Where This Data Comes From

Parcel outlines are reference geometry, not a survey

The outline drawn around a property comes from Maryland state parcel records. That geometry is maintained for assessment and mapping. It is not a boundary survey, it was not produced by a licensed surveyor, and it is not evidence of where a legal property line runs.

If a job depends on the exact line — a wall near a boundary, a fence, anything a neighbor might reasonably query — that needs a real survey, and we will say so rather than build to a line off a map.

Lot sizes and measurements are approximate

Acreage comes from the parcel record. Anything you draw is measured against that same geometry, so a takeoff is an estimate derived from an estimate. Expect it to be close enough to plan with and not close enough to order materials against.

Final quantities come off a tape on site. That is true of every contractor; the difference is that we are telling you.

Soil data is a map, not a bore hole

Soil series, drainage class and hydrologic group come from the USDA soil survey. Soil surveys map areas, not points. The named series is typically around three quarters of the mapped unit, so the ground in one corner of a lot can differ from the map.

It also predates the house. Foundation backfill, an old driveway, imported fill or anything a previous owner buried will not appear in it. That is one of the reasons we walk the property rather than quote from a screen.

Drainage and hydrologic group describe soil, not your yard

Hydrologic group is a property of the soil, and it is a useful signal for how fast water soaks away. It is not a measurement of where water actually goes on your lot — that depends on grade, downspouts, compaction, what is upslope of you and what previous work changed. Only looking at it tells you that.

The tools contain no utility information at all

Nothing in these tools shows or infers the position of any buried utility, public or private. Do not treat an empty area on a plan as clear ground.

Before excavation we make the Miss Utility call, which Maryland law requires and which needs two full business days. That locates member utilities’ own facilities. Privately installed lines — irrigation, lighting, a run to a shed — are generally outside what it covers.

No engineering, permit or code determination is made

These tools do no structural, geotechnical or stormwater engineering, and they reach no conclusion about permits, setbacks, zoning or code compliance. Where a job needs a permit or an engineer, that is a separate step and we will tell you at the walkthrough.

The prices in the estimating example are examples

The unit rates in the estimating example are examples and are marked on screen as such. They exist to show you the arithmetic — how quantity times rate produces a number — not to quote your job.

Nothing produced by these tools is an offer, a quote or a binding price. A real price comes in writing after we have seen the property.

How current the data is

Parcel and soil data are a fixed snapshot held with the site, not a live feed, so records changed since it was taken will not be reflected. Assessed values in particular move on their own cycle and are not market valuations.

The storm panel on the home page is the exception: it reads the National Weather Service live for the Baltimore County alert zone.