Axis Surveys has prepared the following Alerts & Disclaimers for our two main surveying products, being 1) Contour & Feature Surveys and 2) Building & House Setout

For Alerts & Disclaimers in relation to other surveying products, please contact our office to ensure you as the user are fully aware of the limitations of a particular product or service to ensure there are no misunderstandings and that the appropriate surveying product is applied to the required application.

1)  Alerts & Disclaimers for Contour & Feature Surveys   

Limitations on Use & Suitability

General

A standard Contour & Feature (C&F) survey plan has limitations regarding its use for some applications. Please contact Axis Surveys about the suitability of this plan for the user’s intended use.

The notes and disclaimers shown on the face of the C&F plan form part of the plan and they must remain with the plan or any copies to ensure the user is aware that the plan has limited application and it may not be suitable for the intended use.

The C&F survey plan has usually been prepared from field survey and existing records for our client and their consultants to design new structures on the subject site and should not be used for any other purpose or by any other user without written approval from Axis Surveys. 

Boundaries & Orientation

The boundary dimensions shown are from the subject survey plan and have been orientated to the site features as a “best fit” to survey marks, fence lines, retaining walls and other structures and are indicative only and should not be relied upon as the true boundaries and the location of survey marks, as found have not been checked, unless a boundary identification survey has been completed by Axis Surveys over the subject property at the time of the C&F survey. Please contact this office for more advice in relation to orientating this plan to the boundaries. Any construction setout may require a boundary identification survey be done, at additional cost, prior to commencing any works on site, please contact this office for more information.  Distance from features to the shown boundaries should not be used or relied upon unless verified by Axis Surveys.

The north point as shown has been taken from the subject survey plan or the disclosure plan, and it is the plan user’s responsibility to ensure it is suitable for their purposes.

Disclosure Plan Note

Where the survey plan is not available the dimensions shown may have been compiled from a “Disclosure Plan” where the boundary dimensions are approximate only and may be subject to change. 

Title Search & Easement Information

Axis Surveys has not searched the title for easements or other encumbrances, and our C&F survey plan only shows the easements and other encumbrances as shown on the subject survey plan which may be incomplete at the date of survey. If easements or other encumbrances are shown they may have been scaled off the subject survey plan and could have limited accuracy. Please contact this office for more information or to check for current easements or encumbrances.

Level Datum & Flood Advice

Where levels and contours are related to the Australian Height Datum (AHD), they may have been derived from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), observations (unless otherwise stated), which may be unsuitable in some applications, please contact this office for more information particularly in flood prone areas or areas with height restrictions. Axis Surveys has not carried out a flood search or a search for any overland flow paths and the local council or relevant authority or a suitably qualified Engineer should be contacted for flood and minimum floor level requirements, prior to any construction.

Natural Ground Level Determination

The contours shown may not represent the local authority’s definition of “ground level”. Please contact this office for more advice.

Reliability & Availability of Underground Services Information

The services shown have been located where possible, where visible. Services can be missed as part of the field process or may be covered. If not located, services have been plotted from records obtained from relevant authorities which may have varied and limited accuracy. Please contact this office for more information. Any relevant underground services should be exposed and located prior to commencing any building works. At the time of survey, the sewer and stormwater information may not be available from the local authority or other relevant sources and the user should contact the authority or Axis Surveys for more information if required.

Subsurface Structures

The position of any subsurface structures has not been investigated.

Additional Survey Fee Alert for Building or Construction Setout

If the subject survey plan is over five years old, additional survey control work or a boundary identification survey may be required at extra cost before any new structures can be setout on the subject property.

If in Any Doubt About Your C&F Survey Call Axis Surveys

If the plan user requires clarification or more information about any aspect of this contour / feature survey plan please contact this office.

2) Alerts & Disclaimers for Building / House Setout Survey Work

General

Building & house setout is an area of High Risk and expense for the construction industry. The designing of houses on or near the boundary and building in older areas places increasing pressure on builders and Surveyors to ensure houses, buildings and any new structures are positioned correctly. We advise that no part of a new structure may overhang or be constructed over a boundary line, (and in most cases into easements), and this includes footings, eaves, gutters, downpipes, retaining walls, etc. If any structure is found to encroach over a boundary line or into the road reserve we must (by law), show the extent of the encroachment on any boundary survey work being undertaken, and lodge a copy of our survey plan with the State Government and write to any adjoining affected land owner advising them of our findings.  If the subject survey plan is over five years old, additional survey control work or a boundary identification survey may be required at extra cost before any new structures can be setout on the subject property.

Boundary Identification Survey May Be Required Before Building Setout Work

Where structures are being built on or near the boundaries or if the subject property is in an older area, Axis Surveys may insist that they carry out a boundary identification survey before commencing any building setout work on site.

Boundary Identification Survey Completed by Another Consulting Surveyor

If a boundary identification survey has been completed by another Consulting Surveyor, within the last 2 years over the subject site, Axis Surveys may agree to use the other Surveyor’s boundary identification survey for building setout purposes. However, Axis Surveys will not accept any responsibility for the boundary reinstatement as performed by the other Consulting Surveyor, and the correctness of the other Consulting Surveyors boundary reinstatement remains the responsibility of the other Consulting Surveyor and our client who is instructing us to use the other Consulting Surveyor’s boundary identification survey plan. 

Building / House Plan Versions

It is our client’s responsibility to ensure that the building plans that we have been provided with to calculate and setout specific building points from, is the correct version. Any setout certificate we prepare after the setout work has been completed will refer to the plans we have been provided with. It is the client’s responsibility to ensure we are informed of any changes and that we receive any amended plans at least 3 working days before the setout is required. Axis Surveys does not check with the relevant authorities, the builder or the Certifier that the plans we have been provided with are the approved building plans.

Client / Builder Must Clearly Identify What Points They Require Us to Setout

Axis Surveys are Surveyors not Builders, and whilst we are experienced in interpreting building and house plans and setting out what our clients need to be able to start construction, we require clear instructions from our clients as to what points they want us to calculate and setout.

Nearly every builder that Axis Surveys works for requires unique setout points that cater to their internal processes and their specific construction methods. Our builder clients must send us a marked-up site and/or slab plan/s with the points they want us to calculate and setout from the provided building plans clearly marked, so there are no misunderstandings as to what points we are placing on the ground, for our clients to build from.

Setout Plan Left on Site

Axis Surveys prepares our own setout plan that shows what points we have setout, and we leave a copy of our plan on site for our clients and others to follow.

Building Plan Verification & Checking

Axis Surveys checks that the plans we have been provided with agree with the boundary setbacks as shown and that generally the dimensions appear to be mathematically correct for setout. If we are uncertain about setback or other dimensions, we will contact our client and ensure there are no misunderstandings. As part of this process, we may forward a setout plan to our client showing our interpretation of the points to be setout, for them to check and sign off on as an instruction for us to setout these points as shown on our setout plan.