What is a Feature & Level Survey and Why You Might Need One
If you’re planning to build, renovate, or extend your home in Geelong, the Surf Coast or the Bellarine, there’s one important step that often gets overlooked, a feature & level survey. It’s not as exciting as planning layouts, but it’s the foundation that ensures your project starts on solid ground… literally.
What is a Feature & Level Survey?
A feature & level survey is a detailed plan of your property. It captures all the important details about your land, including:
- Existing structures like houses, sheds and fences
- Natural features such as trees, gardens and retaining walls
- Ground levels, rise and fall across the site
- Services and utilities like stormwater drain pits, water meters, and power poles
Surveyors measure and record this information to create a plan that shows both the layout and the elevation of your land.
Why Homeowners Need One
If you’re making any changes to your property, such as building a new home, adding an extension, or even installing a pool your architect, designer, or builder will likely need a feature & level survey.
Here’s why:
- Accurate design: Designers need to know the land’s slope and existing features to create plans that fit your site perfectly.
- Smooth council approvals: Councils often require a feature & level survey as part of the planning permit process. Councils want to be absolutely sure that any changes to one property has no adverse or negative effect on any other property.
- Avoiding costly mistakes: Knowing the exact position of fences, structures, and ground levels helps prevent design errors and building disputes.
How the Process Works
At All General Surveying, we make the process simple:
- Initial Enquiry – We learn about your project to ensure we deliver everything that you need. Once we have a solid understanding we provide you with a free quote.
- Site visit – Our surveyors come to your property with specialised equipment to measure features and ground levels.
- Detailed plan – We prepare a clear, accurate plan of your site.
- Collaboration – We work directly with your architect, builder, or designer to ensure they have exactly what they need for your project.
The Bottom Line
A feature & level survey may not be the most exciting part of your project, but it’s one of the most important. We take the confusion out of this process for you by delivering high quality plans that have left our clients satisfied for over 20 years.
If you’re a homeowner in Victoria getting ready to start a project, contact us today to arrange your feature & level survey and give your project the best possible start.
