Surveyors DO get lost at times, sort of.

Help Team Stonewall Surveying Raise $2K for the Barrington Library Foundation

May 2, 2016 No Comments

Help Team Stonewall Surveying and the Barrington Library Foundation meet its goal of raising $2K by May 14th. This year Stonewall Surveying will be donating $500 to the Barrington Library Foundation as part of our 2016 community outreach effort. In addition, we have secured a generous dollar for dollar match up to $2,000 from Karl Arndt, a longtime resident of Barrington and an avid supporter of the library. Funds donated by Stonewall Surveying, extra money from sponsors and any additional donations from runners of Team Stonewall Surveying, who will be competing in the Barrington Chamber Peeper Race on May 14th, will

A Day in the Life of a Surveyor: The Compass is Always Correct, Right?

April 15, 2016 No Comments

Working in the White Mountain National Forest presented many challenges. Weather, swamps, mountains and rocks are some examples. On one project, we were tracing the steps of a previous surveyor to remark one on the boundaries of the Forest Land along the base of a hill. While using the old plan, we found our starting point and used the bearing on the plan to proceed along the line. As we followed the bearing we discovered an old blazed line. We were able to follow the remains of the blaze line and the compass bearing all the way to the next

A Day in the Life of a Surveyor: View from the Top of a Tree!

April 2, 2016 No Comments

One advantage to working along the Appalachian Trail was being able to see all the beauty that surrounded us. While we got a lot of work done, we also would take a few moments when the surroundings beckoned us. One day I was working with Andy, a tall, thin, long-haired and long-bearded gentleman – and quite a character. We came upon some enormous White Pines and Spruce Trees. Largest trees I have ever seen until I saw the Redwoods. Three people could not reach around the base of these trees. Andy saw one and said to me “can you imagine

Old Maps

March 15, 2016 No Comments

Old maps are more than just cool to look at or to hang on a wall. There is so much valuable information on old maps. Look closely and you can see roads, rivers, houses, cemeteries, hills, old boundaries, even names of residences. This information is not needed for every project, but when you get into a survey that does, and you are researching deeds back to the late 1700’s or 1800’s, these maps are invaluable! Next time you see one hanging on a wall, see if you can recognize anything. The maps shown are from the Strafford County 1856 Atlas.

A Day in the Life of a Surveyor: Snow and Electronics Don’t Mix

March 4, 2016 2 Comments

Usually bad weather means that it is time for office work. But this is not always the case. One winter day while working on a White Mountain National Forest project, the owner of the company I worked for and I were completing our last day when bad weather came in. Snow and freezing rain started mid-morning and was heavy at times. We had to finish our traverse (control line) to an existing monument. Once the monument was located we would be able to determine the boundary line. If we didn’t finish, we would have to carry all the gear out

Property Maintenance.

November 10, 2015 No Comments

Don’t just clear the leaves off your lawn and walkways, remove them from around your property corners as well. Fall is a good time to walk around your property, check your boundaries and move the leaves that fall and cover your markers. After many years of leaf cover, finding those points may become difficult. If the corners are not visible, then they can get disturbed easier or boundary disputes can arise due to accidental improvements – such as cutting a tree that ended up being on your neighbors property. In the photos are two examples. The first photo is a