What Exactly Does a Civil Engineer Do and Why Do You Need One?

If you work in construction or for a municipality, you likely deal with civil engineers on a regular basis. However, even homeowners can benefit from the knowledge and experience of a Thousand Oaks civil engineer, like Chris Nelson & Associates. The engineers perform a variety of functions necessary for the design and implementation of various projects.

Analyze

One key aspect of a civil engineer’s job is to analyze test results on soil, building materials, maps, long range plans and survey reports. This information is used in both designing and planning stages for many projects from bridges to buildings to determining the strength of a foundation.

Survey

A Thousand Oaks civil engineer uses a variety of technological devices to collect, sort and analyze data used for surveys. Drones are more common to help conduct land surveys especially in areas where going by foot is treacherous and less accurate. These technological devices can see differences in land elevations and water supplies. The survey includes property boundaries and setbacks necessary for construction and to argue land disputes.

Prepare

Document preparation is a key part of a civil engineer’s job. Permits must be acquired with the documents filled out correctly. Each product must meet government regulations and take into account any environmental hazards. All of this is done to prepare the project for design.

Design

Design is an essential piece to the engineer’s job where they take the data collected including land surveys and start creating a design. For example, the location of a new highway must take into account any land elevation changes along the route, avoid certain environmental structures such as lakes or mountains and account for existing structures already in place.

The job of a Thousand Oaks civil engineer is dynamic and necessary for the repair and maintenance of infrastructure projects. Chris Nelson & Associates have civil engineers ready to complete a new survey or design your next project.

Why Realtors Should Use a Professional Mailing Service

Some people underestimate the impact that a real estate mailing service can have on a realtor’s outreach efforts. This service can be very beneficial, and here is how you can use them to your advantage.

Quality Not Quantity

Yes, the majority of mailers will probably end up in the recycling bin. However, it’s important to remember that the goal of a mailer is not to obtain every single recipient as a client. If you send out 1,000 mailers and get one or two new clients from it that should be considered successful. Because a realtor’s most effective form of marketing will always be word of mouth there’s no telling how much future business will be brought in by one successful transaction, which starts with one successful postcard campaign.

Use a Professional

There’s a reason why businesses like Sendsations that offer real estate mailing service exist. It’s because they’re good at what they do. Professional mailing services know what attracts people’s attention and they have access to the address databases you need. Plus, you can rest assured that they will get the job done so you don’t have to worry about it and you can spend your time selling houses.

Open Houses

Using postcards to announce an open house can be beneficial, and with a professional you can have these created at a moment's notice. If you're not getting much interest from online listings use a professional to create an open house postcard.

Why Real Estate Postcards Help You Gain More Listings

In today's increasingly digital society, you might not expect the humble postcard to wield much power. However, in the real estate industry, they've been shown to help professionals generate more listings, referrals and sales. Thanks to their rich content, personal focus and compact size, they've become communication heavyweights.

Rich Content

Fresh, engaging content that has value for your client or prospect is a key feature of real estate postcards. Content examples include tips on preparing your house for sale, healthy seasonal recipes, inspirational quotations, and animal trivia. Free from sales pitches or pushiness, these kinds of content have long-lasting value to the receiver. For this reason, they're more likely to be saved for reference.

Personal Connection

Unlike email and texts, postcards physically make it into the hands of your client or prospect. They create a personal connection, especially when you choose to feature your headshot, name and contact information on your postcard. Even if a client or prospect has never met you in person, your headshot and name can help them feel they know you.

In combination with rich content, regularly mailed postcards serve to develop your relationship with your clients and prospects, establishing you as their peer and friend. In time, they come to expect – and look forward to – your postcard. Again, rich content is key to keeping their interest and attention.

Compact Design

Thanks to their compact design, postcards function as miniature posters or flyers. They're easy to pin to the noticeboard, add to the fridge door's photo collage or prop next to the phone, which keeps them close by for reference when a friend or family member needs a real estate contact. Simply put, they're postcards people keep.

Get More Information

Real estate postcards fulfil many functions that digital messages cannot. Because of their rich content, personal connection and compact design, they're communication heavyweights that can help you gain more listings and grow your business. To get more information on postcard products and services, visit Sendsations today.

Do You Need a Topographic Survey for Your Project?

Before any new development or construction on a commercial, residential, industrial or agricultural site, you may need to have a topographic survey performed. This type of survey is frequently needed during your project’s application or permit process to map the terrain and any existing structures. The resulting map is a planning document that your whole project is built upon, whether it’s a dam, a home or a septic field. Natural habitat restoration and other types of environmental projects may also require one. A survey like this is used to determine setbacks and easements from slopes, other land features, hazards and property lines. It’s also used to study the feasibility of planned irrigation and drainage areas, grading work and other land modifications.

How Is the Survey Done?

The variety of terrain, site size, level of accuracy required and accessibility of parts of the site are all considered when a survey company evaluates which method (or methods) to use. Several approaches may be combined, from a survey party of several people on foot, to mapping from the air or with GPS technology. Property lines may need to be established by a Licensed Land Surveyor, especially for older parcels with few official records.

What Does This Type of Survey Cover?

Land features such as ravines, canyons, large mounds, hillsides and cliffs are identified on your property in this type of survey. Man-made and natural ditches, waterways, ponds, levees, river banks and other ground features are also denoted. Boulders, large rock formations, trees and other natural growth are included as well. All man-made retaining walls, outbuildings, utility poles, structures, roads, driveways and existing easements are also investigated and clearly marked. With the resulting survey, you can easily identify obstacles and hazards to your plan and develop work-arounds to accomplish your construction goals.

Moving Forward With a Survey

If your project’s process demands a topographic survey, you need to enlist the help of an experienced company like Chris Nelson and Associates, Inc. Their crew understands the complete landscape of the survey business.

4 Important Reasons to Perform an ALTA Route Survey

Whether working on a government project or a commercial development, a route survey is necessary to provide a utility, boundary, and topographic survey. Chris Nelson can provide an ALTA survey that is essential in determining different elements that impact the ownership of land such as: easements, rights-of-way, and property improvements. When looking for a surveyor, considering one who meets ALTA standards can help to catch many potentially costly issues.

Showcasing Possible Encroachments or Easements

Recorded easements will be plotted on an ALTA survey drawing. Additionally, an ALTA survey will show potential encroachments to avoid a property owner violating the rights of their neighbor by building over or on property that actually belongs to the neighbor. This can avoid costly legal battles down the road.

Removing Title Exceptions

The title insurer can place certain exceptions on a title insurance policy. These exceptions, such as encroachments, are in place to limit the liability of the title insurer. Since an ALTA survey showcases encroachments and other exceptions, the title insurer will remove the exceptions from the policy when an ALTA survey is processed.

Table A Items

These Table A items are additional items that can be included as part of an ALTA survey. These optional items can be ordered at the same time that the original survey is ordered. Having these items done at the same time as the boundary survey can potentially save money since the work will be taking place at the same time.

Consistent Standards

The professionals involved with any deal are going to be familiar with ALTA surveys. That is why having Chris Nelson provide an ALTA survey will provide a level of comfort and familiarity. The ALTA standards are uniform and nation-wide which make it straightforward for any title company to provide title insurance on the property.

Showcasing issues that can arise down the road with a universal set of standards are the prime reasons for ordering an ALTA route survey. Investing in Chris Nelson for an ALTA survey can be one of the most important investments taken with a property.

What is an As-Built Survey?

Have you ever wondered how customers verify major construction projects? When a builder hands over the keys to a new school building, for instance, how do the school officials know that the public got its money's worth? Is the school building the right dimensions and in the exact location that the contract specified?

An as-built survey performed by a surveying company can answer most of these questions. As-built surveys seek to verify that what the builder's contract specified was what they delivered to the customer as a final product. Many land surveyors in Los Angeles offer this type of survey for major construction projects throughout Southern California.

As-built surveys can also help determine if the project in question affects the environments and local ecosystems in ways that environmental regulatory agencies have already approved. As-built topographical surveys can show how the project impacts water flow and erosion which can have major effects on local ecosystems.It could be a costly mishap to exceed environmental impact limits. It can be essential to discover any problems early on because the customer will usually have an easier time holding the construction company responsible if they can quickly demonstrate any errors. Land surveyors in Los Angeles could arm customers with vital information if construction did not meet the contractual specifications.

Another possible benefit of an as-built survey is the ability to verify that the construction company located the structure or project precisely at the specified location. Missing the proper position by just a relatively small amount can be a major problem for the customer. An as-built survey can ensure that the project managers observed the appropriate setbacks and property line restrictions. This type of review can also prove that all dimensions of the finished project are correct. Land surveyors in Los Angeles perform many types of surveying duties, but as-built surveys could be considered one of the most important for significant construction projects.

Why Is Topography Important to Your Land Development Project?

Suburban and urban developments have been growing throughout California, and it is commonly a very lucrative field. However, when completing a land development project, you want to make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of the area and all of its eccentricities. Thousand Oaks land surveyors are essential to gaining a detailed understanding of the land that you hope to build on and can provide you with extensive topographical maps to help you build appropriately.

What is topography? The earth is three dimensional and subtle changes and alterations in land can greatly affect the soundness of structures on its surface. It can additionally significantly affect the efficiency of land development designs. Therefore, topography identifies the roughness, configuration, shape, relief and other three-dimensional attributes on the earth’s surface. Thousand Oaks land surveyors use specialized tools to look at these qualities and create an extensive map.

After observing the land and assessing the information, they can provide you with an extensive and specific picture of the area you hope to develop. These maps show both natural and man made features including hills, lakes, streams, highways and existing structures. This information can then be used to accurately design building projects. With these tools, you can determine the best location and layout for pipelines, dams, fire control routes, trails, roads and buildings. This can help you also assess the best use for the land, and you can decide where to put commercial, industrial and residential space.

While the government has compiled a number of general topographical maps of common regions, there are many holes in this information. However, by working with Thousand Oaks land surveyors, you are able to receive detailed analysis of the mapped information, and they can ensure that you receive the detailed information that you need. Chris Nelson Associates has the knowledge and experience to help you efficiently and successfully design your next land development project.

For more details regarding Thousand Oaks land surveyors, please go to www.chrisnelsonassociates.com.