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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:28pm - Edited by: LoonWhisperer
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OK, this has officially become an obsession. I am determined to find at least one bleepin' survey bar on our property.
I paid a local dude cash awhile back who had a metal detector but he was less than enthusiastic in his efforts and the results showed. So today out of desperation I called the office that did the survey back in 1989 lol and they at least gave me some clues on where to look. One bar at the front should be accessible and was marked as found on the survey, the other had to be set back much further due to our pond kinda getting in the way.
So... my question, do metal detectors actually work? I am skeptical after buddy totally let me down. I was told by this office I need one as the bar could be a foot under. Can they be rented anywhere in Haliburton? Anyone up here work for beer? 
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PA_Bound
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:49pm
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Metal detectors can be rented- at least here in the U.S. We have several tool-rental companies that have them available.
Do they work? Overall I would say yes, but I think sometimes they work better with an experienced operator. Something like a property corner peg should be fairly easy to find if you have a decent idea where to look- and not a bunch of other metal objects laying around to confuse things.
And as a side note, when you find it, put a cinder block, stone pile, or other difficult to move object over it so you can easily find it in the future.
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 03:05pm
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Thanks PA! I will check our rental outlets in the area.
After doing a little surfing I see some affordable units on Amazon among other places. I'm not sure of the cost to rent but it gets you thinking. I imagine though, it's a case of getting what you pay for.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 03:27pm
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at my old cottage I took rough coordinates of my corners off of the Crown Land Use atlas (Ontario). With that and a cheap metal detector I found the 3 stakes I could never find in about 1/2 hr.
At my new place this spring, I only managed to find one. Metal detectors absolutely work, but it is worth the time to experiment with a chunk of metal so you get the feel for how they work before you go searching. Not sure how I'm going to find mine, but I'm going to keep looking.
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PA_Bound
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 03:31pm
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One rental company close to me lists the daily rental at US$26. Cheap units are probably 3-4 times that, and I agree you probably do get what you pay for.
But if you have a little cash laying around, it may be worth the cost. Property pegs are usually easy to locate because they are larger and made out of steel, so even a cheap unit can usually find them. And when you're done with that job, they are also fun to play around with and see what else you may happen to find (fun for older kids, too).
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RichInTheUSA
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 04:06pm
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I was able to find all of my iron posts, and pegs on my 30 acres using the plat and a metal detector.
Because at least some of my property border is a creek, it made it a little more difficult. Also when the border is a road, there are generally offsets.
In otherwords... the iron pipe may not be exactly on the corner of the property, but it may be 30' offset so that the pipe doesn't have to be put directly in a creek or middle of a road.
In some cases, rather than an iron pipe, a "peg" was used. This is more like a tent stake (which is very lame, as it could easily be pulled up and moved).
I found that they used the pegs when there was bedrock, and they couldn't get a full sized iron pipe in the ground.
Another issue I found was that some of the corner posts were so far apart that you could not visibly see the other corner... when in a rolling forest, you just need to guess where the actual boundary may be (or get a surveyor to put in additional posts).
Good luck with finding the boundaries!!
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 04:32pm
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I feel like there is hope lol
Will see what a weekend rental goes for as this will take some time. If anyone in Haliburton knows where to rent, the intel would be appreciated.
-Frank
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 05:34pm
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If your neighbor knows where one or the other of his are, you could measure from that one toward your property corner. Maybe.
Once you find them I'd drive a T fence post at it and paint the post red. Blocks or stones are a good idea but can be moved.
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skootamattaschmidty
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 07:03pm
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Another resource is an experienced neighbour. I went out trying to find all my property markers and found most. However I went back out with a neighbour who has lived down the road his entire life and has experience following property lines, maps etc from his years of logging. He just seemed to have a knack for finding survey stakes from past experience and he found them with ease.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 07:32pm
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LOL, I'm not even going to try. The surveys in my subdivision were done in the late '60s and I can't even imagine how much ground shifting and OTHER types of movement  has gone on since then. I'm going to have a new survey done. There are a few markers about so I have a decent idea. That's all I've needed -- for now. 
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 07:45pm
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Look at the deed map and grab a 100' tape measure.
Good Luck!
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AK Seabee
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2015 10:07pm
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As mentioned earlier, find the plat. It will not only provide the location of the property corners or monuments it will also let you know what you need to look for (iron pipe, rebarr, aluminum pins, wooden stakes or whatever else was used in the survey). The Plat may also identify the coordinates of the monument or at least bearing trees or structures.
Here in the states you can find most of the deeds or plats online.
Good luck
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:44am - Edited by: Steve_S
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@LoonWhisperer, you should be able to get the last survey files at the local township office, it will be on file for the land planer.
You can rent specific Survey Pin Detectors, they are not like regular detectors and are tuned for the purpose, and are fairly cheap, used one last year and worked where the Big Serious detector was far too sensitive... (I had to find my pins and still needed to drop 1500 on a new survey as someone actually pulled the pins out and they were left laying under the brush.... (not getting into it, grmbl grmbl)...
Wet grounds and depending on what's under there you can get all sorts of "hits" with a regular detector. I have glacial deposits which includes every kind of rock you can imagine... there's Iron, Lodestone and Magnetite along with granites etc and some trigger the detector making it difficult. I have spots where the compass goes wild, let me tell ya, that is a real PITA for somethings.
Standard backset is 33' from roadway centre, so that will at least guide you a little. Township office can tell you what it is for the road @ your place, depending on roadway classification. Varies a bit as I understand.
Hope it helps.
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:16am
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Good stuff. Much appreciated folks.
@Steve_S ... is there a specific place that would rent that kind of detector out? And yes, the survey office told me it was 33' as well. Should be interesting trying to pace it off as our property is off a highway lol
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Bancroft bound
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2015 08:28am
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Thanks for the hints on the Crown Land.
There is so much info out there. it is posts like these that help everyone out!
Sounds like you are just around the corner.....neighbour!
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 17 Nov 2015 11:30am
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Good luck, I have been looking the last 2 summer without much luck. But since I border crown land, I am going to do as suggested above and use the Atlas Crown mapping and see what I can't come up with....
Another good thread and posting....even though I did read it too quickly initially because I thought you were going to suggest a good bar - drinking bar....lol..lol.
Thankfully the topic resonated across many fronts for me...lol..lol.
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old243
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2015 09:21pm
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At our camp we have 5 100 acre lots. I knew several of the locations from previous surveys. I used a hand held GPS to locate some of the other corners. We were doing some cutting in our bush so wanted to flag the property lines. My GPS is accurate within about 12 feet so if you have a starting point, and know the distance you can get quite close then get looking. some of the original posts may have been squared timbers, and possibly rotted off, but they were usually in a stone cairn. Look for something unusual, and man made.old243
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ChuckDynasty
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2015 10:32pm
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I located 3 of 4 without a detector but couldn't find the fourth with one. I put a 12" landscape spike below grade 1 foot from the found markers and made note on my map in case someone pulls the markers.
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 20 Nov 2015 06:51am
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Quoting: LoonWhisperer is there a specific place that would rent that kind of detector out?
I rented it from the local Home Building Centre, Rentals store, it was something like $20 for the day. Practise using it first by dropping a piece of Iron on the ground and listening to the audio reaction and dial it in.... it's quite easy to use but helps to " play" with it to see how to dial it in.
If you have the survey map in hand (which the township should have given you a copy of) bring up your property in Google Maps, use the Line Measuring Tool (right click on the map display and select Measure Distance) see attachment and you can get pretty close using that to map up the lines... It can be switched from Metres to Feet. It's easier in Satellite View Mode.
The standard Survey Pin is 1"x1" x3' or longer. so it's not a small thing to find but they sink or even heave up with frost over the years sometimes.
You should consider putting T-Posts next to the Survey Marker (I'd use the coated ones if your buying new). It's a criminal offence to fiddle with the actual markers BTW. Then you'll be able to find them easier later.
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 23 Nov 2015 11:46am - Edited by: LoonWhisperer
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Great to see so many of you find success (except Pookie lol) Anxious to give it another try in the Spring.
@Steve_S I appreciate the info. No idea you could measure off Google maps. And we will check our local rent-all place. They seem to carry a lot of gear.
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