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Jack Edmondson wrote:Okay. The map is perfect. It has all you need on it.
From the chart in the left margin you know the fence line, L49, runs from South to East at an angle of 59 degrees on your compass dial. Depending on how precise your instrument is, it further breaks the degrees down to minutes and seconds (fractions of a degree.) 31 minutes 44 seconds. Your compass will not be that accurate, but perhaps a gps would be? Survey's equipment is obviously very precise.
So standing by the country road 479, look North towards the gravel drive and the other end of the fence line. (the two ponds should be on your left.) Looking down at the flat compass in front of you, point the d.o.g. or direction of go from the video, at the far end of your line. Rotate the dial until the floating needle is inside the red 'dog house' on the base plate. The dial or bezel on the compass should read 59 degrees (+/- 2 degrees.) The compass will get you close, but even a small rate of error over 1000 feet will put you off your line. I would place flags along a line you establish with the compass.
Eugene Howard wrote:What type of fence are you building? Wood? Wire?
The guy who said to set the corners then stretch a tight wire between them was right. When I would do it, I'd stretch the wire with a tractor if need be to tension it enough, but was using a heavy gauge barbed wire or Number 9 smooth wire. Lift it and drop the taught wire a few times and it will work itself dead straight. A tight wire isn't going to bubble, sag or move around on you like string would. Tension it up straight and set your line posts touching it. If you can't connect the wire the entire way, and you have 1,000 feet between your corners, a set of brace posts halfway is only 500 feet apart. Tension your wire to those. Before you go farther than setting your line posts, go back and sight down them. If any one of them is the least bit out of line, move it. Shouldn't be if you set each post next to your tight wire. Also sight down them to make sure the top of each line post is set to the same depth. The only thing worse than a fence that isn't dead straight is one that jogs up and down. Ground varies, but the tops of the posts should not, except to make a very gentle sweep to follow the contour. There is a vinyl fence I drive by every day and they didn't do this. They set each post exactly the same depth, such that the top of the fence bounces up and down and it looks hideous.
Also, before you build this fence, you may want to inform your neighbor and get him involved to help you lay it out. You don't want him coming around after the fact telling you it is in the wrong place. Fence laws vary, but in some places, tradition has it that two neighbors are to share the cost of building a fence and in maintaining it. As you stand on your property and view the fence, your half is on the right. But don't take that as gospel......traditions vary. And don't assume he will pay for half the cost, even though he benefits from it as much as you do. Some neighbors are like that.
Edited to include this: Building a property line fence is not something you rush into. Location matters. Imagine if the fence bubbles onto your property 5 or 10 feet, or on to his. If on his you are claiming and using his property as your own. If on you, you are doing the same for him. In most jurisdictions, there are not well understood laws regarding claims of ownership over boundary disputes and putting fences in the wrong place is often the cause of the dispute. Take the time to get it right!
David Spohn wrote:My curiosity got the better of me and I had to look it up because I work with a level similar to yours quite frequently.
It does work on it's side! (Or I guess technically, it's back.) That's how you get vertical functions, which should also work for shooting a straight line. Perhaps even better, it has a "line" function and a "point" function, so you should be golden. There are more details in the manual, which is available at homedepot.com among other places.