Economical Method for Surveying Your Own Acreage

Go to your local county clerk or county recorder's office and obtain all the official title paperwork associated with your property to be surveyed. Search and obtain copies of the property deed specifically. Try to obtain an existing surveyor's map of the property if one exists in the public records (also known as a "plat" and sometimes attached to the deed).

Search among the public records for the neighborhood surveyor's map, if one exists. Examine the document for common boundaries if you are able to obtain one. Make a photocopy or pay for a copy of every document you are able to locate.

Obtain or purchase a compass that works with an azimuth measurement design. Obtain or purchase a surveyor chain.

Examine your existing documents to determine if they are written in measurements of chains, bearings or azimuth format. Convert the existing measurements on the document to the tools you will be using (i.e. bearings to azimuth, azimuth to chains, etc.).

Pick an identified starting point such as a tree, big rock, or creek. Confirm the starting point is already reflected on your existing records from the county files. Begin measuring your property using the compass and the surveyor chain to take new measurements. Mark locators that are physically obvious on the property. Avoid recording physical markers that can easily be changed like holes in the ground or ditches.

Measure the property along the same directions as the last deed or map displayed. Mark off your measurements with pieces of colored tape or ribbon. When faced with an obstacle, mark a parallel line until you can circumnavigate it. Use a boundary marker to work as a known point when you need to make a turn to go in a different direction. Record every measurement you make as you walk the property developing a new map.