- 1). Find a flat, open plot of land that you want to measure into a square acre.
- 2). Stand in the left corner of the plot and set up a surveyor's total station using the procedures in the instructions that came with your total station. A total station is a surveying instrument that accurately measures angles and also accurately measures distances using a range finder and a reflector.
- 3). Position an assistant holding a total station reflector about 80 paces in any direction from the total station. Adjust the position of the assistant and the total station reflector until the reflector is 208.71 feet from the total station.
- 4). Mark the position of the total station with a wood stake. Mark the position of the reflector with a wood stake.
- 5). Turn the sight of the total station 45 degrees to the right. Adjust the position of your assistant and the reflector until the reflector bisects your line of sight at a distance from the total station of 295.16 feet. The diagonal of a square with sides 208.71 feet long is that length multiplied by the square root of two, or 295.16 feet.
- 6). Mark the second position of the reflector with a wood stake.
- 7). Turn the sight of the total station another 45 degrees to the right. Adjust the position of your assistant and the reflector until the reflector bisects that line of sight at a distance of 208.71 feet from the total station.
- 8). Mark the third position of the reflector with a wood stake. The area within the four stakes is a square acre.
next post