In February of this year, those of us at Godfrey-Hoffman & Hodge were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Ronald Heim of Bristol, CT.
Boom!!
Stuck on the Border: Surveying the US-Mexico Border
There is one issue that seems to come up consistently when discussing the southern border of the United States – where does American end and Mexico start? Fences do line many areas of the border, but at other intersections of the land there is no barrier because of poor planning. Whether or not you agree with the idea of a fence lining our southern border, it must be understood that surveying this area of land is difficult and that many citizens find it hard to deal with.
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PHASE FOUR “KINGS WOOD” IN AVON
Village Developers is currently continuing phase four of Kings Wood on Lofgren Road in Avon, CT with two houses. Windsor court is also part of phase four which will connect to Scarborough Road. Godfrey-Hoffman & Hodge is providing the surveying and engineering services for this project. We have been working with Village Developers for many years and now that it seems the economy might be turning more new homes should be going up.
This phase was started a couple of years ago with surveying for the road which was roughed in. Catch basins were laid out and installed then the job was put on the back burner waiting for a better housing market. With these first few houses it’s a positive sign, we will add more as we go.
THE CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK – MAIN ST. FARMINGTON
Hodge LLC. has been working at St. Patrick’s over the last few years completing boundary, topographic surveys as well as locating the buildings, parking lot, trees and all physical features on the site. The main building was built in 1921 with several newer additions. The information gathered by us will be used by the engineers to design much needed parking. Also on the property is an old house that is to be rehabbed along with a new driveway which will serve as the new rectory.
GHA and Hodge, LLC. Merger!
The merger between two of the top land surveying and civil engineer companies in Connecticut is a great thing. But what does that mean for you, the client? Well, simply put, it means winning project approvals quickly and accurately offering customers cost effective ways to move projects forward without headaches or hassle.
Combining GHA and Hodge also grants customers expanded capabilities, statewide coverage, increased responsiveness, greater depth of knowledge and experience to win approvals and also meet land project objectives. The main reason for the merger is growth that will benefit our clients directly, not about a bigger company that will cost you more. We, as a combined company, are better prepared to be a one stop shop for your civil engineering and land surveying needs, and that’s what counts.
Engineers rappel down the Washington Monument
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The Foote School
Throughout the spring and summer of 2011, Godfrey-Hoffman Associates, LLC has been involved in the construction of a state of the art Science Center at The Foote School in New Haven, Ct. Chapel Construction of New Haven, the general contractor and a longtime client of GHA, hired us to provide “on call” survey and layout services. From the initial layout for excavation, to pier layout, to the final retaining wall stakeout, GHA and Chapel worked together to meet scheduling deadlines and to provide a continuous flow of work for excavators and concrete crews. Challenges that arose were met and worked through in a professional manner that reflected highly on the personnel involved.
Surveys Showing Need for Eco-Friendly Development
Over the past decade or so, there has been a pronounced interest in the discussion about global warming and eco-friendly means of controlling it. Wherever you stand on the issue of global warming (seeing as it a big political hot button topic) I think we can all agree that we’d like to preserve the well being of the Earth as best as we can, so that future generations can enjoy it like we have. Interestingly enough, one recent land survey actually indicated that green development is one of the essential ways that we can make our environment more sustainable in the future.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a leading organization in the standards of land, property and construction, released the results of some land surveying that found that the land under our feet is being polluted at a faster rate than some would have us believe. The only way to maintain any sense of sustainability is to begin going green in all aspects of life.
There are many ways to help stop the pollution that is affecting the land. Here are a few ways to do so:
• Unplug your portable electronic chargers when not in use
• Buy eco-friendly rated appliances that save on overall electricity usage
• If you remove trees from your property, make sure to replant trees or other plants in their place.
• Turn off the water as often as possible when completing daily activities like washing dishes and brushing your teeth.
This kind of study sheds light on the importance of land surveying in the fight against pollution and other harmful environmental concerns. The depth with which surveyors can investigate particular swatches of land is crucial to the survival of our world and its atmosphere.
Types of Surveying Equipment
We’ve all seen workers on the side of the road with tripods and strange looking tools near sites that will soon be excavated and built on. What these workers are doing is land surveying, which is simply defined as means to pinpoint the terrestrial and three-dimension elements of a particular area of land. So how do these surveyors complete their work quickly and efficiently? With the precise help of new surveying technology, the tools available to surveyors make the task of sharply defining points much faster and accurate.
In the past, the instruments used to survey land were simpler in design, but harder to use in practice. These included chains, solar compasses and compasses. For instance, chains with a specified size linkage would be used to measure distances from point to point, while compasses would determine the distance of that line.
As time progressed, newer technologies were developed to remove some of the manual calculations needed to progress with surveying. One such tool is called a planimeter – planimeters measure asymmetrical land eliminating the need for charts and manual calculations.
One of the main tools used by land surveyors today is a gadget that is also quite prominent in the lives (and cars) of millions of people – the GPS system. A GPS (or global positioning system) works with satellites that scan the earth from space and very accurately graph the view and transmit it into data to view on the small GPS or computer screen for surveyors to look at. The only downside to GPS systems is the difficulty they have reading land coordinates in dense forest area and the surroundings of concrete structures.
Of course, there are hundreds of other tools that land surveyors use on a regular basis, but these few examples should give you a good idea into how these people do their jobs.