About Wendell T. Harness Expertise I have a thorough knowledge of land surveying in general, but my most prominent experience relates to boundary surveys for private and public clients. This includes ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys (usually required by financial institutions for commercial clients), boundary retracement, boundary line adjustments, partitions (dividing one parcel into 2 or 3 new parcels) and subdivisions.
Experience I have been surveying since January 1986 and went through an apprenticeship program through the International Union of Operating Engineers for the first 4 years. I am licensed in Oregon and Arizona but have experience in California as well. For the first 7 years, I worked in the field performing all sorts of surveys including construction surveying and various boundary related projects. The remainder of my experience has been in the office performing the necessary calculations, data analysis and map preparation as well as the details behind client relations and project management
Organizations Current member of the Arizona Professional Land Surveyors association; also served as Chapter President (Sahuaro Chapter in Tucson) in 2003 and Chapter Vice-President in 2004.
Publications I have had several surveying-related cartoons published in POB Magazine (http://www.pobonline.com).
Education/Credentials Excelled in math studies during high school (algebra, geometry, trigonometry and drafting) and moved into an apprenticeship program for 4 years starting in 1986. The apprenticeship included training and studies in field procedures as well as office functions related to surveying. the first half focused on field issues and calculations, while the second half focused mainly on the legalities of surveying.
Awards and Honors Licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor requires intense study habits and the willingness to learn in order to pass difficult National and State exams (you cannot be licensed in any state without passing both tests). This leads me to feel honored to practice in any state. I am currently licensed in Oregon (PLS No. 2881) and Arizona (RLS No. 39333).
Past/Present clients Bonneville Power Administration
City of Tucson, Arizona
Pima County, Arizona
Other various local municipalities, developers & property owners
Expert: Wendell T. Harness Date: 8/11/2006 Subject: Land question...
Question Mr. Harness:
First off, thanks for a very quick response.
It's going to require a little more than just a series of squares, rectangles, and circles I'm afraid. Our lawn's got some strange-shaped portions as well, unfortunately. (For example...one section is a long straight line with both ends joined by a large arc...but it's not a half-circle...more like a half of a half, if that makes any sense.)
Also, I'm probably going to need something "official" that I can take to court with me. If I just do a lot of measuring and do the math myself, I'm afraid that could be questioned.
Thanks again...
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Followup To
Question -
Mr. Harness:
Not sure if this is exactly a "surveying" question, but maybe you can point me in the right direction.
We're having trouble with a landscaper, and (among other issues) he charged us for laying 16,000 square feet of sod...and I don't believe there is more than about 12,000 square feet of sod out there. Could we pay a surveyor to come and take measurements, etc., and tell us how many square feet there are in our yard? It's got some odd-shaped sections, so he'd have to do a little math, and I'm not sure that's the kind of thing a surveyor does. (And if it's not, then who does that sort of thing?)
Any info, advice you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Warm regards,
David Gardner
Answer -
Hello David,
This is something a land surveyor could do. It would be considered somewhat of an "as-built" survey. We as surveyors definitely do use alot of math on a daily basis. In fact, the task you are in need of would be rather simple.
However, I think it would end up costing you more in the long run to hire the surveyor than the difference of cost between 12,000 and 16,000 square feet of sod. Plus I think that the accuracy of our work is well over and above what you need.
In my opinion, your best bet would be to find a friend or family member that is good with general math and geometry. Depending on how complex the area of sod is, you may be able to simply take some measurements and calculate the square footage by developing a series of rectangles and triangles across your new lawn.
If you don't know anyone with those skills, maybe you could get a competing landscaper to come out and give you an opinion. :)
Answer Well, in that case, then you probably do want a surveyor to locate the boundaries of the sod area and provide you with an exhibit which shows approximate dimensions and square footage.
