[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

Thanks Bill93 for that info. 

I went to a neighborhood near my area that is fairly new (still under construction) and found a good example of a nail in the curb with the markings I've been talking about

I believe the mark that is here is the MAG nails PID. 

But why do they have the triangulation marking? That still leads me to believe that they have an NGS or benchmark related status somehow? 

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

Here is one with a marking similar to a triangulation station (the triangle with dot in the middle) 

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

Here is one of the new nails he put in. He did use some existing nails however. Note: the pink tape did not have any notes, numbers, or designations on it. 

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

15 hours ago, kayakbird said:

Looks like a temporary point - maybe placed by your DOT (state or county roads).  What is your location?  I have most of the western states in GSAK based Excel files and could maybe suggest some interesting PIDs in your area. 

kayakbird

I'm am in Loudoun County VA. Most of these nails they seem to use to set up total stations (survey tool) on them so they can see property markers, or lines of sight. I talked to the surveyor who was here a month ago surveying property lines for the developer's  lien. I saw him replace missing nails with new ones. 

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

 

This is a picture of one of the nails, all located in curb expansion joints

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

On 9/21/2017 at 9:24 AM, Bill93 said:

Were they measured for inclusion in the data base?  That's really what matters for logging here.  Generaly, don't bother trying to put them in Waymarking if they weren't in the data base.  A nail is usually a temporary mark unless set in a very solid mounting.  You won't find many nails in the NGS data base and the geocaching list of benchmarks is an old snapshot of the NGS data.

I HAVE seen a few nails in the data base, but they were part of US Geological Survey work that included disks and got added to NGS, but those nails (usually in wood) weren't really permanent enough and probably shouldn't have been included.

 

These nails I've seen don't typically have two letters followed by four numbers like other benchmarks, but rather just four numbers. They often do have a trianglulation symbol drawn around them or painted next to them. These nails range from MAG nails to 60D's and others. 

Most of them also have a plastic washer labeled "Survey Marker - Do Not Remove". If not, they have Survey ribbons under them that range in color from orange to blue or pink, and sometimes multiple colors. 

[Survey Nails and Benchmarks]

Since I am fairly new to benchmark hunting, I have one question. Is a survey nail itself considered a benchmark or are they separate? Because although I have only 1 official log (destroyed benchmark), there are several survey nails in my surrounding area. 

Thanks! 

RSCONSTRUCTION