Civil Engineering Grading Design

From 3arf

The role of a civil engineer varies from day to day and from project to project. Normally a civil engineering is overwhelmed by divers factors of his project, yet the grading design is ordinarily the martinet of the overall design and engineering construction document output. Although, there are distinct components to view prior to beginning the grading design, the grading of the project will bear upon how the site ties in to adjacent properties, how the project will tie into the existing public utility companies, whether or not the historical drainage design is impacted, and what type of product the builder can admit on his / her development.

It is crucial that a civil engineer recognize the goals of the site. All design is particular and different the previous or the coinciding one. Many times the builder has a goal that he requires to import or export dirt because he has spare dirt at another property or needs to allow soil on another project, respectively. The builder / developer may ask that the engineer also balance the site, which requires the engineer to meet the cut and fill computations as best he / she can. Many times the engineer is furnished with a completed preliminary grading plan offered by the developer and will have to appraise the integrity of the concept of this plan and rationalize deviations from said plan.

High water heights and outfall locations are essential and need to be determined early on in the grading process. Many times an engineer will start design without fixing these elevations in stone to notice that he / she will have to change these outfall heights. Such an modification has a ripple outcome on the overall conception.

It is time to commence final design when a level of comfort in the conceptual grading design has been obtained by not only the developer's group, but also by his or her engineer. The municipality's will have many statutes and regulations that the engineer will need to be aware of when completing the final grading design including grades, slopes and site visibility. It is prudent to start at the low point and work the design toward the higher elevations, connecting in the central ranges and sustaining the appropriate city, town, or county statutes while applying the engineer's optimum expert opinion.

Once street grades are nailed down and capacity in the streets have been measured, the engineer will set the pad and finish floor elevations of the building(s). These heights are subject mostly upon the local and final outfall positions, but are typically established by the top of curb elevation and offering approximately 1', or the corresponding municipality standard, above said height to the finish floor.

It is understood that each project is different in its own right, thus the engineer needs to be aware of how the site can be affected by incorporating design changes.

Related Articles