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Finding Your Property Pins Before Hanging a Gate

By georgetown metal gates files

Before any gate post goes into the ground in Georgetown, the owner should know where the property line actually runs, and the surest way to know is to find the corner pins. These are metal rods or pipes driven into the ground by a surveyor to mark the corners of a lot. They are usually buried a few inches down and forgotten, and finding them takes a plat, a tape, a metal detector and some patience. A gate placed from a guess can land on a neighbor's land, and a gate placed from the pins stays where it belongs.

Start with the plat

The recorded plat for the subdivision shows each lot's shape, its dimensions, the bearings of its sides and any easements. Williamson County keeps recorded plats, and the title paperwork from a purchase usually includes a copy. Read the lot's dimensions along the street and along each side. Note the distance from the street corner of the block to the lot's corner, which gives a starting point for measuring on the ground.

Look for a survey

A survey prepared for the sale of the house shows the lot lines, the house location and often the fence lines, and it notes whether pins were found. The title company or lender may hold a copy, and so may the seller. A recent survey is the best document there is, since a surveyor stood on the ground and set or confirmed the pins.

What pins look like

• A steel rod, often half an inch to five eighths of an inch across, with a plastic cap that may carry a surveyor's number.
• An iron pipe, thicker than a rod, sometimes capped.
• A concrete monument at larger corners or block corners.
• A nail or spike set in a curb, pavement or wall for an offset mark.

Pins at the street corners of a lot are often set a little below ground, and lawns and landscaping grow over them. Older lots may have lost their pins to construction work.

Finding them

A magnetic locator, sold as a metal detector or a pin finder, finds steel under a few inches of soil. Measure from known points on the plat, such as the street edge or a neighbor's confirmed pin, to the expected spot, and sweep a small area around it. When the detector sounds, probe gently with a thin rod and dig carefully with a hand trowel. Never dig deep without a utility locate, since lines run near the street edge of many lots.

If one pin turns up, the others can often be found by measuring along the line using the plat's distances. Two pins on one side give the line between them.

Check the pin against the plat

A pin found in the right place and at the right distance is a good sign. A pin that is a foot off from where the plat puts it may be a disturbed pin, a pin set by another surveyor from a different reference, or a pin that belongs to a neighboring lot. Do not rely on a single pin that disagrees with everything else. A licensed surveyor can resolve it.

When to hire a surveyor

A new boundary survey is worth ordering when pins cannot be found, when the fence line and the plat disagree, when a neighbor disputes the line, or when the gate sits close to the boundary and the cost of an error is high. A licensed land surveyor sets new pins, flags them and provides a drawing that serves as a record. Compared with the cost of moving a gate and a column, a survey is a modest outlay.

Marking the line for the gate

Once two pins are found, stretch a string tight between them and mark it with stakes or paint. Measure from the string to the place where the gate post will stand. Offset the post a few inches inside the line, so that the concrete footing stays entirely on the owner's side. A post set exactly on the line puts half the footing on the neighbor's land.

Neighbors and the line

Show the neighbor the pins and the string before building. A short conversation avoids surprise, and a neighbor who agrees on the line in advance rarely raises a dispute later. If the neighbor's fence is a few inches over, a written note of the agreement helps both sides.

Record what you find

Photograph each pin with a tape in the picture and a note of the distance to a fixed feature. Paint a small mark on the curb or sidewalk near the pin. If it is ever buried again, the photos and measurements make it easy to find.

A gate hung from posts set against a known line stays put for the life of the fence, and finding the pins is the cheapest way to be sure of that line.

Why pins go missing in Georgetown

Pins get lost for ordinary reasons. Builders grade lots for foundations and drainage, and heavy equipment knocks pins out of place. Utility crews trench along lot lines and disturb them. Sod crews and landscapers dig around them. In the limestone found across Williamson County, a pin driven into hard ground may be shallow to begin with and easy to bend. A missing pin does not mean the line has moved, only that the marker is gone.

Using a neighbor's pins

A pin on the neighbor's side of the line, if it can be found with the neighbor's consent, helps check the measurement. Two pins on the same line, one on each lot's corner, should agree with the plat distance between them. If they do not, a surveyor should sort it out before anyone builds.

Fence lines as evidence

An existing fence is only a clue to the boundary, not proof of it. Notice whether it sits on the line of the pins, inside it or outside it. A gap of a few inches is common. A gap of a foot or more is a reason to talk with the neighbor. Photograph the fence and the pins together, so there is a record of how they relate.

Digging safely while looking

Pins usually sit within a few inches of the surface, but a lot corner by the street may also hold a utility box or a buried line. Request a locate through 811 before digging at a corner, and use a trowel, not a power tool.