Topographic Survey
The complete picture — levels, features and boundaries in one drawing. The usual starting point.
Site Survey
Know exactly what is on the ground before you design
A site survey records the land as it actually is — its shape, levels, boundaries and everything standing on it. It becomes the base drawing your architect, structural engineer and services consultant all work from.
What we offer
Site survey services
Most site surveys combine two or three of these. We will tell you which ones your project actually needs — and which it does not.
DGPS Survey
Satellite positioning for open sites and long distances, tied to a known coordinate system.
Total Station Survey
Precise ground measurement where satellite signals are blocked by buildings or canopy.
Contour Survey
Levels turned into contour lines, so slope and drainage can be read at a glance.
Existing Feature Mapping
Structures, trees, poles, drains and compound walls located accurately.
Site Level Survey
A focused grid of spot levels where you need heights rather than a full feature survey.
Boundary Identification
Plot extent identified against your documents, for engineering purposes only.
Scope of our boundary work
We identify boundaries for engineering, not for legal title
We can locate your plot extent against documents you provide and mark it physically on the ground, which is what a design or construction team needs. That result carries no cadastral authority.
What we can do
- Identify plot extent against documents you supply
- Mark the boundary physically for construction use
- Show boundaries on engineering drawings
What we cannot do
- Issue legally binding demarcation
- Provide cadastral certification
- Settle a boundary dispute between parties
Legal boundary certification rests with the government revenue authorities and surveyors licensed under state law. Approach them for anything requiring legal standing.
What a site survey covers
Design decisions rest on assumptions about the ground. A site survey replaces those assumptions with measurements. It establishes where the plot boundaries run, how the land slopes, what is already built on it, where the trees and drains and poles are, and how the site relates to the road and to neighbouring properties.
The output is a drawing to scale, tied to a coordinate system, with levels referenced to a stated datum. Every later drawing — the site plan, the drainage layout, the earthwork calculation — is built on top of it.
When it is required
A site survey should be the first technical activity on a project. In practice it becomes urgent at these moments:
- Before an architect starts a layout, so the design fits the actual plot
- Before purchasing land, to confirm the extent and usable area
- Before a drainage or grading design, which needs real levels
- Before earthwork is priced, so cut and fill volumes are defensible
- When submitting drawings for statutory approval
- When an old drawing no longer matches what is on site
Who commissions this work
Landowners and builders planning a development; architects who need a reliable base drawing; developers assessing a site before purchase; industrial clients expanding an existing facility; and consultants preparing designs for approval.
Typical applications
- Residential plot developmentBoundary extent, levels and existing features before layout design
- Apartment and commercial projectsFull topographic base drawing for architectural and structural design
- Industrial sitesExisting plant, roads, drains and services mapped for expansion planning
- Layouts and plotted developmentContours and levels for road grading and drainage design
- Land assessment before purchaseMeasured area and terrain, so the price reflects what is usable
- Solar and open-area projectsTerrain modelling to plan table layout and access roads
Deliverables
Which of these you receive depends on the services included:
- CAD drawing in DWG or DXF, layered by feature type
- PDF plan at an agreed scale, ready for issue and printing
- Coordinate schedule of all surveyed points in CSV or Excel
- Contour drawing at the interval your design requires
- Digital terrain model for volume and grading work
- Control point record, with descriptions and coordinates for future use
- Survey report stating method, instruments, datum and accuracy achieved
Related categories
How we work
How we carry out a site survey
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Establish control
Permanent reference points set and observed across the site. Everything measured later ties back to these.
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Pick up detail
Levels and features collected by total station, DGPS or both, depending on cover, size and accuracy needed.
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Check independently
Selected points re-observed from different control. If a check disagrees we re-measure, not adjust.
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Process and draft
Observations reduced and adjusted, then drawn as layered CAD with coordinate system and datum stated.
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Issue and explain
Drawings, schedules and report issued — and we walk your design team through anything needing interpretation.
Questions
Site survey FAQs
Before design begins. The site survey becomes the base drawing every later discipline works from. Commissioning it after design has started usually means reworking the design once the ground turns out different from what was assumed — which costs more than the survey would have.
No. Our boundary work is carried out for engineering and construction purposes only. We can identify the plot extent against documents you provide and mark it physically, but the result carries no legal authority. Legal demarcation and cadastral certification rest with the government revenue authorities and surveyors licensed under state law.
It varies widely. An open, level site with few features covers ground quickly. A wooded or built-up site with many features to pick up is far slower, because every tree, pole and drain has to be located individually. We give a realistic estimate after seeing the site or reviewing recent imagery of it.
Not for the whole survey, but it helps if someone who knows the site can meet the team at the start — to confirm access, point out the boundaries you believe apply, and flag anything that must be included. For boundary work in particular, having the owner or a representative present avoids ambiguity later.
We can use it as background information, and it often speeds up the work. But we will not certify someone else's measurements as current. If the old drawing has no stated datum or control record — which is common — it cannot be reliably tied to new work, and re-surveying is usually faster than reconciling the two.