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Constructing Staking
I refuse to bid or go after any construction staking. However, I do get involved with some that are the end result of other work. Say I design a dam, well, I’ll probably end up staking it, or some items for a subdivision we do.
I do have a contractor that we stake buildings for and he’s great to work with, organized, always site prepared, layout a house one time.
Well, today is the fourth time staking a 30×40′ building for this out-of-state contractor. 4th time!!!!!
Stop!!!!
The only reason we did it the last time was my PC was driving by from finishing up a BLA, he told me to text him the new locations and picked it up.
Otherwise the guy would have to wait a couple of weeks.
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28 Replies
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Missing construction staking is a lot like missing the feeling you get when you whack yourself in the knee with a hammer. It feels so good once the sickness leaves you.
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This is basically all I do, most days. And final “as builts”. 🙁
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I’ve enjoyed construction staking. Maybe it’s from weeks later, coming back and knowing where that giant concrete thing should be and how it should look, then seeing it there. Some strange satisfaction. Is there something wrong with me?
dd -
I’ve enjoyed construction staking. Maybe it’s from weeks later, coming back and knowing where that giant concrete thing should be and how it should look, then seeing it there. Some strange satisfaction. Is there something wrong with me?
dd -
I enjoyed every minute of construction staking when I did it. I liked watching the work progress as the project moved along. And seeing the final result was always a feeling of accomplishment. Resolving the design errors, learning Spanish (or at least the cuss words) from the workers, being the center of attention often was a thrill. I don’t do it now because I can’t get experienced help part time. I would go back to it in a minute under the right conditions.
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I spent some years doing little else, and I don’t miss the high-stress “hurry up” condition or the noise, dust and danger of the non-stop big yellow machines. Every few years a good client will ask me to do a small one-off staking job, and I’ll usually do it, but otherwise you guys are welcome to it.
There *is* a lot of money in it, though. I have a colleague/friend/former employer who got rich off it.
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I do enjoy seeing some of the really nice houses I’ve laid out once they’re built. Just saw an especially nice one with a side walkout, when I was pinning it I was curious what the final product was going to look like.
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I’m sure it is a lucrative business for those who can take it.
I wasn’t designed to take BS off people 147 times per day. Either I’m in control of my project or I’m not there. End of story.
My schedule is my schedule. Your problem is not my problem unless I allow it to be so. That is rare.
This is why I would basically be unemployable if I HAD TO no longer be self-employed.
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Only 147 times a day???
You really do need to learn how to upset them properly! That’s only 12 times an hour – once every 5 minutes. How did you spend the rest of the time?
I avoid staking out at all costs – except where I am
THE ONLY AVAILABLE OPTION
and I dictate just how it is done and when.
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147 times a day … 12 times an hour
Those are some long days, another reason to dislike it.
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I personally enjoy construction staking and as-builts so long as I’m not being rushed by a pipe crew who’s waiting on me or a grade crew who’s trying to setup curb for concrete that arrives in a couple hours. My greatest satisfaction comes from modeling a site for grading or layout of a stormwater pond or other stormwater control measure that requires embankments, slopes and shelves – especially one that I have designed myself- being there with the grade foremen running the fine grade dozer or the excavator who’s shaping it up and seeing the pond come to life and helping them better understand what all those lines on the screen of their machine’s GPS and the contours in the plan set actually means. Plus the sense of being a part of a team in those moments builds a lot of trust between you and the contractor.
Typically it’s just me, a clip on holder for the can of marking spray paint and the GPS rover/tablet and laying out lines for the features such as toe of slope or shelf for them. Normally when there’s a sizable cut of several feet, the slope staking with wooden stakes doesn’t last long so I try to assist with repainting those lines every so often. the machine’s GPS control may show the linework (heck some even show plan & cross section views plus the depth to cut or fill) but the operators don’t always comprehend where they are or where the blade or bucket is relative to the shape of the pond. and some machine’s receiver’s don’t do as well against woodsline
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I believe my aversion started in earnest about 2010-2011. I had a job staking for a senior citizen project. It all started with subdividing a long-time client’s near town ranch property. Morphed into constructing staking the roads, buildings, utilities along with all the property monuments.
Seemed like a decent job, but it was 2013 till I got final payment. From there it’s been downhill.
I’ve worked on railroads, huge dams, mines, highways, airports, bridges, just about everything, but it’s changed, 10% holdbacks, audits, certified payrolls, threats during the bidding process, getting an 800 page PDF for a parking lot job, all the outside stuff makes it miserable.
If it’s a dam I design for a rancher, yep, love those, a property line for fencing and clearing, can’t get enough, but public works projects or housing developments for dense housing, not for me anymore.
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I refuse to bid or go after any construction staking
Thank you Moe. That leaves a larger hunk of $$$$$ for us that do. ????
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Big part of the reason I didn’t take a shine to construction surveying after early on cutting my teeth on highway projects and high density housing developments had a lot to do with the personalities of the people I had to deal with regularly who were too often in your face bullies from the top down. After spending a couple seasons in road camps I just arrived at the conclusion that this just was not my cup of tea. Since then I’ve had a couple of guys go to work for me that came from that back ground and more often than not they wanted to fight me over everything and anything. I enjoy my serenity too much, which those types seem to see as a challenge to see if they can get under my skin. God help them if they succeed.
Willy -
learning Spanish (or at least the cuss words)
yea, so you could yell at the Roach Coach driver for backing over your backsight. ????
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God help them if they succeed.
VENGEANCE is MINE!
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(saith me)
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE SHALL RAIN DOWN UPON YE!
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Getting fire is no problem. Anyone got a handy, inexpensive source of brimstone they could recommend?
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Getting fire is no problem. Anyone got a handy, inexpensive source of brimstone they could recommend?
I find piss and vinegar makes a good substitute in a pinch, something rarely in short supply.
Willy -
I??ve never found construction staking stressful. It??s a faster pace than boundary work. That is to be expected. Once you??ve established a relationship and earned the trust and respect of the client it??s generally a piece of cake.
I don??t consider house staking for national home builders construction staking. The larger the project the easier it is to manage IMHO.
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I’m always under a time crunch, but I almost never have to take crap off anyone, but I’m doing 99% residential construction.
It’s easy to make friends with the excavators just by going directly to them if they didn’t dig quite far enough or something caved in….I’ll go find them if they’re nearby in the subdivision and then they can fix it while I’m pinning the rest of the house. That way they don’t take bs off the formers because there’s not enough room outside the pins.
They made it very clear they really appreciate me going to them first. A previous guy that used to do all the construction had the “not my problem” attitude.
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