the one in your contract.

Staking, also called layout or setting out, gives the crew dimensional control through every stage of the work. For a building site, the surveyor typically provides:

• Building corner stakes. Monterey County's grading staking page calls for a minimum of four wooden stakes at the building corners, identified by purpose and compass orientation.
• Offset stakes. These sit a set distance from the true point so the marker survives excavation.
• Grade stakes. These show the finished or subgrade elevation at a point.
• Slope stakes. These mark where the ground meets a planned slope, which fixes the outer limit of cut or fill.
• Cut and fill marks. Cut is the top-of-hub elevation minus the design elevation; fill is the reverse. Crews write the offset distance, the cut or fill, and the point ID on the stake.

Who sets what is a contract question. One Alberta specification has the consultant provide baseline stakes and the contractor set final grade stakes. A county specification may leave extra horizontal and vertical control to the contractor. Read the Division 01 survey section of your specifications before the pre-construction meeting, because the answer decides who carries the cost of re-staking.

There is no single national trigger. Three patterns show up in city and county handouts.

At permit application. A site plan is often required to be drawn from a boundary survey. The model-code language is in the site plan provision of the administration chapter (IBC 107.2.6 in recent editions, 107.2.5 in earlier ones). Berkeley's survey guidelines note that the California Building Code does not give clear guidance on when a boundary survey is required, so the city sets its own triggers, starting with how close the work is to the property line. Enid, Oklahoma, goes further: its code requires every site plan to include a boundary survey certified by a state-licensed land surveyor.

After footings or foundation. Some jurisdictions want proof the foundation is in the right place before you frame on top of it. In Alcoa, Tennessee, the foundation survey requirement says the survey goes to the building inspector within fifteen days of an approved footing inspection, and work stops after fifteen days until it arrives. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, requires one when an addition is built within 2 feet of a setback or buffer line 20 feet away.

At close-out. Upper Mac requires a foundation as-built for all new residences showing the vertical and horizontal foundation location. Cutler Bay, Florida, asks for boundary and topographic surveys before closing out.

Some places accept a certification in place of a full survey. New Castle County, Delaware, accepts a foundation as-built certification from a licensed professional that location and elevation conform to the approved plans and no setback is encroached. Cupertino, California, can waive the licensed survey if the addition's setback is 10% greater than code requires.

Boundary work is the clearest case: states license land surveyors, and building departments typically want a licensed surveyor's stamp. Alcoa requires that survey work be done by a registered land surveyor. Monterey County's inspection process verifies that proposed work was surveyed by a surveyor licensed by the State of California.

Construction staking is less uniform. Some state boards require a licensed surveyor or engineer in responsible charge of the primary control but do not license the staking itself, and others read their laws more strictly. The NCEES Model Law and Model Rules, which many boards start from, should be checked against your state's adopted version. If the rules are unclear, ask your state licensing board before you hire.

If a lender or buyer asks for an ALTA survey, that is a land title survey, not a construction survey. The 2021 ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements took effect February 23, 2021, and set the standard for surveys that title insurers rely on. They have eight sections plus an optional Table A list the client can request. State or local rules can add to the standard, and the stricter rule governs.

Do not substitute one for the other. A title survey will not stake your building, and staking data will not satisfy a title company.

1. Get a boundary and topographic survey first. Design from it. Many departments expect the site plan to match a boundary survey.
2. Ask the building department for its survey checklist. Get the survey type, the timing (before footings, before framing, at final) and whether a stamped certificate is acceptable.
3. Assign staking in the contract. Decide who sets control, building stakes and grade stakes, and who pays to replace them.
4. Stake, then verify before you pour. Check the building corners against the plans, setbacks and the benchmark before footings go in.
5. Order the foundation survey on a schedule. If your jurisdiction sets a deadline like Alcoa's fifteen days, book the surveyor before the footing inspection, not after.
6. Keep the as-built. Record survey results in your document control system alongside the permit set so they are findable at close-out.

Deadlines like these differ by jurisdiction, so see how long a building permit is good for too. For fee and timing background see how much a building permit costs, and for city process pages see Los Angeles building permits.