Pinfinder, Survey, or...?

[maud gonne]

We are purchasing a small piece of land and the first thing we want to do is put in a driveway, as close to the property line as is legal (so as not to use up any more area than necessary). The property was already staked at the corners. I am wondering if this is enough for a company to doze a driveway without encroaching on a bordering property. Or must we have a full-on survey done (much more expensive). I'm looking for the experiences and opinions of punawebbers. Mahalo.

[Rob Tucker]

First off you should contact the Engineering Department at Public Works and give them your TMK number. They can tell you what the minimum setback off the property side line is for the driveway. Do not assume the driveway can be placed on the property line. Check it out first.

[John S. Rabi]

If your property is on a county road than you will need to submit the plans for an engineered driveway. You can get the necessary forms at the Building Department.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[rainfire]

If you are looking for company to do your driveway, call On Track Equipment, Mikale does great work and won't destroy your land. He will actually take the time to work with you and do exactly what you want. He will even take the extra time and care to relocate tree ferns such as Hapuu's while clearing for your driveway. There are plenty companies here that want to empty your check book,and just knock down your trees, leave behind their pile of debris (for you to deal with) then call it good and on to the next. I think he has a thread under building in Puna. Check into it!

[rizi]

Whomever built our house probably used some older stakes and because of that we are now having to fix some encroachement issues. Too close to one side, too far on another. Which equals money needed to fix the variance issues. I'd rather be on the safe side and spend money before you start building.

[Hotzcatz]

If you have a metal detector you may be able to find the pins yourself. Frequently they are old railroad spikes or a chunk of rebar set in concrete. Ask your neighbors what theirs were and yours should be similar.

---

"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson

[maud gonne]

This is good information and I thank you all. We've actually verified the pins themselves - right where the stakes are. But I'm wondering about the 150 ft or so between the pins/stakes. Do people run colored tape, or how does the dozer operator actually keep to the line? I definitely will contact the county first - thanks for that tip. And we will be using a "conscious" dozer firm - we want minimal impact on the flora.

[Rob Tucker]

Walking around with your operator and waving your arms around is not enough. With a diesel running and rumbling it is too hard to remember everything.

Usually paths for dozer work are marked with bright surveyor's tape. Cheap and at all hardware stores. You can use different colors for different instructions. One color might mean go here or remove this. Another color might mean don't go here or save this.

Sometimes ground paint is used but those marks are harder to see from a dozer seat and are often immediately scraped away.

[greywolf74]

In reference to your inquiry maud gonne, One of the more economical services On Track Equipment offers is a ground man who can run a string line from pin to pin (using machetes and chainsaw) so you get a line of dead reckoning.

If you want to go right on or as close as possible, then a survey is the best way to go. We can refer an excellent reputable company.

E-mail Us if interested.

Mahalo!

[Carey]

There have been a few forum posts on this question on PW & the search function is a good tool, if you want a number of pros & cons...

The best reason to use a survey, instead of a pin finder is illustrated on the JDirgos post, the second post on the second page:
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1494