SITE PREPARATION AND SETTING OUT OF

WORK
• The first work to be taken before the actual construction of a
building is checking the dimensions of its boundaries as soon as
the site is made available for construction.

•Any difference that may be found regarding front, rear or side

dimensions should be reconciled before the work is started.

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2.2 Site Layout
The site layout for construction consists of the layouts
of access roads, sheds, etc.
They should be made as follows:
Access roads:
•An examination of the site drawing will determine the
best layout for access roads.
•Wherever possible, access to the site for Lorries and
carts should be the shortest and capable of carrying
materials either to a central place or various places of
work, as may be desired.
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Sheds:
•A study of the site drawing will indicate where
weather-proof sheds must be erected for storage of
materials such as cement, lime and other perishable
materials
•If the cement stores have to be large, they should be
provided with two separate doors, one at each end,
one for accepting delivery and the other for issue of
materials.

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 2.3 Site Clearing

1.Surface cleaning of grass, trees, hillocks, etc.

2.Cleaning of obstructions which may be above or

below the ground level such as old foundations, old
drainage works, old septic tanks

3.Cleaning of obstructions belonging to other

organizations such as drainage or water supply lines,
underground electric or telephone cables

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2.4 Enclosing the Site

The building site is enclosed firstly for safety of the

public. If any person falls into an excavation made for
the building without an enclosure, the supervisor will
be put to blame, whereas if a person falls into an
excavation in an enclosed area, that person is a
trespasser. Secondly, by enclosing the site, it becomes
more secure from any theft. We should also ensure that
the methods of storing of materials are safe.

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2.5 Water Supply for Construction
• Water is an important building material.
• Cost of water comes to about one to two percent of
the cost of civil works
• If groundwater is available, it should be tested
suitably for various uses.
• If no groundwater is available and water connection
can be obtained from the municipal authorities, the
pipes should be so laid that they will become part of
the permanent water supply system after completion
of the building.

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• If suitable water has to be brought by Lorries,
temporary or permanent water storage tanks
should be built for storing sufficient quantity
of water for each day.

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 2.6 Electrical Supply

Electricity supply is necessary for building works. The points

to be observed are as follows:
1. Cables should be of good quality and suitably supported.
2. The switch board, etc. must be properly enclosed and
capable of being locked.
3. The switch board should be about 1.5 m above the ground
level.

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 2.7 Protection of Existing Service Lines
•Provision should be made to protect water, electricity,
telephone and other public distribution lines which may be
running through the property and be affected by foundation
works.
•We should mark all the existing service lines so that workers
can identify them and can be careful not to disturb them
during the construction.
•Sometimes, pipe ducts or concrete coverings are provided to
protect these services if they cannot be removed from the site
to other alternative places.

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 2.8 Initial Checks on Drawings
It is very important that before commencing actual setting
out of the building on the ground, the following checks
should be made on the drawing from which the layout is to
be carried out:
1.The sum of the intermediate dimensions should match with
those of the overall dimensions.
2.The levels of various constructions (such as ground level
with respect to road level, floor level, etc.) are clearly shown
in the drawing.
3.Check whether the proposed building will actually fit into
the plot with the mandatory distances specified by the
municipal authority.
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 2.9 Setting Out Of Buildings
Setting out of buildings consists of the following two
operations:
1.The first operation is the setting out of center lines. This
means establishing the centers of the walls in case of a
building with load-bearing walls, or the center of columns in
case of a framed building.
2.The second operation is the setting out of trenches or
establishing the excavation lines for proceeding with the
excavation.

We will separately describe the procedures used for the

buildings with walls and that for the framed buildings.
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 2.9.1 Setting out Centre Lines for Bearing Walls
Step 1
•Establish a benchmark from which all levels for the
various parts of the building can be established and
which will not be disturbed during the building
operations.
•This can be done by driving down a 50 mm x 50 mm
angle 2 m long or a steel rod of suitable diameter and 2
m length in a previously dug hole so as to project about
10 cm from the ground level and then concreting the
base to a suitable depth below the ground level to form
a pedestal around it.

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Step 2
•The second step is to mark a baseline from
which all dimensions can be measured.
•The center line of the longest outer wall of the
building is usually taken as the baseline. This is
marked with respect to the boundary.

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Step 3
•The third step is to start from the baseline and mark the
corner points of the center line of walls of a building by
means of 50 mm x 50 mm wooden posts driven firmly to the
ground projecting 25 to 50 mm above the ground. A nail or
saw cut is placed on the peg to indicate the exact center
point. Setting dimensions are measured with steel tapes.
•It is important that the 90 degree angles at corners are
measured by using a builder's square or by using the 3:4:5
principles or a theodolite. Check whether all the dimensions
of the diagonals tally.

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Step 4
•Using the corner points, transfer the center line to the
ground with dry lime by stretching lines between the
pegs.

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 2.9.2 Setting Out of Trenches for
Excavation of Bearing Walls
•Having set up the center line of corners and checked
the dimensions of the building on the ground, we
proceed to set out the lines for trenches using the
center line already established.
•The aim of setting out trenches is to mark the
direction and width of excavations to be carried out
and also to mark the width of the wall to be built.

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This is carried out by using pegs or by profile boards. These
are fixed to the ground some distance away from the exaction
on which the excavation and wall boundaries can be marked
as shown in Fig. 2.2. These are set up at least 2 m clear of the
excavation as shown in Fig. 2.2. The profile boards may be
masonry or timber. The center line, wall width and trench
width are marked on the profile board. The trench width is
marked on the ground by lime powder after stretching strings
between the profile boards.

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 2.9.3 Setting out a Framed Building
For setting out the foundation of a framed building
also, we first establish the benchmark and set out the
center line of columns. This is usually carried out by a
theodolite as the column center lines are usually
marked on a grid as shown in Fig. 2.3—one axis is
marked as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. and the other as A, B, C, D,
etc.

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In this case, we first fix all the peripheral points as shown in
Fig. 2.3. We first fix point 4 with respect to the boundaries of
the plot. Then we station a theodolite at point 4 and fix F4, E4
to B4. Turn 90° and fix A3 to A1. Secondly, fix theodolite at A1
and fix B1 to F1. Thirdly, station theodolite at F and fix F2 to
F4 (check F4). The internal points can then be fixed easily by
theodolite or with stretched lines. Once the grid has been set
out, profile boards can be fixed clear of excavation work to
carry the excavation of the footings.

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2.10 METHODS TO DETERMINE DEPTH OF EXCAVATION
•Another method that can be used for leveling of foundation
is the use of a water level. A plastic tube is filled with water
and is used as a water level. First the required depth of
excavation is excavated in one place. In all the other sites, the
level is determined by means of the water level with
reference to this point.
• One more method is the use of the traditional leveling staff.

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