Slope Staking – SITECH CS Help Centre

Slope staking enables you to stake the side slopes and catch points associated with earthworks designs. It can be used when staking either points or lines, making it suitable for a wide range of civil construction applications where a design surface ties into the existing ground.

Common applications include:

Building pads
Embankments
Earth dams
Drainage channels
Lagoons and ponds
Batter slopes
Keyways
Site earthworks

Slope Staking Modes

Three stakeout modes are available:

Select the required mode from the Stake Mode icon on the status panel.

Define the Side Slope

Before beginning stakeout, open the Define Side Slope screen and specify:

The slope direction.
Whether the slope is projected from a:
- 3D line, or
- 3D point with an entered bearing.
The cut slope ratio.
The fill slope ratio.
Whether the slope applies to the left or right side of the reference line.

The Slope Direction setting controls how the slope is projected relative to the selected design object.

How Slope Staking Works

Siteworks calculates the elevation of the reference line or point at the selected location and projects the defined cut or fill slope outward.

The software continuously calculates:

The design slope surface.
The current ground surface.
The predicted location where these surfaces intersect.

A graphical Slope Indicator Line is displayed on the map, extending from the reference line toward the predicted catch point location.

If both cut and fill slopes have been defined, Siteworks automatically determines which slope applies based on the relationship between the design and existing ground at that location.

Catch Point Staking

The Catch Point mode is used to locate the daylight line where the design side slope intersects the existing ground surface.

As ground conditions vary, the catch point location may change significantly from one station to the next.

When staking catch points:

Stake at regular intervals along the project.
Monitor terrain changes.
Adjust staking intervals where ground conditions change rapidly.

You can switch between:

Fixed interval staking
Random interval staking

at any time during the workflow.

Side Slope Staking

The Side Slope mode allows you to place stakes anywhere on the batter itself rather than only at the top or bottom of slope.

This is useful when:

Marking intermediate batter positions.
Checking slope construction.
Setting grade stakes on a side slope.

The software guides you to any required location between:

The reference line, and
The catch point.

Line Staking Mode

The Line mode stakes the reference line from which the side slope is projected.

You can:

Stake the nearest point on the line.
Stake a specific station along the line.

This is often used to establish the top of cut, toe of fill, or centreline before commencing side slope staking.

Corner Calculations

When staking building pads and similar earthworks, Siteworks automatically handles both internal and external corners.

External Corners

For outside corners, the side slope is projected radially from the corner point.

This ensures the batter wraps correctly around the corner and maintains the specified slope.

Internal Corners

For inside corners, Siteworks calculates the catch point using a bisected angle between the adjoining sides.

This produces a realistic intersection of the side slopes and existing ground.

Best Practice Workflow

Select the reference point or line.
Define cut and fill slope ratios.
Confirm slope direction.
Stake the reference line if required.
Switch to Catch Point mode and locate daylight points.
Use Side Slope mode to place intermediate grade stakes where needed.
Repeat at suitable intervals to accurately define the earthworks boundary.

Tip: For earthworks such as pads, ponds, and embankments, begin by staking catch points at wider intervals and then reduce the spacing in areas where the terrain changes significantly. This provides a more accurate representation of the actual daylight line while improving staking efficiency.