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My only advice for whatever you do is pay for as much as you can while you go…don’t rely too much on student loans. With the job market you do not want to graduate with thousands in debt and no way to pay it back. And never, ever, ever, ever take out private student loans. You will want to be done as fast as possible but with some patience you…[Read more]

I’m going to continue to see what instruments are available and at what price. I do a very good job with a Bosch laser and trust my work. I’d just like to speed it up a bit. It is quite a step above the old Fat Max that I used to use. I have not yet had to put it away and tape anything that I could hold that beam on inside 100′. I would be lucky…[Read more]

ugh.

What software are you using?

Andrew, I know they are…they just aren’t weighing in this conversation. And to your credit, I never expected that you weren’t already using survey files generated by a registered surveyor. I think we all know that those surveys are available to us depending on the level of detail we pay for…so if a client has already had these done, not…[Read more]

A tongue is quite good equipment though i empathise with the view not to do anything solid without a survey.  Often, land has been surveyed in the not too far distant past and/or there are aerial photographs and satellite photos/maps available,  I once found guys before a ruined pavillion and whitewash shed in a flat open area surrounded by lar…[Read more]

…. and you all have every shrub and minor detail acurately located in every survey? I often have to infill detail, even while working for a civil/survey office. I’m not looking to replace a survey. I’m looking for more efficient ways of supplementing.
 
I do a lot of re-landscape design where detail and spatial detail are very important because…[Read more]

I also insist on a survey. If it is existing, I also insist on having the site SHOT down to the hundredth of a inch elevation (two decimal places), rather than interpolated which can have an error factor of over 6″. This is critical for ADA and setting FFEs.  I’ve had way too many surveys be terifically inaccurate in the past few years. I th…[Read more]

I do absoultely NO const. drawings without a certified survey…
I’ll conceptualize all day without a survey but when it’s time to do const. drawings, I insist on a survey or I will not continue……take note, save yourself!

 
I know the conditions for this one are vague and I’d be very reluctant to participate in the competition because of this reason. However, it could be an opportunity to land a major project that you could never get on your own. Here’s why….an individual with no political ties rarely if ever, gets awarded a job like this….I don’t care  how t…[Read more]

I’d go with reflectorless TS if you have access to it.  Depending on how much precision and accuracy you need, you might be able to get by with a good handheld GPS.

I had a tough time finding jobs at firms in the Minneapolis area. There were jobs available doing landscaping, but I wanted to work in the visualization side of things. (3D Studio Max). IT’s a tough market and I actually had to just find a new career. Still love my LA roots and miss studio sometimes.
 

Who applies mulch in a 4″ blanket? Nobody I’ve seen, thats for sure. I know that is what your are supposed to do, but more often than not, it is more like 1-1/2″ t0 2″. I’ve also seen crews just rake on more mulch, not aerate the old stuff or remove it entirely.
 
If you use good mulch, then you don’t have the issues with bugs or fungii. Shreded…[Read more]

Find the oldest photographs you can of this and close/similar areas from archives and see what grew then.  Check for what local tribes picked/ate/used.  Consider replacing areas of dead sand, ie not yet converted to soil but not likely to have sand added now and consider upgrading them.  Spent mushroom compost mixed with a top layer of fresh so…[Read more]

Nothing worse then someone using mulch as a decorative element. 

You are correct. Too bad. I like the good old shredded hardwood bark mulch that came from the paper mills. That was great. Decomposed into a soil builder and smelled great too. Lately the mulch has been getting worse and worse with more of the junk added to it and for some reason some people want to have fluorescent red mulch around there plantings.

Last I checked, bark is a by-product of the timber industry. It is not what the dye is used for. The dye is to color the wood that is being chipped fom old pallets and old fences that you pay to dump which then gets ground and added to the material coming from the lumber mills. The whole problem stems from a good idea that has some negative side…[Read more]

I cant speak to this competition directly, but I have been watching other competitions come up on competitions.org and reading their fine print–It’s disappointing to see the issues you mention, but also such restrictions as age, experience, education, background, location, etc. I think I read criteria for one competition stipulating that entrants…[Read more]

Don’t forget about the mold and blob that forms on Cocoa shells. Not healthy for animals either.