Sometimes you just have to weigh the risk against your budget and hope you don’t hit the jackpot (or an oil tank).
I get wanting to save, but honestly, skipping a full survey—even for small stuff—can backfire. Old houses hide all kinds of surprises. In my experience, the upfront cost is usually less painful than dealing with a busted pipe or mystery slab later on.
I get where you're coming from, but is a full survey always worth it? I mean, if you’re just putting in a small garden bed or something, does it really make sense to spend hundreds upfront? Sometimes it feels like overkill unless there’s obvious risk.
I get where you’re coming from—dropping a few hundred bucks on a survey for a garden bed does sound like overkill most of the time. Honestly, for small projects like that, I usually just double-check property lines with whatever’s on hand (old plans, neighbor’s fences, etc.) and call it good.
But I’ve seen some weird stuff pop up even with “simple” digs. Once, a buddy of mine started a veggie patch and hit an old concrete footing from who-knows-what. Another time, someone found a buried cable that wasn’t marked anywhere. It’s rare, but those surprises can turn into headaches fast.
If there’s no obvious risk—no weird boundaries, no history of buried stuff, nothing flagged on the utility locates—I’d probably skip the full survey too. Just be ready for the odd surprise. Sometimes the adventure is half the fun... unless you hit a pipe.
DIGGING UP THE BACKYARD: FOUND MORE THAN JUST DIRT
If there’s no obvious risk—no weird boundaries, no history of buried stuff, nothing flagged on the utility locates—I’d probably skip the full survey too. Just be ready for the odd surprise. Sometimes the adventure is half the fun... unless you hit a pipe.
- Totally agree, most of the time a full survey for a small garden bed is overkill.
- That said, I’ve seen “simple” projects turn expensive fast. Last year, I watched a neighbor dig for a small koi pond and end up cracking an old clay drain line. He thought he was clear because the utility locate didn’t show anything, but apparently it was too old to be mapped. Ended up costing him way more than a survey would’ve.
- I get the temptation to just eyeball property lines, especially if you’re not building anything permanent. But if you’re anywhere near a fence or a hedge that’s been there forever, it’s worth double-checking. I’ve seen property lines off by a couple feet, and suddenly you’re explaining to the neighbor why their roses are getting dug up.
- For luxury builds or bigger landscaping, I always recommend a survey. Not just for legal reasons, but because you never know what’s under there—old septic tanks, forgotten irrigation, random concrete pads. You don’t want to find out mid-project.
- For small stuff? Yeah, I’d probably just go for it, but I’d at least call in the utility locates and maybe ask the neighbors if they remember any weirdness from previous owners. Saves a lot of headaches.
Long story short, you’re probably fine skipping the survey for a basic garden bed, but if you’re planning anything more ambitious—or if your property has a history—you might want to think twice. Sometimes the “adventure” is just a mess you have to pay someone else to clean up...
