Surveyors offer a Wide Range of Services

Buying or Selling Land
Before purchasing or selling land it is wise to contact a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors, particularly a Registered Professional Surveyor.  A Registered Professional Surveyor who is qualified as a Licesnsed Cadastral Surveyor is the only person who can legally define the physical boundaries of land.  Indeed, the certificates of title issued to landowners are based upon accurate surveys conducted by Licensed Cadastral Surveyors.  Before a law change in 2002, Registered Surveyors did this boundary defining work.

Building Near Boundaries
Building encroachment disputes may result where a surveyor has not been consulted to redefine the boundaries of the land prior to construction of a fence or building. Such disputes often lead to work being stopped with the associated costs of the delay.  There can be considerable litigation, expense and ill-will between neighbours. Where encroachment has already occurred your surveyor can help rectify the problem. 

Development and Conservation
Surveyors are well qualified to advise you on all aspects of land development, including utilisation of difficult building sites.  Surveyors can advise on the best locations and gradients of drive ways or pipeline routes to make feasible access with minimum cost or damage to the environment.

Civil Engineering
The involvement of a surveyor is essential for all engineering projects whether they be large or small. Employing a surveyor ensures construction is in the right place and that levels and gradients are correct.  Then when construction is completed the surveyor makes reliable "As-Built" drawings for the client and/or the district council.  Accurate  As-Built plans are essential for services such as buried pipelines.

Engineering and Design Surveys
Surveyors undertake detailed engineering surveys and design for road construction, tunnels, storm water and sewer drainage, water supply reticulation and general site investigations for engineering works.

Structural Works
With the aid of modern optical and electronic instruments or GPS, surveyors set out  major structural works such as highways, viaducts and high-rise buildings.  Before site works commence it is critical that the boundaries have been properly defined by a properly qualified surveyor so that the setting out of the foundations, control of steel or reinforced concrete fabrication, building verticality, site drainage, location of services and access can proceed with confidence.  For many of these tasks the design work and preparation of plans should be referred to a properly qualified surveyor.

Transportation
Many surveyor are very experienced in the design and management of contracts for roads and roading drainage requirements.  Surveyors design the location, orientation, width and shape of the streets, reserves and pedestrian walkways within subdivisions.  Properly qualified surveyors are required to set out the alignment and the levels for highway construction.  Surveyors have an important role to play in airport runway construction control and the precise positioning of runway lights and other landing navigational aids.  Other surveyors are expert in hydrographic work, surveying the sea floor to controlling dredging of shipping channels or to carefully locate oil rigs or under-sea cables and pipelines. 

Engineering Services
The most economic layout of services can be planned in consultation with a surveyor: location of water mains and water connections, sewer services or septic tanks, storm water drainage, power, telephone and gas services.  The surveyor has an important role in recording the actual position of pipes, cables and other infra-structure that is buried so that these services can be found for connecting to in the future or can be avoided or protected from future work. 

Prospecting and Mining
Apart from their legal function in preparing maps and plans required for the issue of mining privileges, surveyors are able to provide a variety of other specialist and supervisory services to the mining industry. Within the petro-chemical industry surveyors provide expert service in surveying of pipeline reticulation of petroleum and natural gas products.

Farming, Forestry and Horticulture
In addition to their expertise in land measurement, boundary determination and title documentation, surveyors are well qualified to counsel clients on land use matters relating to the agricultural, horticultural, forestry and fishing industries. Your surveyor has specialised skills to advise on land assessment and setting out fences, water supply, dams, culverts and bridges where location or level is critical.

Costs

Often it is not possible for a surveyor to give a fixed quotation for survey work because every survey task is unique and considerable investigation may be needed on-site to determine how much new survey work is required.   Surveyors working in a locality will have a good knowledge of costs for contract work for roads and drainage construction in the area.  Surveyors are able and prepared to explain and discuss the likely costs of work. 

When land is being subdivided, much of the cost that is incurred is not the surveyor's own fee but the charges made by district council (e.g. consent application fees, reserve and other financial  contributions), utility company fees (electricity, telephone, gas) or LINZ fee for the issue of new titles and the construction contract costs for roads and pipelines.