Fieldwork Exercise No.

6
THREE-WIRE LEVELING

Objectives:
To determine the elevation of points by differential leveling

A. INTRUMENTS AND ACCESSORIES: Engineer’s Level or Automatic Level

equipped with stadia hairs, Range Poles, Hubs or Pegs, Leveling Rod, Mallet or
Hammer, and Chalk or Marking Crayons.

B. PROCEDURES:

1. Designate the initial or reference point of the level route as BM-1 and the final
or terminal point as BM-2. The elevation of BM-2 is to be determined and
the elevation of BM-1 must be known or assumed.
2. At a convenient location just beyond BM-1 and along the general designation
route of the level line, set up the instrument and level its line of sight.
3. Take and record a backsight on BM-1 and note the upper, middle, and lower
cross-hair readings.
4. Direct the rodman to move forward along the general route (not necessarily in a
straight line joining BM-1 and the next point) and established TP-1.
5. With the leveling rod held plumb on TP-1, take a foresight on it and record the
upper, middle, and lower cross-hair readings.

6. Transfer, set up, and level the instrument at another suitable location beyond TP-
1 and take a backsight on TP-1, and record the upper, middle, and lower cross-
hairs readings.
7. Direct the rodman to move a convenient distance ahead of the instrument and
established TP-2.
8. Take a foresight on TP-2 and again record the three hair readings.
9. Repeat the above procedure until finally a foresight is taken on the designated
poin (BM-2) at the end of the level line.
 10. Tabulate observed and computed values accordingly. Refer to the accompanying
sample format for the tabulation of field data.

BACKSIGHT FORESIGHT
STA HAIR HI HAIR ELEV. REMARKS
MEAN S MEAN S
RDGS RDGS

C. COMPUTATIONS:

1. The mean of the readings of the upper, middle, and lower cross-hairs for each
sight is taken as the correct rod reading.
2. The interval between the reading on the upper cross-hair and the reading on
the lower cross-hair is a measure of the distance from the instrument to the
rod sighted. The distance is determined by multiplying the observed interval by
the stadia interval factor (K) of the instrument, which is usually equal to 100.
3. The height of instrument for a set up is found by adding the mean backsight
reading to the elevation of the point backsighted. Subtracting the mean foresight
reading on a turning point from the height of instrument gives the elevation. This
process of computation is repeated for each set up.
4. The difference in elevation between the initial and final points equals the
difference between the sum of the mean backsights and the sum of the mean
foresights.

D. REMARKS, HINTS & PRECAUTIONS:

1. The method of the three-wire leveling was formerly used mainly in precise
leveling work. It is now common on projects that require only ordinary precision.
2. The instrument used must be equipped with stadia hairs in addition to the
regular cross hairs and for each sight, the three cross-hairs are read by
estimation to millimeters and recorded.
3. Reading of the upper, middle, and lower cross-hairs are averaged to obtain
a better value. As a computational check it must be very close to the middle wire
reading. Also, a check is secured by noting the difference between the middle
and upper hair and between the middle and lower hair, if these fail to agree
within one or two of the smallest units being read, the reading are repeated.
4. All turning points must be on solid objects with rounded tops so that the base of
the rod can be held in the same position for backsights and foresights.
5. To prevent unequal thermal expansion, the level should be protected from the
sun by an umbrella.
6. To eliminate the effect of variations in atmospheric refraction, settlement of the
tripod, or warping of the level, the shortest possible time elapse between
backsight and succeeding foresight is desirable.
7. The three-wire leveling has been employed for most precise surveying because it
provides checks against rod reading blunders, produced greater accuracy since
averages of three readings are made, and it furnishes stadia measurements
of sight lengths.
8. This method of leveling is very tedious and requires extreme care. Members of
the field surveys party must heed minute details to minimize systematic errors
which are always present.