Trying to find the engineering gold at the end of the government rainbow is very unnecessary in these internet days. Â The gold for my company are the standards that a particular municipality enforces. Â Some websites have full standards that are hard to find. Â Other websites have partial standards hiding in the depths of their pages. Â Others even have hidden documents that can only be found when using the GOOG to search the site. Â Enforceable and changing over time, standards should be easy to navigate from the main public works webpages. Â Anything not on the site should clearly explain what standards they do want used. Â Will I ever be able to find engineering gold at the end of the rainbow?
Surveyors are easy to find. You just Google your city and the word “surveyor” or flip through a phone book. But how do you know that surveyor is the one that you want surveying your property?
My first job was at an engineering/surveying company. The nice thing about working at a company with multiple disciplines is that you learn how they work together. There are reasons the surveyor picks up certain shots. These shots, spot elevations with a description attached, fulfill specific government agency requirements for the client’s set of plans. A surveyor will attempt to gather as much data required for the plans that will be getting submitted based on the scope of work.
The amount of shot data is where surveyors stand out from others. I have looked at many surveys and notice many plans missing crucial data. The excuse is generally that the client did not pay for that extra information. I have always wondered what the point of getting a survey with missing data is.  The good surveyors though will tell the client the surveyed data most likely needed so the upfront cost is lower, with the possibility of getting more information later on. This is rare though.
Anyone needing a survey should definitely go by word of mouth if you can. My example of a good surveyor with a very good reputation is Denn Engineers, who have been around for over 50 years. If you compare their plans to others you can see just how badly other survey companies are lacking in their data. In fact if we have the chance, we recommend this smaller company over everyone else.
So comparing a surveyor to a surveyor should never be a comparison of money versus money or random selection, as you may get what you pay for.
Frequently we have arrived to the building party with duct tape in hand to design out any flaws in the project. What does this mean? In order to save money the client tries to skip certain consultants when designing their Single Family Residence or Commercial Building. I can understand why this approach gets followed as even during good times, money is always tight. Who wants to spend money for the sake of spending money?
The problem is that sometimes these clients are given wrong information about what needs to be done to construct their building. The Architect is generally hired from the beginning to be the main overseer of a project. They know the project scope and what permits and plans need to be provided to ensure that the construction can start in a timely matter and the final outcome is a building that is both beautiful and safe.
The engineer designs the development of the land , drainage devices, and utilities. To engineer a site involves having more than just some spot elevation shots inside of the client’s property lines and calling that a grading plan. The contractor needs some idea of how to design the land to know how to place the building, make storm water run off the site, and any adjust for any elevation changes to design a useable building.
Hiring all the correct disciplines is key to making your construction stand out from everyone else.  Not only are these ideas key in the early design process, they also determine if an ugly engineered design ends up on a site to disguise the ugliness away. Many initial site plans have been disregarding set back distances and other ordinances that cause expensive variances accompanied with city hearings to be encountered.
Most building can be built more efficiently and end up as aesthetically pleasing as intended if all the consultants are designing the horse together from the beginning…before building the cart.