Construction Staking, also known as a Site Layout Survey, is the process of interpreting construction plans and marking the location of proposed new structures such as roads or buildings. Construction staking is performed to ensure a project is built according to engineering design plans.
Construction staking for projects is a crucial step in the building process that can directly influence whether a project finishes on time, on budget, and free from errors. It is in the best interests of the construction company or developer to utilize the skills of a qualified Professional Land Surveyor to perform the staking. A good surveyor will interpret the plans and layout the project to best fit the site as the designer, engineer, or architect intended. By having someone with the skills and knowledge of a Professional Land Surveyor on your team, you can be certain of the accuracy and reliability of the results.
Construction staking is needed for a variety of different projects, including subdivisions, streets, utilities, and more complex, multi-story building sites. Construction staking is, at its most basic, the laying out of survey points on the ground to act as a guide for constructing site improvements. In many ways, construction staking can be seen as the opposite of the As-built Survey. The as-built assesses a building or project after completion to ensure that is was built according to the plans. Construction staking is performed at the beginning of the project to make sure that the project is built according to plan. Good construction staking will lead to a good as-built survey.
Construction staking calls upon all the skills that a land surveyor possesses. They are required to check the Boundary and Topographic Survey prior to construction to ensure that the property matches the site plan and engineering design. Once satisfied. they perform field staking for mass grading, building pads for construction, utilities (sanitary sewers, water mains and storm sewers), as well as rough grading for any parking lots, streets, curbs, or gutters. These are all done before the surveyor even begins to address the proposed buildings on the property.
Once a surveyor moves on to staking the proposed structures, he provides the location and grade stakes for building foundations, walls, and column lines. This is a crucial step in the process. If the buildings foundations are not staked properly, it can be a very costly mistake for the construction crew that could have the potential to ruin the job altogether. A knowledgeable land surveyor is a builder’s best tool to avoid construction problems further on in the process. A good surveyor will establish a coordinate network with horizontal and vertical controls from the beginning of the project and use it to calculate and determine the exact corners and levels of proposed structures.