TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEYS are normally associated with construction planning for drainage and site development. The standards we use for this work are again found in the Manual of Practice for Land Surveying in Texas as published by the Texsa Society of Professional Land Surveyors. In preparing this type of work it is important that we understand generally how the clients intend to develop the property. Are they interested in saving some of the trees on the property? In this case we would recommend a Tree Survey during the initial Boundary and Elevation Topo of the property. Do they anticipate significant drainage issues in developing the site which might require the construction of a diversion structure? Is there a natural drain to the property that they might want to develop and incorporate into their landscaping plan? Do the clients want us to help them locate proposed improvements on the property? All of these things will determine the sort of Topographic information required and whether they use an Architect, Engineer, or develop the site themselves. Our goal is to present the information in the most easily understood way possible which will best serve their project development.

All boundary work is performed using the Published Standards of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors for either a Standard Land Survey or a Land Title Survey (When provided a Title Commitment for insurance purposes).


RESIDENTIAL SURVEYS will include the location and dimensions of the main residence and substantial improvements on the property as they may have an impact on any setback requirements or easements crossing the subject property. Finally we show the sidewalk and back f curb as these reflect public use and drainage use which will also impact the property. Additionally gas meters, water meters, electric lines, as well as private wells and septic systems are shown where observed as these reflect on their availability. Because of the standards we hold on residential lot surveys, we are not always the cheapest. While we try to stay competitive in our pricing, we also recognize that a home is the only real estate investment for many people and like all things that are part of a home, the quality of the survey should reflect the trust the client has placed in us by allowing us to prepare the survey.


COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SURVEYS are also performed by using the published standards. However, because of the complicated nature of Commercial Real Estate which may involve Zoning Requirements as well as Municipal, State, and Federal Restrictions on the property, in many cases we recommend that we perform an ALTA Survey. ALTA (American Land Title Association) Survey Procedures were established by ALTA and ACSM (American Congress of Surveying and Mapping) and provide a lost of Optional Requirements which are agreed upon prior to conducting the Survey. These Optional Requirements include things like the Height of the buildings or showing the number of Handicap or Non-Handicap parking places. While these may not seem important, the lenders may want to see them on the survey to know that the property is in compliance with Zoning Requirements or the ADA (American Disabilities Act).


FARM AND RANCH SURVEYS are again performed using the published standards. The clients individual plans are what will most likely dictate the specifics of the survey. We monument the property corners as required and show significant fence line encroachments either way. We also locate any observed pipeline crossings as the location of these pipelines is significant to the owner. In some cases a new owner may plan to build new fence lines and will want us to mark the boundary line to assist in the construction of the new fence. Additionally, cross fencing acreage may be important to grazing operations or roads may be important to wild life management. We can map these things as required and negotiated. We do show General locations of Ranch Headquarters on any standard survey.

Our Services

William Dove has worked in Oil & Gas since 1979. This work includes Vertical Well Locations, Horizontal Well Locations, Relief Wells, Pipelines, Offshore Pipelines, laying out Surface Sites and Facilities, mapping out Gas Plants, and Disposal Sites.


The early work was done by Conventional Methods which employed Theodolites and Distance Meters, as well as Polaris Observations to establish geodetic control and then map the areas of interest and re-establish the state patents along with the private boundaries in the area. This early work was done with multiple crews and required immediate execution, while at the same time maintaining the highest degree of care. This established a need for setting uniform methods as well as discipline in the work. While these methods have changed through the years, that control and discipline is still the foundation of the operation today. 


In the Mid 1980's, we purchased an HP Plotter to compliment our Computer Aided Design (CAD) System. At the time, we were still a young company and this step was in contradiction to the hand drafting which had long been a tradition of the industry. Drafting Machines, Leroy Sets, and DMD Sheets were about to go the way of the Slide Rule. And the resistance to this change was just as strong.


The 1990's brought the application of Horizontal Drilling to the Austin Chalk. At the same time, we began to embrace the Global Positioning System (GPS). We purchased our first set up, a Trimble 4000ssi System in 1996, and added Pacific Crest Radios for Real Time Kinematic capabilities. Again, there was resistance to this new technology. Initially, Static Observations to establish control was seen as the only use for the system and it was seen as highly scientific and more of geodesy than surveying. RTK was just too risky to use in something as important as establishing boundary for Well Locations. But as time passed, the RTK System proved itself to be reliable. At the same time, smaller companies sought to bypass the hiring of licensed surveyors by using their own personnel with handheld GPS Units. The problem with this was the lack of understanding of boundary re-construction as well as the systems which established Geodetic Measurements.


The beginning decade of the 21st Century was a time of downturn in the Oil & Gas industry. Gasoline was as low as $1/gallon at the pump. Most of our Oil & Gas work at this time was for small independents who took advantage of the lower production costs. At the same time, we were developing new procedures to steam line our Oil & Gas work as well as develop new ways to check our work based on the RTK methods. By 2005, we were doing a number of new locations as wells as pipelines in Maverick County for three different companies. most of these were directional wells.


As the decade went on, the War in the Middle East drove the price of Oil & Gas up and the development of the Eagle Ford Shell became profitable. As money was pumped into the system, there was a need to move quickly, and the perception by larger companies was that the fastest way to get the job done was to hire large surveying firms with multiple crews. The problem with this was that these crews were still patterned and directed by older methods of surveying. They were using RTK methods, but the structure of the crew was still Transit and Distance Meter, because this was the only management style the party chiefs understood. We found ourselves working in Facility Construction and the Environmental fields of Oil & Gas even though our management structure has been developed in Exploration during the Economic downturn. Now that the drop in Oil prices has slowed the development of the Eagle Shale, we hope to establish ourselves again doing Well Locations and Pipelines using our more streamlined management style which uses fewer personnel which are highly in theory as well as application of Surveying.

We provide ELEVATION CERTIFICATES as required for Flood Insurance. The basis of this work is to tie the Elevation of the Topography around the existing or proposed structure where the need for an Elevation Certificate has been made a requirement for Flood Insurance. In most cases, this is because at least a portion of the property on which the structure is located has been determined to be in a Flood Hazard Area according to the existing Flood Plain Maps.


It is important that the Elevations reported on the Certificate are tied to existing Benchmarks, preferably the same ones used in the Flood Study that produced the maps. Where these can not be located, the next best thing is to tie them to the N.G.S (National Geographical Survey) Systems of Benchmarks, which is the usual basis for most Flood Studies.


Once the basis of the Elevation is established, everything else is about establishing relative elevations to that Benchmark. The relative or Differential Elevations allows the personnel analyzing the risk to see how high the structure is above the surrounding topography, and thereby see how deep the water would be around the structure before the flood waters came into it. The fact that it is tied to a Benchmark or Datum allows the risk analysis personnel to tie the potential flood waters to computer generated models for possible flooding.


All of this means that the Flood Certificate work done by the Surveyor needs to be free of blunders. The Surveyor must know that he is on the Datum he reports to be on and his relative measurement of heights need to be accurate. Otherwise the risk analysis will be flawed.


For this reason, we have developed for insuring the accuracy of our Elevation Certificate. Generally these procedures involve cross checks on each Elevation shot and avoiding the use of old Elevation work when it is not re-tied to the primary control at the time of the certification.


We use RTK methods for conducting the work in most cases unless the overhead canopy in the area does not allow it. RTK will probably be slightly less precise than Differential Levels. The advantage is that the possibility for blunder is greatly reduced and cross checking can be done quite simply. We are willing to accept this lack of precision, normally +/- 0.1 foot, because we are looking at a predicted water surface flowing over natural ground. A flooding profile simply cannot be predicted that accurately.


Another area which requires Elevation Certification is in CONSTRUCTION SURVEYING. Here, the critical point is that the Elevation is tied to the Topographic information on which the plans were based. It becomes absolutely critical that the Benchmarks on which the initial Topographic work were done are re-established with absolute certainty. Because Construction usually involves concrete or asphalt rather than natural ground, the relative precision becomes more important and we usually prefer to do the work with Differential Levels or Total Stations, including Robotics. Again, there is cross checking. Construction Elevation Certification usually involves either American Disabilities Act requirements or parking lot drainage. Again the material is concrete or asphalt and the slope will determine the safety in one case or the velocity and depth of water flowing across a parking lot in the other,

Construction Staking Survey

Topographic Survey

We provide Construction Surveying Services to the industry. We consider this to be one of the most critical areas and realize the responsibility that is being placed on us. For this reason an R.P.L.S. (Registered Professional Land Surveyor) is in direct supervision of the work, meaning that in most cases he is present on site while the work is being performed.


We approach our construction services from two perspectives. First, we realize that our work needs to be accurate relative to the plans provided by the Architects and Engineers. This means that the proposed improvements need to comply with the location relative to the boundary and the other controlling features as shown on the plans. The elevations as staked also need to comply with the Benchmarks shown on the plans. For the most part, we utilize RTK GPS Equipment to achieve the desired results for the Horizontal Positioning of this work. For the Vertical part of this work, we depend on Differential Leveling so long as we can identify at least two Benchmarks from the plans. One Benchmark will be used to set our control and another to verify it. Often the contractor will ask us to set a new Benchmark at the Finished Floor Elevation. This set Benchmark will serve as the controlling Benchmark throughout the remainder of the project.


Secondly, we strive to maintain the precision of our survey work in staking construction points whether we are setting Hub and Tack for building corners of the Offsets or setting Elevations for forms. For precision, we lean towards Conventional Methods. This means Differential Leveling, Total Stations with Data Collectors, or in some cases, Robotics. The use of Data Collectors here allows us to minimize human error by downloading data into and uploading data out of CAD drawings which we develop as the project progresses. The CAD system we use for this work is Carlson Survey Standalone, which runs inside of AutoCAD. The fact that the computer gives us a visual image of the points we are staking gives us a check on our work. We have developed this system through the years of experience and have come to trust it.

Elevation Certification

Boundary Survey

Oil & Gas Survey