Many people are familiar with only one or two types of survey in Mobile, AL. The residential survey, where a survey engineer establishes the boundary lines around a property, is in fact just one of many kinds of surveys performed in lower Alabama. Homeowners, and commercial property developers alike, could possibly benefit from the information obtained from a topographical survey.

The topographical survey functions to record and describe all of the natural features of the land, like hills and trees or streams and glades – and also any man-made structures of any specific area on the land (buildings, fences, fountains, anything that is intended to be permanent.)

This type of survey defines the location, size and structural height of man made improvements as well as gradual changes in the elevation of the landscape.  In some parts of the country, and even by some engineers who just prefer the term, a topographical survey may be called a contour survey instead because it outlines the contours of the earth. It is quite necessary to have one doe before planning any kind of construction or land changing work done to the property.

Contrary to other surveys like the boundary survey and the residential survey in Alabama, stakes are not used in the process of taking a topographical survey. Instead a sophisticated device called an EDM or even a standard GPS is used. The information is displayed at contour lines on a map instead of as physical markers.

The new advancements in computer rendering technology allow the land surveyor to generate a digital version of the landscape and upload their topographical information into an AutoCAD program, where architects and engineers can manipulate the environment to create a representation of the changes a project will make to the land that everyone can see.

The versatility and variety of the Topographic Survey information makes it an invaluable tool in the construction sector. They are often required by local governments to complete or even in some cases, begin a construction project. You simply can’t build on land before you know all of the details about it.

The second major use the topographic survey is in the calculation and layout for drainage ditches, how much grading is necessary for water run-off, and other water removal uses. Civil engineers pay particular attention to this in order to keep the terrain in line with the water table and the natural flow of water all over the metropolitan areas.

Finally, topographic information is invaluable to redevelopment projects, like when a land fill or a quarry exists where a building is supposed to go up, or after a building is demolished. These kinds of changes to the natural land all require that a new survey be completed afterward. Topographic Surveys like those in Mobile, AL are used all over the country, indeed the world, and the forecast looks like we will be continuing to use them for a long time.