Surveying 101
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Tools
- Contractor's site level - shoots vertical intervals - drop in stairstep. Vertical intervals are equal unless there is huge variation in slope. Contractor's level is by Berger at Home Depot.
- Laser level - online - quickest is Forestry Supply has good options. Robust. No hassle. Self-leveling laser - where you don't have to do a bubble to level. Must have 360 deg compass on it. Laser shoots 360 degrees. Shoots lo less than 1000 feet in shooting length. TopCon brand.
- Stick - Forestry Supply - 16' stick. Reads in 10ths of inch. Read the back of it, so distance from ground rather than absolute.
- Weedwhacker + chainsaw. Offset 10' from trees if trees are in the way.
- Always go in one direction.
- Need a scale map of property.
Procedure
Shoot vertical intervals first (slope). Set up horizontal intervals (following contours, creates aspect) later. Then put the grid down.
- 75 ft. grid, starting at SW Corner, working South to North, then West to East
- When 75 ft. grid is complete, transfer information to Sketchup
- 25 ft. grid, starting at SW Corner, working South to North, then West to East
- Detail grid transferred to fill in Sketchup rough survey.
- 2 foot drop standard. May need to 4' at high slope like 10%.
Design
Design: 5% slope not good for animals, west face not good.
"Initial thoughts:" West strip
- more water, shade
- less erosion
- more established creeks
- proposed use: homesteads, collective gardens, ponds, water storage
East strip from S to N end
- Workshops
- large-scale storage (pole barns, tractor garages)
- greenhouses
- orchard/food forest (swales, trees, vines, edible groundcover)
- pasture, organic shapes with edible fence following swales on contour
- grazeland rotated by species, with cover crop and grain as possible planting scenarios
Ask Parker on full soil report.
Resources
- Surveying Fundamentals and Practices - J. Nathansan et al.
- Dan Schellenberg;