I am looking for some guidance material and advice on the presentation/drafting of Topographic Land Surveys, mainly in a civil engineering context. There seems to be a wide variety of presentation styles out there. For example some use color while others just use black and white. Some Topographic surveys show spot height information as well as contours while some just show contours etc.
Any recommendations appreciated.
My experience with drafting for civil engineers is that they want as much information listed as clearly as it can be. You kind of have to do a juggling act on what to show and where. I would draft in black and white and use contours and add spot elevations in critical areas.?ÿ?ÿ
It would depend on who you are presenting to. If it is kids or other public personnel, go color. If it is to a Jurisdiction save your ink, they should know how to read a map (HA!)?ÿ
Check out the NSPS Map competition examples.
For densely-developed urban topo, color is extremely helpful in distinguishing the various utility lines and surface improvements.?ÿ For me it's SOP.
A snippet from a recent campus topo:
For densely-developed urban topo, color is extremely helpful in distinguishing the various utility lines and surface improvements.?ÿ For me it's SOP.
A snippet from a recent campus topo:
Nice, Jim!
I like Escher hatch too, don't see it used often.
I mostly use that hatch to denote decomposed granite surfaces.?ÿ We have a lot of that out here.
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For densely-developed urban topo, color is extremely helpful in distinguishing the various utility lines and surface improvements.?ÿ For me it's SOP.
A snippet from a recent campus topo:
I don't personally have a problem with the map you posted but some here have been very critical of similar. For example in this thread?ÿ https://surveyorconnect.com/community/surveying-geomatics/really-starting-to-hate-color-surveys/
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Doing a Design Survey for an Engineer to use is sooooo much more about the data in the CAD file than it is about what it looks like when you print it to paper/PDF.?ÿ You have to create your CAD files not with your interests at the forefront but the interests of those who will rely on it after you send it off.?ÿ If you want that Engineer to call you with repeat work, make their life easier.?ÿ I work in C3D so my responses follow Autodesk language...ask if they have an example of a base file they've used and liked in the past so you have?ÿa go-by; ask if they have a template they use for existing conditions?ÿso you know layer names, line types & colors; ask for their .ctb file so you know how it will?ÿprint?ÿfor them when you QC it.?ÿ
We have Civil & Survey in-house and fight to do both on every design job that comes in.?ÿ We know what our Engineers like and how they like the data to?ÿbe presented.?ÿ It doesn't work out on every occasion because the Client already has a Survey done or already has another strong Survey relationship.?ÿ In those cases there have been so many times where the Survey they get to base their design was prepared in a vacuum with no thought towards how it would function for a designer.?ÿ Everything is on layer 0, everything is the same color, everything including the title block is in model space, there's no TIN surface, spot elevations are exploded, there are 10,000 layers of which only 10 actually have objects on them, there are 10,000 layers that each have 1 object on them, sidewalk lines are on the "conc" layer along with every other physical improvement that has a concrete component, yada yada yada.?ÿ Our Engineering group has started charging an additional?ÿ15%?ÿfee when we're not able to also do the Survey or when they're not able to inspect the file they'll be using prior to signing the contract.
There are 3 design firms in town that call me regularly to do their Design Survey's even though we are a direct competitor on the Engineering side.?ÿ One of them has Survey in-house...go figure.
Find out what your Client?ÿwants and give it to them and you'll have a repeat customer; find out what they need and how you can improve on it each time and you'll have a lifelong relationship.?ÿ
Amen to that. We do our own surveys. When the client already has a topo done, we look into it, and most times recommend us doing it again. As a comparison, for say a urban road, we average 10,000 shots per km and produce reliable contours at 50mm (2") intervals. Whereas others get less than 1,000 shots and contours at 0.5m intervals.
?ÿEverything is on layer 0
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Find out what your Client?ÿwants and give it to them and you'll have a repeat customer; find out what they need and how you can improve on it each time and you'll have a lifelong relationship.?ÿ
Everything on Layer 0 would be infuriating!!
Alot of the time the client is clueless when it comes to Cad.
Some of the better quality larger printed drafts I have seen come with the lightly toasted aerial image set as a background. I imagine you have to be good at drafting and make a value judgement as to whether that option would work for the data you're trying to illustrate. The right scale and density of data could flood that print. I just work in the field, so I have no idea how expensive it gets to experiment with pen assignments on a large color printer.
The reason for not using color is that not everyone who might use your mapping has a color plotter. As time goes by this becomes less and less of an issue.
Alot of the time the client is clueless when it comes to Cad.
Your OP was in reference to "Civil Engineering context".?ÿ The ultimate Client paying the bills might not know anything about CAD but the Engineer the Client is using and who will ultimately rely on?ÿyour data much more than anyone else (and?ÿis the one who will comment on it the most to other prospective Clients, friends & family)?ÿdefinitely knows CAD and?ÿmost certainly?ÿknows bad CAD when they see it.
Alot of the time the client is clueless when it comes to Cad.
Your OP was in reference to "Civil Engineering context".?ÿ The ultimate Client paying the bills might not know anything about CAD but the Engineer the Client is using and who will ultimately rely on?ÿyour data much more than anyone else (and?ÿis the one who will comment on it the most to other prospective Clients, friends & family)?ÿdefinitely knows CAD and?ÿmost certainly?ÿknows bad CAD when they see it.
I would have been referring to the engineer or architect. I have seen some bad cad from some of these.
Alot of the time the client is clueless when it comes to Cad.
Your OP was in reference to "Civil Engineering context".?ÿ The ultimate Client paying the bills might not know anything about CAD but the Engineer the Client is using and who will ultimately rely on?ÿyour data much more than anyone else (and?ÿis the one who will comment on it the most to other prospective Clients, friends & family)?ÿdefinitely knows CAD and?ÿmost certainly?ÿknows bad CAD when they see it.
I would have been referring to the engineer or architect. I have seen some bad cad from some of these.
You can lead a horse to water...