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D.C.’s “Surveying Commandments”

A mousepad sent to us from the District of Columbia Association of Land Surveyors.

Rewritten here for easier reading:

“DC’s ‘Surveying Commandments’

Survey the Boundary RIGHT!

— Do it the ‘DC Way’ —

I – Use boundary data from DC Surveyors Office ONLY.

II – Survey each Square as an “ISLAND”, alone unto itself.

III – Set up the STREET LINES – set up the STREET LINES!

IV – Reestablish DC’s PARALLEL OFFSET LINES in the field.

V – Work from BUILDING CALLS and other DCSO points that check.

VI – Use ‘SURVEY BUILDINGS’ and o ther ORIGINAL MONUMENTS as highest evidence.

VII – Hold DCSO’s OBSERVED ANGLES over most distances.

VIII – PRORATE per District law, between verified monuments within subdivided Squares.

IX – Remember – ‘Record’ bearings & distances seldom match actual ‘MEASURED’ property lines in the field.

X – Be alert to EXCEPTIONS. They can sink your project!

And always observe the “ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT”… When in doubt, ask the DC SURVEYOR’S OFFICE.

NOTE – A DC License is required to practice land surveying and establish property lines in the District of Columbia.

The District of Columbia Association of Land Surveyors, Inc.”

For more information, visit their website at www.DCALS.org. Every Land Surveyor and Civil Engineer practicing in the District should have a copy of their 400 page comprehensive manual to know the history and rules behind surveying in Washington DC.

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