What are the axes of a construction?

In general, newly designed buildings are often rectangular or square in shape. Being regular or irregular geometric figures, in special cases, the design will contain the axes necessary for tracing constructions. In short, the axes of a construction are the defining design elements of a construction.

When do we need them?

Always. The axes help to accurately trace the structural and architectural elements of a construction, they dictate the smooth runningwork, and the grid resulting from their intersections serves to guide the correct horizontal plan.

After the construction project is completed, it will move from the “theoretical” to the “practical” phase, from plans to field execution. Before the actual tracing, not insignificant, the project will undergo a topographical processing. The tracing of the construction axes is the first first necessary step in a construction site, representing the transposition of the designed elements on a site according to the intended non-changing situation plan under the building permit.

Incorrect routing can lead to subsequent remedial costs that can substantially exceed initial estimates, a situation that can be easily avoided if due consideration is given to this step.

Choosing the tracing method 

The tracing on the ground of the axes of a construction and of the characteristic points can be carried out by several methods.

The choice of the method of drawing is made taking into account several important factors, such as:

• The nature of the construction and its details in terms of size and shape;
• Measurement conditions (degree of terrain damage, obstacles which may affect visibility, etc.);
• How the tracing network is laid out;
• Location of tracing grid points;
• Equipment available.

Taking these into account, one of the following tracing methods can be used:

• Polar coordinate method –used when there is a tracing basis or tracing network. The principle of the method is to draw a horizontal angle and a horizontal distance for each point in the project.
• Rectangular coordinate method – is used when there is a topographical construction network in the field in the form of squares or rectangles. The principle of the method is to draw two distances in two perpendicular directions from the tracing network.
• Angular intersection forward method – is recommended when the distance from the bearing point to the plotted point cannot be measured or is difficult to measure. The principle of the method is to draw two different horizontal angles successively from one side of the network.
• The angular rear intersection method – is used when it is possible to be stationary at or near a designated point in a provisionally drawn point (e.g. through the angular forward intersection), which doesn’t provide the required precision
• Closed triangle method —  is used in cases where the required accuracy is not ensured using the forward angular intersection method (only from two support points) when drawing, and there is no possibility of additional verification points, but there is the possibility of stationary at the projected point, pre-drawn through the forward intersection.
• Linear intersection method — method used, in particular, for the installation of technological equipment, where the required accuracy is high, and when the tracing points are close to the tracing network.
• The alignment method – belongs to the category of basic methods for tracing construction points in plan, being used for tracing points on the rectilinear axes of constructions as well as for the assembly of sub-assemblies of technological lines.
• Spotted intersection method – is used when plotting and retracing construction feature points. Usually the position of a point is obtained at the intersection of two materialised alignments outside the construction.

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