Lots More: Rules-Based Lot Grading

Lots More: Rules-Based Lot Grading

Malcolm Fernandes IMAGINiT Technologies

CV118-3
Rules-based grading. A proper residential lot design will produce a residential lot that can
sell. Learn how to leverage AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 to quickly and efficiently design or
grade a lot and ensure that the revisions are dynamic, as are all the other objects within
Civil 3D. In defining a rule-based lot grading, we will also explore other options of
applying these same rules to not only subassemblies but also to feature lines

In residential municipal design, it all comes down to one thing, the sale of the lot or parcel. Regardless
of your years of experience as an engineer or your proficiency with the software; creating multiple design
options, volume calculations, alignments, profiles, placing pipes in the ground, etc., it all comes down to
one important factor, producing a properly designed lot for your client. This in turn produces a saleable lot
and relates to money for your client. This is the widget in land development. So, how can we leverage
AutoCAD Civil 3D to help us quickly and efficiently design or grade a lot while ensuring that revisions can
be as dynamic as in all the other objects within Civil 3D? Subassemblies and feature lines!

After completing this session you will be able to:

Leverage subassemblies to create lot grading based on different design criteria

This course will benefit civil engineering professionals

About the Speaker:

Malcolm is an Infrastructure Solutions Division (ISD) applications specialist and licensed engineering
technologist with more than 18 years in the land development industry. He has a wealth of practical
experience in the area of Urban Planning, Geomatics, Transportation, Environmental Design, Engineering
Construction, and Urban Design. Some of the projects on which hes worked as a project manager,
designer, or surveyor include airport runways, drainage channels, golf courses, storm ponds, railway
lines, DND weapons ranges, highways, recreational sites, commercial sites, and urban and rural
subdivisions.

Malcolm has also worked with a variety of engineering software solutions and has been responsible for
setting standards and design work-flow to increase efficiency in the design and construction of civil
engineering projects. Malcolm has recently worked with a number of Transportation Engineering clients
in, involving training, customization and mentoring on transportation projects.

mfernandes@rand.com

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Introduction:
Change is inevitable this seems to be the underlining fact in most engineering projects. It is this fact,
that I believe has spurred on Autodesk to give Civil 3D its unique ability of keeping and managing
relationships between different design objects. As changes or different options are evaluated, all related
object are dynamically adjusted. It is this functionality that we will look into extending to grading
subdivision lots.

In a majority of subdivisions, the numbers of lots range from 50 lots for a small subdivision to 200 lot for
an average sized subdivision. The process of designing these lot types are based on utility services and
the elevations at the front and the rear of these lots. Therefore any changes to our design relating to
these objects will, and should be reflected in the design of each lot. Although an experienced engineer is
cognizant of the impact of utilities and grade changes to the design of a lot, the proof is in the pudding. It
is not until all the ingredients are added and the pudding cooked, so to speak, is it verified that all the lots
will work. This painstaking task is undertaken for each and every lot in a land development subdivision.
Using subassemblies we are able to extend Civil 3Ds dynamic functionality to lot design. As the street
grades or rear property line grades change, so do the lot grading.

Concept:
The process of designing a lot or a parcel grade is based on a number of key factors,
a) Design criteria set by the approving bodies; i.e., municipalities. In some cases the municipalities
will dedicate what the minimum and maximum grades that must be adhered to, and in rare
instances the municipalities will also have some input as to the type of lots in a subdivision
project.

b) Engineering design criteria; i.e., min and max surface grades, lot serviceability. Based on what
the elevation are at the front and/or rear of a lot, a lot type is determined. However, in some
cases it is possible and sometimes necessary to circumvent the program algorithm and use
experience rather than pure calculations to select a lot type. The location of the utilities (i.e.,
storm, sanitary, and water) also plays a factor in the design of a lot. Minimum utility slopes and in
some geographic locations where frost line is a factor, then utility depths come into play. All of
this will determine the elevation of the house (building pad) and as a result it will have a bearing
on the type of lot.

c) Market requirements; i.e., bungalows, walkout basements, drive under garage. Most times this is
determined and dictated by the developer, whose decision may be driven by current market
trends.

In this session we will address the issue of designing lots based on only two key points. 1) The minimum
and maximum slopes and 2) the market requirement for the type of lots within a project. In regards to the
criteria of the serviceability for our design, we will assume that this is not an issue and that all the utilities
are deep enough so as to not impact the elevation of the house.

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There are several different types of lots, Level lot, Back to front, Walkout split, Walkout etc. each having it
unique design criteria or rules that define its characteristics. It is these rules that are used to establish the
grades within a lot.
In designing a lot, there are two methods that are utilized in establishing the grading of a lot,
i) This method is based on applying the design criteria of a pre selected lot type to the front lot
elevation and carrying the calculation for the remaining intermediate points until the rear
elevation is established. As the rear elevation is a product of the street elevation, any changes
to the street will have the same impact on the rear elevation. However, to insure positive
drainage at the rear of the lots, minor adjustment will have to be done to create a swale so as to
direct drainage to a collection point. As these minor adjustments may have impacted the rules of
the lot type, the designer will have to confirm that these adjustments have not violated the lot
type design criteria.
The workflow in Civil 3D for this method involves
(1) Createing an alignment and design grade profile for the front street
(2) Create and apply a subassembly that starts from the street and contains any
subassembly that will define and calculate this particular lot type.
(3) Make minor adjustments to the rear lot elevations to insure positive drainage.
(4) Confirm that the adjustments to the rear elevations do not have a negative effect on the
lot type rules.
(5) Any changes to the street grade, will automatically change the intermediate lot
elevations, however, steps 3 and 4 will have to be redone.

ii) This second method is based on the elevation difference between the front and the rear of the
lot. Depending on the required type of lots, serviceability and drainage, the Front Street and rear
swale is designed. Based on the difference in elevation between the front and rear of the lot,
only a particular lot type will meet the design criteria. Although both the street grade and rear
grade need to be established first, any changes to either grade will automatically select the
correct lot type and apply the design criteria rules.
The workflow in Civil 3D for this method involves
(1) Create an alignment and design grade profile for the front and rear street.
(2) Create and apply a subassembly that contains the ConditionalSlope and any other
subassembly that define each lot type. Based on the overall lot slope the appropriate lot
type subassembly will be automatically selected and applied.
(3) Any changes to the street grade or rear grade will automatically change the intermediate
lot elevations.

Description:
The ConditionalSlope custom subassembly similar to the ConditionalCutorFill stock subassembly, will be
utilized to create lot grading. Unlike the ConditionalCutorFill that checks for minimum and maximum cut or
fill distances at the connect point, the ConditionalSlope checks for minimum and maximum slope from the

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connection point to the offset location. As in the ConditionalCutorFill when the minimum and maximum
condition is met, the related subassemblies are utilized.

In this example will utilize six different types of lot design criteria. The selection of these criteria is based
on the overall grade from the back elevation to the front elevation.

1. Maximum Back to Front drainage (BF), where the entire lots drains to the front. This lot is defined
where the slope from the front to the back is greater than 4.95%. In this condition use 6% for the
rear grade and utilize a retaining wall.

2. Level lot, split at the rear (LS), where 2/3 of the lot drains to the front. The remaining 1/3 could
drain either the front or the rear. Slope range: -1.54% to 4.95%.

In the overall lot grade between 2.60%-1.06% creates an issue at the rear lot grade. It is not
possible to hold the front grade at 3% while still trying to maintain a minimum rear grade of 2.5%.
As a result the front grade has to be bumped up to 10% with the mid lot grade set to 3.29%

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3. Level lot, split at front (LB), where the 2/3 of the lot drains to the back. Slope range: -1.54% to
3.91%.

4. Walkout split (WS), the drop in the side yard is approx 1m to allow for large basement windows.
Used when it is not possible to design a full walkout lot. Slope range: -3.91% to -6.29%.

5. Walkout (WO), the drop in the side yard is approx 2.1m to allow for full walkout, based on 8-9ft
basement ceiling. Slope range: -6.29% to -8.63%.

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6. Maximum Front to Back drainage (FB), where 2/3 of the lot drains to the back. This lot is defined
where the slope from the front to the back is greater than -8.57%. In this condition use 6% for the
rear grade and utilize a retaining wall.

Composite image of Lot Types

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 Lots More: Rules-Based Lot Grading

As the ConditionalSlope is similar to the CoinditionalCutorFill subassembly please refer to the help file
within Civil 3D in regards to Output Parameters, Layout Mode Operation, Point, Link, and Shape Codes,
Coding Diagram, workflow and concept.

The main difference between the ConditionalSlope and the ConditionalCutorFill is that the
ConditionalCutorFill checks for cut or fill distance at the connection point whereas the ConditionalSlope
assembly checks for the slope between the attachment point and the target offset. If the target offset is
not selected then the subassembly will utilize the value from the input parameter. If the target offset
elevation is not selected than the surface elevation at the offset will be utilized.

Parameter Description Type Default

Specifies which side of the assembly or corridor the subassembly is inserted

Side Left/Right Right
towards.
Specifies the length of the line that is drawn to represent this subassembly in
layout mode. This parameter, in combination with the Layout Grade 3.6 m
Numeric,
Layout Width parameter, allows you to position the ConditionalSlope subassembly and
positive
subassemblies that are attached to it, but does not display or have any effect 12.0 ft
in the corridor model.
Specifies the grade of the line that is drawn to represent this subassembly in
layout mode. This parameter, in combination with the Layout Width Numeric, 1:1 (below)
Layout Grade parameter, allows you to position the ConditionalSlope subassembly and positive or
subassemblies that are attached to it, but does not display or have any effect negative -1:1 (above)
in the corridor model.
Specifies the type of condition this subassembly uses to compare itself
Type Cut / Fill Cut
against the target. Note that this parameter is not utilized in this subassembly
Specifies the minimum slope from the front to the rear of the lot that is Numeric, 0.0
Minimum
required in order to continue processing subassemblies connected to this positive or
Grade
ConditionalSlope subassembly. negative
Specifies the maximum slope from the front to the rear of the lot that is 9999
Maximum Numeric,
required in order to continue processing subassemblies connected to this
Grade positive
ConditionalSlope subassembly.

Target Parameters
This section lists the parameters in this subassembly that can be mapped to one or more target objects, such as a
surface, alignment, or profile object in a drawing. For more information, see Setting and Editing Targets in the
AutoCAD Civil 3D Users Guide Help.

Parameter Description Status

Surface that is used to determine whether the current station, offset, and elevation is in a cut
Surface or a fill condition. The station, offset, and elevation that is used is from the ConditionalSlope Required
subassembly attachment point.

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Setup Process for the utilization of ConditionalSlope subassemblies

Setup tool pallet

To set up the subassembly

package go to the insert tab, select
import subassemblies and select
the subassemblies package
Lgrade.pkt

Select the Tool Palette check box

to have the ConditionalSlope
subassembly inserted into the Tool
palette highlighted.

Apply the ConditionalSlope

subassembly to road subassembly.
In this example we will be creating
a Level lot, split at the rear (LS) lot
type.

Create the subassemblies that will

define this lot type. Level lot, split at
the rear (LS)

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As the rear lot subassembly may

be linked to a offset and profile ,
edit the subassembly property and
rename with something more
meaningful i.e. Rear-LS

Complete creating all the

conditional subassembly and
associated links that will define
each lot type.

Create a corridor and set the

targets,

1) surface targets Existing

surface.

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2.Set the width or offset target for

the rear grade

2.Set the slope or elevation target

for the rear grade

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Conclusion:

This is by no means the only method or necessarily the best method of doing a lot design. I am sure there
is a multitude of solutions that are currently being implemented; I am just presenting another alternative.
Based on my geographic location, guidelines and design process, I feel that this is the best method for
me to leverage the dynamic ability of civil 3D for lot design.

The main point to realize is that, in a subdivision design, the end product is saleable lots. Given that most
subdivision will have a large number of these lots to which a set of design standards must be applied, we
are forced to find faster and efficient methods of designing these lots.

I personally would like to see a functionality that is exclusive to lot or parcel grading, similar to the other
objects in Civil 3D, example alignments, grading objects, pipes etc.

However, I am confident that as the software evoles; Autodesk will provide us with further solutions that
will be able to address the diverse geographic requirements for lot grading, but for now we have the
LotGrade and ConditionalCutorFill stock subassembly and I hope that the ConditionalSlope subassembly
also makes it onto your tool palette.

Cheers.

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