Rather measure in advance than adjust during construction

In our last issue we wrote about the importance of a zero measurement. Arthur Maassen, owner of Maatvoeren en Landmeten B.V. (M&L) gave his view on this. In a nutshell: a zero measurement - if done accurately with the right equipment - prevents duplication, failure costs and adjustments during execution. In this article we discuss cadastral maps, property boundaries and the importance of checking. Maassen: "Whoever skips that check by means of a zero measurement, risks Driving Judge scenes."

Cadastral maps

The oldest Dutch cadastral maps date from 1812 to 1832. Boundary measurements were mapped on cadastral sheets per cadastral municipality, section and sheet number. As early as 1976 the cadastre made the first careful digital measurements, which were still processed analogously on the sheets. Around the 1990s, those cadastral sheets were transferred to digital maps. So most of the cadastral boundaries have a digitized origin, but even modern measurements are sometimes not exact on the map: 1 mm deviation on a map (scale 1:1000) equals 1 meter in real life. "So don't use the digitized cadastral map to argue with your neighbors," says Maassen. "Yet it often goes wrong, even by professional parties who really should know better. A wrong choice because of time or profit? When in doubt; there is only one land registry! Do not Google, but go directly to www.kadaster.nl, because only the cadastral fieldwork gives the true location of the cadastral boundary."

Inheritance boundaries under a magnifying glass

"In addition to constantly changing spatial development, some things have changed in what people consider important," Maassen observes. "For example, property boundaries have been under a magnifying glass for some time. Since the advent of 'De Rijdende Rechter,' the terms 'boundary dispute' and 'prescription' pass by on every anniversary." Maassen, who has measured in court several times in recent years, says that what you see with Master Visser is unfortunately common. He emphasizes again that only cadastral fieldwork provides real, reliable information. "Moreover, the cadastre - or a really good surveyor - also does not plot the legal cadastral boundary, but the boundary as it was once intended. In an incurred conflict, a judge looks at what the land registry has plotted and then determines what the legal opinion is on that boundary. This involves various considerations, including prescription. And basically - after the judge's ruling - the party of prescription begins all over again."

Always do a baseline measurement!

"With project development I therefore advise looking very carefully at the physical property boundaries as well as the cadastral boundaries beforehand, but the cadastral boundaries from reconstruction after a zero measurement. To perform a good baseline measurement, the measurement method and equipment are very important. Personally I like to work with Topcon equipment: modern, accurate and user-friendly. The important thing is that equipment is used for what it was made for." Maassen concludes, "Controlling is everything for a surveyor. By detecting bottlenecks early on, you can anticipate those deviations and adjust the design accordingly. That's how you work accurately, avoid failure costs and guarantee quality."   

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