CHAPTER 3 LAYOUT AND EXCAVATIONS 3-1 DEFINITION Layout is sometimes called “Staking out” which means the process of relocating the point of boundaries and property tine of the site where the building is to be constructed, It includes clear- ing, staking, batter boards and establishing the exact location of the building foundation and wall tine on the ground. For short others define layout as the process of transferring the building plan measurements te the ground of the site. Stake — are wooden sticks used as posts sharpened at one end driven into the ground to serve as boundaries or support of the batter boards. Batter board — wood stick or board nailed horizontally at the stake which serves as the horizontal plane where the reference point of building measurements are established. String — is either plastic chord or galvanized wire across the batter board used to indicate the outline of the building wall and foundation. 3-2 LAYOUT METHODS AND PROCEDURES Step 1. Before the construction begins see to it that a Building Permit is first secured from the local authorities concerned. Con- structing a building without the necessary permit is considered as malpractice and contrary to’ existing laws punishable by fine or imprisonment or both upon the discrétion of the court. The amount that you are supposed to save from not paying the neces- sary building permit fees is comparatively less than the expenses you will incur in seeking remedy to your problem. Step 2. Relocate the boundaries of the construction site. It is suggested that the relocation of the property line shall be done by a Geodetic Engineer specially for those lots without existing reference points or adjoining structures. There were numerous cases filed in court for encroachment to adjoining property which all started from layouting and excavation without property relo- cation by a competent surveyor. 53Step 3. Clear the site of any existing structures, trees ana other elements that will obstruct the construction work, Cutting of trees shail be limited only to those that will hinder the progress of the work but don't forget to consult the local forestry authority before the cutting to avoid further justification, penalty or impri- sonment. tarver Boar stare CONSTRUCTION LarouT Figure 3-1 Step 4, Construct and allocate a space for laborers’ quarters, construction office, bodega for the materials and working tools and temporary waste disposal. These requirements could be pos- sible if the construction site is big enough to allocate space for such a purpose. On the contrary, if the site is limited to the area occupied by the structure, an off-site preparation, storaging and batching of concrete is inevitable. Step 5. Apply for a temporary connections of electric and water supply. Electric current is important for the power needs of the tools and equipment and Is necessary on overtime schedules * especially in the time of concreting. Water is also a prime need in the construction, should there be no source of water along the vicinity of the project, undeground water pump is the alternative. 56Step 6 Construct a temporary fence around the construction. The fence will protect the materials from pilferage both from out- side and inside. Step 7. Order the construction materials that are sufficient for the working force to accomplish in a week period. Insufficient supply of construction materials increases the overhead cost. Step 8. Verify the measurement in the plan if the distances indicated are from: 1. Center to center 2. Center to outer 3. Outer to outer 4. Inside to inside these methods of indicating distances on the plan are commonly overlooked by the foreman, hence, should be given attention before the layout work. CENTER vO CENTER OuTER To CENTER INSIDE —ourswe Figure 3-2 Step 9. Fix the batter board to its horizontal position with the aid ofa level instrument preferably plastic hose with water. Usually, the batter board is aligned with the ground floor elevation, The important points in the plan such as post distances and wall cor- ners are indicated on the batter board by common wire nails wherein the string is tied and laid across the opposite direction of the batter board. Most if not all building plans are parailel with the fronting street, the setback of the building from the road is first verified from the plan and is marked as the reference line where to start the measurement. Establish the corner to 90° angle with the aid of plywood or stick made to a right triangle. The use of transit instrument is preferred for a large construction but is seldom used on small and medium projects. The use of small square in layouting is not advisable because it will always result to big errors. 55Figure 3-3 Step 10, Verify the measurement on the batter board. Some- times the number 110 on the zig-zag rule is mistakably read as 100 by the measuring carpenter in the process of indicating the dis- tances of post or column. The position of the stake should be well- planned not to be affected by the excavation, otherwise, future adjustment and correction of the batter board might displace the right position of the reference points. Step 11. After establishing the reference point and fine of the footing, transfer the intersecting points of the string on the ground by the aid of plumb bob and indicate the size and width to be excavated. EXCAVATION Excavation work in building construction is categorized into two types: the minor, and major excavation depending upon the size.and nature of the foundation to be constructed. Excavation for a small construction with independent wall, or combined footing is classified under the minor excavation, while the rest which requires sizable or total extraction of the earth fall under the category of major construction. 563-3 MINOR EXCAVATION Excavations under this category are those constructions having independent footing and hollow block wall footing where the dig- ging of the soil for the footing extend to a depth from 1.00 to 1.50 meter and about half a meter depth for the wall footing, Constructions involving minor excavations are common and occupy the biggest percentage of works accomplished in the field of construction. Under this type of work, excavation is considered as minor because it does not involve the difficulties of sheeting, bracing or underpinning except on rare cases where underground soil are too fluid or loose that small vibration creates erosion that cause damage to the construction activities, It is a common concept that excavation is simple as digging the soil after the final marking of the building outline has been established on the ground. Unfortunately, there are factors that should be considered in the process which when overlooked might result to waste of materials and labor in the process of correcting and adjusting the work. The tapagraphical condition of the ground plays an important role in excavation work. For instance, when the ground is level or flat, laying out and excavation are simple and easy because the problem of whatever depth is required could be readily verified from the top of the ground so that a uniform depth could be as- certained. Consequently, the succeeding work such as setting the reinforcements, forms and concreting followed by the block Jaying wilt meet no problem of adjustment and correction. When the site is sloped or a rolling ground, there are problems that are most likely to arise: 1. What depth shall be excavated tor each of the different footings? 2. How deep shall the excavation be for the wall footing and where shall the excavation depth be based? It has been observed that most of the building plans submitted applying for a building permit shows a uniform height of footing, Tegardiess’ of the topographical condition of the site, much more of the footing detail that heights of the footing to the floor line is measured not by the number of value but by word “verify”. This is an absolute manifestation of the planner’s neglect either through omission or commission of not obtaining the accurate and complete information of the site condition before finalizing the plan, ' 57To handle the problems of excavation on sloped or rolling ground, the following methods are presented: 1. For grounds with a minor slope condition, it is advis- able to base the depth of the excavation from the horizontal level of the batter board which ts usually extended by the layout string. erawe One) ATTEN SOARG ELEVATION AB REFERENCE LMT FOR EXCAVATION Figure 3-4 2. The excavation depth of the wall footing from the batter board elevation Is equal to the cumulative. sum of the footing thickness plus the height of hollow blocks and the mortar. LE MORTAR DEPTH OF ERCAYATION DEPTH OF ExcAWETION BASED FROM THE COMMULATIVE MEIOWT OF FOOTING WORTAR AND CHE Figure 3-5 3. Another method is the use of stepped or sloped wall footing where excavation follows gradually with the slope of the ground. It is more economical to make adjustment in the excavation of the ground than adjusting on the block laying using masonry block or concrete mortar which are very ex- pensive. 58eel cz a a ie STEPPED FOOTING SLOPED FOOTING Figure 3-6 3-4 MAJOR EXCAVATION Building construction that requires wide excavation or total extraction of the soil are classified into two categories depending upon the condition or location of the site. When the area of the construction site is big that there is enough space to accomodate working activities, storaging of materials and dumping ground for the excavated soil, problem is less due to the free movement of construction equipment. Under this condition, the necessity of providing lateral support to the excavation ground such as sheeting, bracing or underpinning is not necessary since there is no-adjoin- ing property to be protected from damage that may be caused by digging, pile driving and other factors that may contribute to the settlement of the existing structure. The construction progress could be seen immediately due to the accessibility of the construction materials, site fabrication of building parts and the disposal of excavated soil within the premises which minimizes overhead expenses of hauling, rental and maintenance of heavy equipment. Building construction on a busy commercial center with adjacent existing structure is considered to be the most complicated among the various construction works since this requires careful study and analysis of the right approach. Under this condition, professionals and experienced builders have also encountered the following problems: 1, The manner of excavation to be employed which will not affect or damage the adjoining structure, 592. The kind of equipment to be used in digging and extracting the ground may not be a problem but the place where to station the equipment during the operation. Manual digging is very costly and time consuming, but sometimes could not be avoided if the situation does not warrant the use of power equipment. 3. How and where to dispose the extracted soil involves the effective manner of maneuvering the payloader and dump- trucks in hauling without obstructing the pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow. 4, Where to dispose the underground water to be drained by the water pump during the process of construction which might cause muddy road and create inconvenience to traffic. 5. The kind of sheeting and bracing to be used in shoring or underpinning to protect the adjoining structure must be considered. Comments Shallow excavation can be done even without supporting the enclosure if there isenough space to establish a lower slope which the excavated earth could stand. The steepness of the slope de- pends upon the character of the soil, climate and weather con- dition and the duration of time the excavation will remain open. Excavation that are extended below -the water table usually demand drainage.of theisite prior toor during the construction work Erosion or stiding of the excavated soi: is a problem not only during the excavation stage but even during the installation of steel bars and forms, The cost of removing the materials affected by theslide plus the additional excavation to provide a flat area contributes largely to the cost aside from the delay of the work: These problems should be anticipated and that necessary prevent- ive measures should be made to prevent undue erosion. Sheeting and bracing are the solutions. $6