Staking Out Surfaces

The Stake Surface feature allows you to place grade stakes across a design surface and determine the cut or fill required to achieve the design elevation at any location.

The surface must be part of the currently loaded design before it can be used for stakeout.

Surface Sources

A design surface can be created from:

Imported Surface Files

• TTM surface files
• VCL surface files

These surfaces are typically created in Trimble Business Center and then imported into the project.

Measured Surfaces

You can also create a design surface from field measurements:

1. Open Data Management.
2. Select Surface as Design.
3. Save the measured surface as a design.
4. Load the exported design as the current design.

This is useful for:

• Existing ground surveys
• As-built surfaces
• Material thickness workflows
• Surface-to-surface comparisons

Stake a Surface

1. From the Measurement screen, tap Home > Stake.
2. Select the surface:
   • Tap the list selection icon in the upper-right corner.
   • Open the Surface tab.
   • Select the required design surface.
3. Move around the site and use the values shown in the information bar to monitor:
   • Design elevation
   • Current elevation
   • Cut required
   • Fill required

Siteworks continuously compares your current position against the design surface and updates the cut/fill values in real time.

Complete the Stakeout

Once you reach the desired location:

1. Tap Measure.
2. Siteworks records the stakeout location.
3. A Stake Marker Report is generated.

The report includes:

• Design elevation
• Measured elevation
• Cut/fill values
• Stake placement information
• Grade marking details

Stake Marker Diagram

The stakeout report includes a graphical stake-marking diagram showing where the grade mark should be placed on the physical stake.

Siteworks automatically performs all calculations required for:

• Cut depths
• Fill heights
• Grade mark location
• Stake labelling

The calculations are based on the settings configured under:

Home > Settings > Stakeout

These settings determine:

• Stake marking method
• Working stake length
• Cut/fill intervals
• Stakeout tolerances
• Reference elevations

Typical Applications

Surface stakeout is commonly used for:

• Building pads
• Subgrade verification
• Bulk earthworks
• Final trim checks
• Drainage surfaces
• Finished floor levels
• Road and pavement construction
• Pond and lagoon construction

Tip

For large earthworks projects, combine Surface Stakeout with a Reference Line. This allows grade stakes to be marked with both cut/fill information and station-offset information relative to the project alignment, making it easier for construction crews to identify stake locations and design intent.