Measuring land slope

Is there an innovative and quick way to measure the slope (Drop) of a block of land without using surveyors equipment?
I was pressured to put an offer on a development site (site unseen) because the agent couldnt get access to the house. The block is one house away from a downward sloping road.

1)Since i know the distance from the start of the lot (front) to the rear based on council maps then if i drive down the road and measure the slope of the road with those 4wd Pitch Roll Inclinometer then do some trig maths then could i get an accurate measurement of the differences in heights from front to back?

2)Theres also those GPS on boats that measure depth with sonar. Is there a simiar device/website where i could stand at the top of the hill and measure the AHD height and then retake the measurement at the bottom and then workout the drop?

This is a crazy email but if such a thing existed then i could work out site costs and have a leg up on my competition.
 
Is there an innovative and quick way to measure the slope (Drop) of a block of land without using surveyors equipment?
I was pressured to put an offer on a development site (site unseen) because the agent couldnt get access to the house. The block is one house away from a downward sloping road.

1)Since i know the distance from the start of the lot (front) to the rear based on council maps then if i drive down the road and measure the slope of the road with those 4wd Pitch Roll Inclinometer then do some trig maths then could i get an accurate measurement of the differences in heights from front to back?

2)Theres also those GPS on boats that measure depth with sonar. Is there a simiar device/website where i could stand at the top of the hill and measure the AHD height and then retake the measurement at the bottom and then workout the drop?

This is a crazy email but if such a thing existed then i could work out site costs and have a leg up on my competition.

Check intramaps and see if they have a contour overlay and work from that.
 
Is there an innovative and quick way to measure the slope (Drop) of a block of land without using surveyors equipment?
I was pressured (Pressured?) to put an offer on a development site (site unseen) because the agent couldnt get access to the house.(Sounds like a lazy agent....who would have thought?) The block is one house away from a downward sloping road.

1)Since i know the distance from the start of the lot (front) to the rear based on council maps then if i drive down the road and measure the slope of the road with those 4wd Pitch Roll Inclinometer then do some trig maths then could i get an accurate measurement of the differences in heights from front to back?

2)Theres also those GPS on boats that measure depth with sonar. Is there a simiar device/website where i could stand at the top of the hill and measure the AHD height and then retake the measurement at the bottom and then workout the drop?

This is a crazy email but if such a thing existed then i could work out site costs and have a leg up on my competition.

Altimeter.


pinkboy
 
Let me explain that one --- I was pressured (Pressured?)

Property was undervalued, lots of interest, owner wanted to sell quickly. All offers would be presented this monday but they wanted no due dilligence clause and couldnt give access to the house (tenant O/S). She so mentioned many others were puting in offers sight unseen by doing a drive past. Normally this would be a problem but the fact the house was going to be demolished since it was a development block then even it it was structurally damaged it shouldnt have affected my decision.

I pulled out because there is too much risk of putting in an unconditional offer for land when i cant see the slope (drop from front to back) and any other structures that will affect the cost of siteworks.
 
Google maps has a terrain feature. Council flood maps also have terrain if you go see their ingunears.

Stand on the street and judge the fall by the height of the soil around the house / length of the house ie gradient.

If all else fails, walk the block with your phone using a gps app which will give distance and height data eg "map my run" or "gps info".
 
OK so you didn't offer? Good. There will always be another.

Each one will throw you a new question and you can learn. Like using contours on Intramaps
 
Nope,
I couldnt put an offer sight unseen when i know there was a slope but i couldnt tell how large the slope was or what was in the backyard. Im guessing it was about 4m from front to back. What do you think that would have cost in site works?

I was told 1.5m to 2.5m was 35k+ so im guessing site works would have killed me.
 
Nope,
I couldnt put an offer sight unseen when i know there was a slope but i couldnt tell how large the slope was or what was in the backyard. Im guessing it was about 4m from front to back. What do you think that would have cost in site works?

I was told 1.5m to 2.5m was 35k+ so im guessing site works would have killed me.

4m is MASSIVE! I'd put aside at least $50k for 2.5m - that is a whole floor!. For 4m I'd be setting aside $80-100k

Also consider that some councils don't allow a retaining wall higher than xxmm and that really impacts on high slope blocks. I know Bayswater allows 1000mm retaining but some are much lower so you end up with a zillion retainers costing $$$

We actually own a theodolite for measuring levels but I don't know how to use it, it belongs to hubby.
 
Buy some clear hose from a hard ware store and fill it with water. Measure up to tyre Este level at the low side of the block

Other wise there would be an app. Hema map a good one with topos and GPS etc
 
4m is MASSIVE! I'd put aside at least $50k for 2.5m - that is a whole floor!. For 4m I'd be setting aside $80-100k

Also consider that some councils don't allow a retaining wall higher than xxmm and that really impacts on high slope blocks. I know Bayswater allows 1000mm retaining but some are much lower so you end up with a zillion retainers costing $$$

We actually own a theodolite for measuring levels but I don't know how to use it, it belongs to hubby.

I had a 7m drop on my maylands site plus a tight site and needed to retain the 2 existing homes...

over 150k
 
Thanks guys, i recall some intramaps have the contour feature and i purchased a google app altimeter.

I have always phoned council planning dept and give them the address, these guys have worked it out for me and they got the levels right 3 times for 3 developments, surprisingly. Then just phone my builder with details of levels and get a rough idea on costings.
 
I had a 7m drop on my maylands site plus a tight site and needed to retain the 2 existing homes...

over 150k

I'm sure you wouldn't have done that deal sight unseen though :p what street was this in? curious to see a similiar site and see how a 7m drop looks :p
 
I have the council contours and i was way off, its more like a little over 2m but they said you really cant rely on this information.

The site costs will be extra and the end values much lower but it might still work out (if its not sold already)

24m88t4.png
 
They have to say this as they are a government department and my guess they probably should not be giving out this information.
 
I'm sure you wouldn't have done that deal sight unseen though :p what street was this in? curious to see a similiar site and see how a 7m drop looks :p

haha true, i think i made 6 or 7 offers over a 2/3 year period before i got it.

mt prospect crescent in maylands
 
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