CadLapHow to package a survey job so the drawing comes back right the first time
Most drafting rework traces back to the data package, not the drafter. After producing thousands of survey drawings overnight, we can say precisely which missing items cause which problems. This is the checklist we wish every job arrived with, and it applies whether your drafting is in-house or outsourced.
The complete package, by job type
| Every job | Raw point file (PNEZD or CSV), the crew sketch or field notes, your job number, and the sheet size and scale you want. |
|---|---|
| Boundary | The deed or legal description, record plats or filed maps, adjoining deeds where relevant, and which corners were found versus set with what was found there. |
| ALTA/NSPS | Current title commitment with every Schedule B-II document, the negotiated Table A list, and under the 2026 standards, the adjoiner deeds, which are now the surveyor's to obtain. |
| Topographic | Field code list if we do not have yours yet, breaklines, the contour interval and datum, and any utility records the crew worked from. |
| Plat | The boundary resolution, the preliminary layout, and the recording jurisdiction, with its checklist if you have one. |
The five omissions that cost a day each
- No basis of bearings. The drafter can compute a figure but cannot orient it defensibly. State the basis, or send the record document that establishes it.
- Description codes nobody translated. A point file full of crew shorthand sorts wrongly until someone maps the codes. Send the code list once; a good partner keeps the dictionary and never asks again.
- A referenced document that is not in the package. If the commitment cites an easement book and page, the drawing cannot plot it from the citation alone. Pull the document before sending the job.
- Found-versus-set left ambiguous. "Corner" in the notes becomes a guess on the sheet. Say what was found, what was set, and what was held.
- No past example of your finished work. Formatting preferences live in examples, not descriptions. Two or three sealed drawings teach more than a standards memo.
One habit that eliminates the back-and-forth
Agree on a flag convention. Ambiguity is inevitable: a deed that will not close, a shot that contradicts the sketch, a blanket easement with nothing to plot. The question is where the ambiguity surfaces. Our rule is that it surfaces on the sheet, in a marked box with the question stated, so the surveyor answers everything in one morning review instead of a week of emails. Whatever drafting arrangement you use, insist on that behavior; silent guesses are how defensible drawings stop being defensible.
A note on file hygiene
- One folder per job, named by your job number.
- Point files as text (PNEZD or CSV), not screenshots of the collector.
- Record documents as full PDFs, not photographed pages, wherever possible.
- If the job revises an earlier one, say so and send the prior DWG.
Send a package like this and a competent drafting operation, ours or anyone's, will return a drawing that needs a review, not a rebuild. If you want to test the claim, the first job is free.