Delaware Surveyor Engineers Successful Consulting Firm

Today we’re talking with Kim Adams, President of Mountain Consulting Inc.

First State News:  Welcome Kim, tell us… how did your consulting firm come about?

Kim:  We started the business after my husband Troy passed his Professional Engineering exam and was licensed in 2003.  We bought our first equipment off eBay and began doing mortgage surveys.  At first it was mostly little mortgage surveys for a friend of ours who is a realtor, but soon we had a steady flow of business from word of mouth and references.

FSN:  That’s terrific.  So you started off as surveyors.  Do you offer other services as well?

Kim:  Absolutely.  Surveys are one aspect of the business, but we are civil engineers first.  That includes a wide range of services such as site design, land planning, building permits and storm water management. We also take care of certified construction reviews, construction management and oversight, feasibility studies, FEMA cert permits and land permits.

FSN:  Your offices are located in Dover?

Kim:  Yes, we are based out of Dover, Delaware and recently relocated our offices to historic Dover on The Green.

FSN:  What area do you service?

Kim:  We are licensed to do business in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Here in Delaware we have worked with Delaware National Resources, DelDot, Kent County, as well as local builders throughout the state.

FSN:  What makes Mountain Consulting different from other engineering firms in Delaware?

Kim:  We are team players and make a special effort to work well with others.  We pride ourselves on responsiveness to the client’s needs.

FSN:  Can you give our readers some information on what they should know or questions they should ask before they call a home surveyor.

Kim:  If a person calls for a land survey, they should know specifically what they need it for.

The most common reason a property survey is the sale of a home.  Typically the realtor handles it, but most people are not aware that they can choose their own surveyor.

Secondly, if you are putting up a fence or building an addition, you should contact a surveyor to make sure everything is done within the confines of your property.   You might think you are on your property, but it can cause a lot of problems down the road if you are not.  So it’s best to make sure.  Another thing to keep in mind is setbacks.  Physical building structures have to be within your building restriction line.

FSN:  You mentioned Planners.  Do you do both commercial and residential planning for new structures?

Kim:  Yes we do.

FSN:  Is that a fairly large part of your business?

Kim:  Engineering design for both commercial and residential construction is becoming a bigger part of our business and that entails a lot of site planning.  Surveying is part of that too because you have to do the data collection of what is on the property, topography, making the design for the storm water collection, roads, parking etc.  We have to figure what can and can’t be done on the property.  Then we work with the different agencies (city or county) to get your idea approved for that property.

A lot of people really discount the engineering end of things.  They might try to put up a $2,000,000 project and only spend $2000 on the design, but that’s just not realistic.

FSN:  Kim thanks for the information.  If anyone has any questions they can call Mountain Consulting direct at 302.744.9875 or visit them online at MountainConsultingInc.net.