We went through something similar when we put up our fence last summer. Borrowed a detector from my brother-in-law, and yeah...it was helpful, but definitely not foolproof. One thing that made a big difference for us was cross-checking with some rough measurements from the property deed—just basic pacing and measuring tape stuff. Still took some trial and error, but at least we weren't digging blind. Saved us from turning the yard into swiss cheese...mostly.
We did something similar when building a deck extension last spring. Those online property line maps were honestly pretty confusing—lines were fuzzy, and zooming in didn't exactly help much. Ended up pulling out the original survey from when we bought the place and pacing things out manually like you did. Took some extra time, but it gave us enough confidence to avoid any major screw-ups. Still nicked a sprinkler line though...but hey, could've been worse, right?
"Those online property line maps were honestly pretty confusing—lines were fuzzy, and zooming in didn't exactly help much."
Had a similar headache recently when laying out an access road. Online maps made the easement boundaries look like blurry spaghetti strands...ended up dusting off the old plat map and measuring by hand. Tedious but worth avoiding a costly redo.
Yeah, I've noticed the same issue with online maps—they're handy for a quick glance, but not exactly precise enough when you're actually marking out boundaries. One thing I've found helpful is cross-checking with county GIS data; sometimes they have clearer overlays or even downloadable shapefiles you can import into mapping software. Still, nothing beats physically measuring it out yourself...tedious for sure, but saves headaches down the road.
Totally agree on the tedious part...spent a Saturday afternoon measuring out my property lines with stakes and string—felt like I was back in geometry class. But you're right, online maps are handy but not always reliable enough for easements or fence lines. County GIS saved me some guesswork, though.
