Initial site Layout
PORCH RENOVATION
Before I jump into site layout – it’s worth mentioning that there was a whole design process that happened before any building occurred. As I’m an architect, I was able to handle the process myself – if you’re not a licensed professional, it’s usually worth engaging a licensed professional to help you through the design process. Since the focus of this blog is the build / DIY components of my projects, I’m going to fast forward past the design process to site layout.
As you probably know, the entire project will stand on the foundation. Therefore, laying out the locations and dimensions of where the foundations will go is crucial. I knew that I could potentially be chasing any deviations throughout construction, so I took my time and reminded myself to try to be accurate and patient. I don’t remember how many times I checked my work, but I know that in some places it was more than 3 times and I was not always excited to do it!
Even with my attempts to be precise, I didn’t expect my layout to perfectly match the plans due to human error, unforeseen on-site conditions, as well as lack of fancy tools. So, my goal was to get the layout as close as I could and remain flexible to come up with solutions when things weren’t perfectly as planned. Below are the tools I used and how I used them for the site layout.
Tools used for Initial site layout
SELF-LEVELING LASER AND TRIPOD: While professional lasers are better for their accuracy, they often come with a hefty price tag. Given the size and frequency of our projects, we opted for a more affordable self-leveling laser that has a cross line (a vertical and horizontal laser line). Something to note, the model we purchased has a green laser beam which is almost invisible in daylight. To overcome this limitation, I had to do my layouts at night to ensure precision.
100-Foot Cross Line Laser: The original laser we purchased with the green cross lines is the RockSeed 100 Feet Cross Line Laser with Self-Leveling, Vertical and Horizontal Line, Rotatable 360 Degree, Carrying Pouch, Battery Included (Green)
50-Foot Cross Line Laser: After this project, I invested in the Bosch GLL 50-RT Self-Leveling Cross-Line Laser which has a red beam. I’ve learned that the red beam can be better seen during the daytime when wearing beam finder glasses like the Bosch 57-GLASSES Laser View Enhancing Glasses with Adjustable Temple, Red Lens, Black Frame.
In lieu of the glasses i found myself setting up something funny like this to find the laser in the daytime:
Tripod: These lasers don’t usually come with tripods; we have the Aureday 74’’ Camera Tripod with Travel Bag. I like this tripod because it’s inexpensive and easy to adjust with clips (rather than twisting legs). I didn’t want an expensive tripod because It get’s messy and banged up in the field.
TEMPORARY MARKING SPRAY: Rust-Oleum 2554 Professional Inverted Marking Spray Paint is a high-visibility aerosol paint designed for creating permanent or temporary outdoor markings. It dries quickly, is easy to see and is temporary on a variety of surfaces.
LAYOUT STRING: Nylon or polyester string is commonly used for construction layout. These strings are strong, durable and resistant to stretching, offering stability for precise measurements and layout tasks. The qualities I look for in a string are those that don’t fray/unravel easily. Depending on the task, high-visibility colors may be beneficial. Layout / construction string can be found at most local home improvement stores. For our purposes, a white string we had on hand worked just fine. The white string actually picked up the color of the laser pretty well at night which was helpful.
WOOD STAKES: Used to establish reference points and boundaries by providing a physical marker for measurements and locations. These are usually pretty inexpensive at most local home improvement stores. We had some from a previous project that we re-used.
SMALL SCREWS: I used small screws to precisely locate a string line on the wood stakes. I’d recommend using a screw that is around 5/8” tall so that it’s not too tall / doesn’t split the wood stake, We had some used screws from demo that I re-used.
72-INCH LEVEL: For this task, I used a level to as a flat vertical edge to measure off of. I’d say a 72” (6-foot) level is an essential tool for most building projects - there are two types, I-Beam levels and Box-Beam levels. Box Beam levels are better because they’re more resilient to falls; the flanges on the I-Beam levels can get damaged and warped. However, I-beam levels are less expensive so for our cadence of use, an I-beam level has been just fine. We have the PITTSBURGH 72 in. I-Beam Level from Harbor Freight.
TAPE MEASURE: I think you all know what this is, but you may not know that some are superior to others. I like the DEWALT TAPE MEASRE BLK/YLW 25FT. The reason I like it is that it has a long extension range, they’ve engineered the tape so it doesn’t bend when extending up to 17 ft. When measuring alone – this is super helpful!
LASER DISTANCE MEASURE: I own the Bosch Blaze Pro GLM165-40 165ft Laser Distance Measure – it provides a digital measurement by shooting a laser across space. You basically point it at whatever you want to measure (making sure the laser dot is hitting whatever you’re measuring to) and with the push of a button, the screen shows you the measurement. It’s awesome and so easy, I could go on about my love for this device but I think you get it.
Establishing the grid
Here’s a bit of architectural education to provide context to my process - when an architect draws their plans, they’ll typically devise a grid system as a basis for most of the project measurements. The grid lines, along with the dimensions to and from the grid lines, are the most important part of the drawing during the layout stage. For the purposes of this project, I placed the grid lines on the centerlines of where the foundation piers needed to go. Below is a screenshot to show a simplified example of what gridlines look like on an architectural plan.
There were two existing walls that I could use as reference points for my layout. I used a tape measure to measure along these walls to the gridline locations per the dimensions on the architectural plans. Then I stapled white paper to the wall and drew vertical lines with a black sharpie at the gridline locations. The purpose of the white paper and the black sharpie was to be able to visibly see the location of the gridline from afar.
Once I marked all the gridlines along the existing walls, I positioned the self-leveling laser beyond the farthest pier on each line, ensuring it was perpendicular to the black line I drew. This alignment was crucial. To achieve it, I used a 6’ level vertically, aligning its edge with the laser's vertical line. Then, I measured from the level to the wall at both ends of the gridline with a laser distance measure. If the measurements differed, I adjusted the laser and re-measured until they matched. There are better tools to do this in a much simpler manor, but I wasn’t interested in paying the price for those tools so this is the work around I came up with.
Marking the grid
To mark the grid, I used marking paint and stakes with strings. While the laser was positioned along each gridline, I placed stakes at both ends, aligning them with the laser. I then screwed small screws into the top of the stakes and tied strings onto them, serving as reference points for the gridlines. These strings were convenient for re-referencing the gridlines throughout the foundation installation, allowing me to untie and tie them back as needed so that they weren't a tripping hazard during work. The above photo shows the string line after it has been installed. From the illuminated green color, you can see that it is right in line with the laser.
Using the string lines and my layout plans, I then marked the location of where I would need to dig a hole for each pier.
