Looking for surveyor for new property

[terracore]

I haven't figured out a way to get accurate GPS coordinates for where the pins are supposed to be. Any ideas?

[kalakoa]

Believe reference points will be in the County GIS data. Not that useful unless your GPS receiver can resolve a fix to at least 6 decimal places.

By hand: HELCO poles are typically 5' in front of the corner pin (every other lot corner). Dig by hand, you might be surprised, I found bits of surveyor tape tied to mine.

[terracore]

I believe I can download software for my drone that would hover over or literally land it on the pin coordinate if I could find the coordinates. I saw "some guy" on the internet that will sell me the coordinates for a reasonable fee but figured I probably have access to the same data he does.

I've found the other 3 pins and thought maybe I'd measure and math my way through it but didn't have any luck. If a GPS can get me close I was hoping a metal detector could help with the rest.

The front pin was loose in the rock like it could easily be pulled out. I set a galvanized T-Post near it so I wouldn't lose it, though it was easy enough to find behind the utility pole. The area where the missing pin in has a lot of pig damage. It's possible the pin is no longer where it's supposed to be.

[My 2 cents]

Terracore, the last quote I got was a couple of years ago and it was $1.75/ft.  Makes your quote of $1/ft. sound like a good deal, and Kalakoa got an even better deal.  I would bet that neither of those prices are still available, perhaps not even the one I got.

Your situation sounds similar to what I had many years ago.  I bought the lot next door and wanted to flag the far boundary.  I acquired a cheapie transit level (not digital, the old bubble level and needle/dial kind) and had a friend help me. Thick vegetation and plenty of ups and downs.  Had to reset the transit at least a half dozen times. 

When I got to the back I went off the existing back pins from the other properties.  I found the pin 2" off from where my lines intersected.

This was my first time using a transit level so I was taking my time and being meticulous about my points and plumbs.  There might have also been a substantial amount of dumb luck involved.  But the point is that it is doable as a DIY project for someone such as yourself.  The hardest part is the physical labor involved in clearing the line.  My friend and I took turns with the clearing and the boring part (looking through the transit and yelling RIGHT!!!, NOW LEFT!!!, ETC.)

I think we got it done in one day.

[Hotinhawaii2]

We used Independent Hawaii Surveyors at hawaiiboundary.com. They surveyed a 1/5 acre lot that was cleared and had pins for subdividing. They had to survey the two adoining similar lots also. Cost $2800. They came out quickly to do the surveying. It then took over a YEAR of endless calls and emails to get the actual printed survey! What a racket! Then it took a year and a half to get the state and county recording done!

[Sphamayle]

Searching for a drone pilot (I need to do a pin to pin, and some overflights of my property mid-July), less than half an acre.
Should take about an hour (or less) based on a similar outing 9 years ago. I have the pin GPS cords and found them 20 years ago, but the flora has grown considerably since then.

[terracore]

We used Independent Hawaii Surveyors at hawaiiboundary.com. They surveyed a 1/5 acre lot that was cleared and had pins for subdividing. They had to survey the two adoining similar lots also. Cost $2800. They came out quickly to do the surveying. It then took over a YEAR of endless calls and emails to get the actual printed survey! What a racket! Then it took a year and a half to get the state and county recording done!

Our neighbors recently used them on an uncleared lot to find four pins and mark fence line.  They said they were quoted $1500.  When the workers were out there I asked them how long the wait was to get an appointment and they said about a month.

I need one pin marked and one fence line marked, I will probably be calling them eventually. Their number is 808-959-0360

[1voyager1]

I used a handheld recreational GPS [Used for back-country travel by vehicle, foot and kayak] to locate all four of my corner posts.
All 4 were lengths of rebar driven into the ground.

The 2 adjacent to the roadway located approximately with the GPS and hands-on located with a metal detector.
They were driven below ground level and could not be seen.

The 2 at the back corners of the lot in the jungle were located approximately with the handheld GPS, and were confirmed with the metal detector.
I added upright lengths of white plastic pipe to those pins to mark them for later location.

The two at the  roadway were easy to find.
The two at the back were a bit harder.
Trails through he jungle and over ah-ah lava had to be cut by hand to reach those corners.
The GPS and metal detector made actual location easy.
I had the GPS and bought a $100+ metal detector to do the job, cheap except for time and effort to cut the trails.

[terracore]

How did you get the GPS coordinates for where the pins should be?

[1voyager1]

The GPS is an older one bought for use while kayaking and other back country travel in AK from the panhandle to the North Slope.

It wasn't a state of the art GPS, but not an El Cheapo either.
It is a Garmin GPSMAP 76CSX [now outdated] and has a mapping function, which is useful but not needed.
It uses waypoints.
That is needed.

You'll need to know your lot size, shape and orientation.
County  mapping can give you that info or close enough to do a "by-guess-and-by-golly" estimation with the GPS.
The previous owner had a surveyor do an inexpensive survey using, I believe, existing information from the subdivision when they bought 15 to 20 years ago.
I had a map with bearings and locations from that survey.
All info was found with GPS and detector from located corners.
 
Our lots have one corner adjacent to, or across the road from, a utility pole, and about 12' from the road edge, easily found with the detector.
Once one is found all the others fall into place.
Distance and bearings from GPS map locations or waypoints find all the others working around the lot.
From backcountry use, I always carry, use, and check with a map and compass.

I used the surveyor's map only to check on the GPS/detector findings.
Close but no cigar.

It took a while.
But, I made intimate contact with the jungle covered portion of our 1 acre lot.
Almost broke a leg walking around the jungle on the ah-ah surface.
You need to be sure of your footing before committing.
Use the cut vegetation to form and smooth the trail walking surface.
You'll need to know how to get around when you're not on asphalt or concrete.