Time to Mark Your Boundary's

[bitternut]

Thought maybe since we so often see problems posted here about property line infringements  I would remind everyone that Spring is a great time to mark your property lines. As soon as all the snow melts its a good time to get out there for a Spring walk with your boundary paint and mark some boundary trees. Visibility in the woods is the best you will find all year, usually few bugs, weeds are flattened and temperatures are cooler. I like to do it just before leaf out. Usually lots of birds singing to mark their territory and spring flowers are popping up in the woods. Good time to get some leaks also. My wife and I will be marking our woods some time soon in the near future. Got my paint already........just waiting for the snow to all melt.

So as Larry would say GIT ER DONE!!!!! :D  :D

[Mr Mom]

     My lines are all ready marked.Neighbor to the south did the line in white spray paint last year.
     I did the line to the north with bright orange spray paint a couple years ago.
     Somebody did the back line with red spray paint a day or too before deer hunting.
     I still had to tell people to get off my land.
     

     Thankd Alot Mr Mom

[woodmills1]

are ya really lookin for leaks?   :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

I found a lot of property owners in Virginia also use white boundary paint. I guess they don't want anyone to see their line trees. Almost impossible to see that color in the woods.  ;D :D Mines all nice fire engine red, never be able to miss it unless your blind or colour blind. ;D I do mine every few years. Most people around here, never bother.

[Tom Sawyer]

No.  I think he was talking about lots of opportunity to take a leak - nobody around to see ;D :D

[bitternut]

I was talking about the kind that you dig. Hummm, is it take a leek or leave a leak? :D Sometimes my spelling is not to good. ;D

I have to disagree with you Donk about the white paint. My forester that did my plan recommended white paint and it has held up quite well. It is also very visible, even in winter with snow on the ground. One of my neighbors on one side painted the same trees that I marked with blue paint about a week after I had marked the line. Blue also shows up quite well and seems to weather pretty good. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I have to disagree too, because I seen it marked on oak and you could barely tell it from natural white blotches unless you where standing 20 feet from the tree with your glasses on. But, I guess it's a loosing argument or a neutral one at least. What ever pacifies the woodlot owner. ;D

Seems white is what they marked the Jefferson National Forest with also. Up here it's red on public forest, florescent green on Irving Freehold, blue on Fraser Freehold, orange on Crabbe Freehold and red, blue, yellow or orange on private, but mostly nothing at all on private.  :

[BrandonTN]

Snow?  What snow?  ;D 

[ohsoloco]

The back of my property is bordered by State Game lands, and they mark the boundary with white paint.  They put the paint over top of a spot on the tree about the size of your fist that someone must've nicked with an axe or hatchet.  I think they paint the border every year, but last year is the first I noticed the little red signs saying it's public hunting ground.  

[semologger]

i cut a bunch of state timber and they mark all the trees i have to cut. white is hard to see red good blue and neon green still works but seems to blend in. still its hard to cut spotted timber. you always are searching for that one spotted tree

[SwampDonkey]

Might be easier to cut if the trees are marked on at least 3 sides and trails are flagged? Worked well for me because it was a more systematic approach eliminating randomness of machine travel. Trails were 80-100 feet apart. If timber wasn't marked a lot of cherry picking tended to occur. ;)

[ohsoloco]

Last fall (2005) I went through and marked all of my dead harwood before the leaves fell so I knew what to cut for firewood that winter.  This year when I was cutting firewood I came across a few fallen trees and noticed my marks from the prior year  :

[Stephen Alford]

In this part of the world it is always advised to leave old boundary marks of whatever nature and mark new trees with fresh paint. This produces a history if you will along a boundary.Thus can be helpful if a new owner comes along.  Sometimes this can help give an accepted boundary line credibilty. Just a thought. : Stephen.

[SwampDonkey]

In a meeting we had with survey engineers 6 or 7 years ago we were told it was not legal for Joe land owner to go out and blaze new boundary trees. It was ok to mark above or below an old mark and to repaint the line. But, I would think if the old line was well maintained and a tree was on the path of that line it could be marked. And I know many a tree were marked in this instance.  ;)

[Woodwalker]

Texas has a "purple line" line law. In place of or in addition to posted signs, purple painted lines = no trespassing. Anyone else?

[Larry]

Both Missouri and Arkansas have the purple paint rules. 8) 8)  I've yet to use it on my boundaries as it seems a little unfriendly.  In some cases I can see where it is essential.

[SwampDonkey]

Texas has a "purple line" line law. In place of or in addition to posted signs, purple painted lines = no trespassing. Anyone else?

red circular disks or red band of paint ringing the tree is no trespassing

yellow circular disks is no access without permission

blue circular disks is agricultural land, no access.

[LT40HDD51]

Do you know if thats true in NS too? Most people probably wouldnt even know what they meant anyway... :-\

[thecfarm]

My Father and me marked all the boundaries years ago.We would blaze the tree and use red paint.One thing by blazing the tree it is still there 30 years later even if the paint is gone.We would still keep up on the paint.When I first married my wife we walked the lines so she would know what to look for if I was to die.Not something we all like to talk about,but you never know.I tease her about being citified.I would always go see the loggers when they would cut around me.Make sure they know where the line is.I bought a piece of the old farm back and the guy used yellow,white and purple paint.At least he did it.No doudt where the line is.

[SwampDonkey]

Lt, as far as I know it's a NB thing. Been in place for about 15 years now I think.

[OneWithWood]

My problem was treesw just did not grow in a nice straight line or close enough to the boundary.  The last time the property was surveyed I went out and replced the lathe markers with T post covered with a 2" ten foot piece of PVC pipe.  Painted the tops flourescent pink.  There is no mistaking where the line is 

[Engineer]

Around here, paint or flagging can be done by the landowner, it is not considered "permanent" like a pipe, rebar or stone monument.  It is actually rare to see lines with blazes and paint, especially in the last 20 years.  There is no requirement to do so, and the landowners don't want to pay the extra $$ to have it done.  The last time we did a paint line, I went to Wal-Mart and got a gallon of their floor and porch paint and had the guy load it up with yellow pigment.  It was about $7.  Those lines were painted 8 years ago and they are still as bright as the day they were put on.  The state uses red, they blaze and paint and any trees that are "tie trees" (know distance to a monument) they will triple-blaze and paint and put a metal tag on them as well.

I personally prefer blue paint - it's not a color naturally found in the woods.

[OneWithWood]

Here is a pic of one of my boundary markers.  This one is fairly close to the house so I did not paint the top.  The flourescent paint fades so I generally reapply it every fall.

[SwampDonkey]

Engineer, it's not required here either to mark lines. Most of the times when a logger is asked to harvest wood, the logger pays for a surveyor to mark the lines with ribbons.

Even when selling land, unless it's a building lot, most are not even marked then either. The attitude is that the deed has a description of the lot and the parcel is out there somewhere. I wouldn't touch a piece of land unless it's surveyed. Having it surveyed will bring old skeletons out of the closet and see if the boundary is in dispute with the adjacent owner. If the neighbor is in dispute he'll soon be paying a visit. I have no interest in land where your fighting with a neighbor for a few feet of ground. He could be right and I would probably have no ground to stand on, literally.

[Phorester]

In Virginia, it's legal to mark your property against hunting with aluminum paint applied facing out from your property line if the marks are vertical, at least 6" tall and 2" wide, applied 4 - 6 feet above ground or waterline.

The USFS in Virginia uses red paint to mark the National Forest boundaries.  The USPS (National Parks) uses narrow vertical metal or plastic signs about 2" by 8" with the NPS logo and the word "boundary" underneath it.