Finding property / survey markers

filo

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
475
Anyone have any experience finding these? I was trying to help out my father in law and we knew the general area where these markers should have been located and we couldn't find a single one. I was searching in all metal mode with an e-trac. Nothing should have been discriminated out right? It was very odd to me that I couldn't find a single marker. Any help greatly appreciated.
 
I have never tried to find them with MD but I know mine are pieces of re-bar pounded into the ground. Hope this helps some.
 
First, do you have a deed or a tax map? This good as gold if you're looking for makers, and can be found at the county's public records office. How old is the property? If is hasn't been surveyed in 50+ years you might have a problem finding a metal marker. Many old properties, especially back east, have the borders marked with stone walls or large trees. Most modern companies use 2' of 3/4" rebar with a survey cap for corner markers. In a neighborhood they will be buried, in the woods they will probably have a few inches exposed with some orange tape tied to a nearby tree or branch. Also, typically utility companies will place poles and electric boxes on the boundaries near the road. Hopefully this will get you in the general area, let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions.
 
First, do you have a deed or a tax map? This good as gold if you're looking for makers, and can be found at the county's public records office. How old is the property? If is hasn't been surveyed in 50+ years you might have a problem finding a metal marker. Many old properties, especially back east, have the borders marked with stone walls or large trees. Most modern companies use 2' of 3/4" rebar with a survey cap for corner markers. In a neighborhood they will be buried, in the woods they will probably have a few inches exposed with some orange tape tied to a nearby tree or branch. Also, typically utility companies will place poles and electric boxes on the boundaries near the road. Hopefully this will get you in the general area, let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions.

Exactly. We went through this for our land recently, using an inexpensive MD to find the two Rod/Cap markers, which were buried just below the surface. Had to use the map and do some measuring, along with "sighting" the borders.

My property is a triangular acre, and we had not found the third marker until today. I borrowed a Fisher MD from a friend and we went to work with a GPSr, 100-foot tape, shovel, pick,and the property map. We started looking where we thought the marker should be (mowed yard/ hay field line and 25 feet from center of road), and we were wrong. Our property marker (rod) turned out to be out a bit farther. I walked the right-of-way line from the marker we found previously, doing this four times with the GPS to find a relative starting point. After measuring from the other two markers, we narrowed it down to a ~6-8 foot circle. We then fired up the Fisher and were finding various metal objects in the soil. We finally found the rod marker a while later.

Use this method, and you will find the markers, but it will likely take some time.
 
Have helped people find them before, There a pain in the hiney to find..My detector had a learn accept program after I found the first one I used that program to find the others, Made it a little easier..
 
Definitely a project... those rods can be tough to locate. Usually they have been 'pounded' into the ground due to traffic and vegetation. I located them on my AZ property (without an MD) after a long search (day and a half). RickO
 
Use more tools

Reasearch : County Platt with GPS Coordinates

GPS: Get you real close to where you need to hunt.

Detector: All metal mode

Good Luck
 
It's also possible that the markers are gone or have never been set. Former surveyor here.

You read my mind. I have never had any dealings what-so-ever in this area, but my question was going to be, what if there are none? What would one do next??????
 
They might not be there, or you might be looking in the wrong area.
I was looking for property markers for a friend of mine and the first one i found within a minute. The second one we spent about 30 minutes looking in the area he said it was in and could not find it. I ended up finding it fifty feet from where my buddy thought it was.
 
They might not be there, or you might be looking in the wrong area.
I was looking for property markers for a friend of mine and the first one i found within a minute. The second one we spent about 30 minutes looking in the area he said it was in and could not find it. I ended up finding it fifty feet from where my buddy thought it was.
That's the value of having a map with distances and a reel tape. When I did land surveying myself and another guy could bust through thick brush for several hundred feet with a tape and all our equipment and come within 10 feet of a pin. If in doubt and you have the cash, as was said call a surveyor.
 
That's the value of having a map with distances and a reel tape. When I did land surveying myself and another guy could bust through thick brush for several hundred feet with a tape and all our equipment and come within 10 feet of a pin. If in doubt and you have the cash, as was said call a surveyor.
When I called to get an estimate to get my property surveyed, they quoted me $2000. ChaChing!!! I think I'll go back and look really hard for those blasted pins.
 
I have saw corners marked with everything from pipe to buggy axles, railroad iron and even pine knots drove into the ground. Hopefuly yours is metal...d2
 
They might not be there, or you might be looking in the wrong area.
I was looking for property markers for a friend of mine and the first one i found within a minute. The second one we spent about 30 minutes looking in the area he said it was in and could not find it. I ended up finding it fifty feet from where my buddy thought it was.

Fifty feet???

Something smells funny here???

If he was right, you goofed.

If he believes you are right, and you are
wrong, you really goofed!!!

If he lost a lot of money because you told
him that it was his corner, you would be at
least partially responsible.

Now, the big question.

Are you going to be man enough to pay-up
your share of the loss???

I am just going on what you said. That is
all we have to go on.

I mean no offense intended.
 
I have saw corners marked with everything from pipe to buggy axles, railroad iron and even pine knots drove into the ground. Hopefuly yours is metal...d2


You and me too d2.

You forgot to mention piles of rocks. Sometimes
they even dug pits. Few pits remain. They tend
to fill in and look like normal ground.

I have found broken glass burred in the ground.
That is what the original records described, and
that was what we found.

My favorite was an adz head about 4 feet deep in
the middle of a paved street.It was not the original
corner, it was an old perpetuation of a GLO Section
Corner.

Happy Huntin,
 
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