The wooden "cross" markers on construction sites?

[steveatesh]

Just wondering if anybody can say what these are - basically a residential building site is going up next to me and they have hammered into the ground a lot of wooden stakes with a horizontal cross piece on. Some of the cross pieces are at the top of the stake, others are showing at various distances from the top.

They are marking our roads, cut de sacs etc at present.

I am of the belief the cross piece shows the intended finished ground level but I cant find confirmation, so just hoping a PH construction site worker can confirm please/

This is just for curiosity, I am just trying to work out the height differences between the various houses on the slope of the site. Cheers in advance.

[Evoluzione]

They sound like boning rods. They don't show the ground height as such, but could be a set distance (say) 500mm above finished height. More likely to be the lines for the trenches.
I didn't think they still used them.

Edited by Evoluzione on Thursday 2nd June 18:45

[anonymous-user]

Evoluzione said:

They sound like boning rods. They don't show the ground height as such, but could be a set distance (say) 500mm above finished height. More likely to be the lines for the trenches.

This, fairly old fashioned way of checking site levels by sighting along two rods and a mobile piece called a traveller. As pointed out finished level will be somewhat below this level, the rods are set well above the highest point so you don’t have to lie down to take a reading.

[steveatesh]

Cheers guys

[Mr Squarekins]

It's where they've buried inquisitive local residents.

[bristolbaron]

Evoluzione said:

They sound like boning rods.

[andyxxx]

With horizontal crosses they will be for helping with foundation levels, Single stakes (4 per run) sometimes used to mark trench or often aerosol marker paint

[Skyedriver]

Mr Squarekins said:

It's where they've buried inquisitive local residents.

^^this^^


Seriously, we used to call them "Profiles". The top of the T piece is set at a certain level above top of slab/finished earthworks level/invert of drainage pipe etc.
Then with a "Traveller" (T piece fixed to a vertical piece of wood) at that dimension, usually 1metre for easy you sight along the top of the profile to the next profile with the Traveller in between. If the Traveller T piece is above that sight live you need to dig out more, if its below you've dug too deep.

Wonder how many profiles I've put up over the years, and then repeated when knocked out by some errant bit of plant or local youth overnight.

[kdri155]

I used to tell our daughter that it was where the builders who died on site were buried, similar thing with cooling towers being cloud factories.

I’m pretty sure most parents have told their kids stuff like that.

[steveatesh]

Skyedriver said:

^^this^^


Seriously, we used to call them "Profiles". The top of the T piece is set at a certain level above top of slab/finished earthworks level/invert of drainage pipe etc.
Then with a "Traveller" (T piece fixed to a vertical piece of wood) at that dimension, usually 1metre for easy you sight along the top of the profile to the next profile with the Traveller in between. If the Traveller T piece is above that sight live you need to dig out more, if its below you've dug too deep.

Wonder how many profiles I've put up over the years, and then repeated when knocked out by some errant bit of plant or local youth overnight.

I have also wondered how many of them get knocked over by the errant plant running around the site and need to be put back!

I really need to fill my time in with something else

[steveatesh]

kdri155 said:

I used to tell our daughter that it was where the builders who died on site were buried, similar thing with cooling towers being cloud factories.

I’m pretty sure most parents have told their kids stuff like that.

not just kids! At our sea front there are dozens and dozens of benches with a plaque on them as a memorial of somebodies death. Flowers get left on them too from time to time. I did manage to convince my Mrs the body was buried under the bench….. couldn’t keep it going too long though!

[Skyedriver]

steveatesh said:

I have also wondered how many of them get knocked over by the errant plant running around the site and need to be put back!

I really need to fill my time in with something else

Used to try and place them in a safe place which gave them a challenge but still they got clobbered!. The post is usually a certain dimension away too although often there is a separate peg with a nail in the top, a defined offset from whatever is being built, laid, dug etc

[Skyedriver]

steveatesh said:

not just kids! At our sea front there are dozens and dozens of benches with a plaque on them as a memorial of somebodies death. Flowers get left on them too from time to time. I did manage to convince my Mrs the body was buried under the bench….. couldn’t keep it going too long though!

Now that I like!