Thanks for the info. The company I work for is expanding the building by
adding a big warehouse. I have laid out all of the information such as
square footages of new roads and parking but my mangaer wants to see if I
can find out how much earth will have to be moved. All this info will be
turned over to the contract company who is going to be handling the project.
Although they will most likely get their own information as to how much
earth will be moved and such I am basically getting it before hand to help
with the cost esimates so the bosses will know if their is enough money in
their budget to do what they want to do.
The USGS type information IS NOT good enough for that, FWIW. The
TopoDepot stuff would be suspect at best for that purpose, as well.
I'd suggest getting a surveyor. If you explain the situation, and the
site is generally open, it shouldn't cost very much. If that's out of
the question, you'll have to get someone with a level and do a quick
grid-type survey to get elevations worth using to get volume
calculations. If you need a more detailed description, let me know.
In any event, BE CAREFUL with how you get your number for earthwork.
There are MANY issues involved here that can DRASTICALLY effect the
number, not the least of which is the accuracy of your 'existing ground'
information.
Is it safe to assume that your ground is relatively flat? You mentioned
a building, parking area, road, etc. This is the type of work I do, and
frankly, from what you're describing, you could be asking for alot of
trouble, dabbling in earthwork calculations.
Thanks again. Yes, the area is fairly flat, change of elevation of about 3
feet across the area I am working on. We actually have the original site map
with the building on it that has the elevation to the tenth of a foot but it
is a lot of information and the print is twenty years old print so I will
obviously have to tranfer the information to CAD. Since all we need for now
is a rough estimate I will be generating a 3D model of a small area ( 700ft
x 500ft ) of land and subtracting the volume from the new warehouse to get
an estimate of how much earth needs to be moved. Since the land is mostly
flat I think the numbers I get from the solid model will be fairly accurate
to the volume of earth needed to be moved. I don't do this all of the time
like you but I think this way should get the results I am looking for.
Sounds reasonable to me. Given a change of only 3', you could probably
eyeball an average depth and multiply by your areas. Just make sure
your boss won't hold you to the volumes. ;)
Good luck to you.
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