Slope-Stake Cut and Fill
Cut or fill depth and the catch-point offset for a planar design slope.
Example
You enter
- Existing ground elevation (ft) 104.5
- Design (finished grade) elevation (ft) 100
- Slope ratio H (H:V, e.g. 2 for 2:1) 2
You get
- Cut fill (ft) 4.5
- Catch offset 9
Checked against published worked examples from: FM 5-233 / FHWA construction-survey guidance (by name).
Details, formula, and sources
Formula or tablecut/fill = existing - design (positive = cut, negative = fill); catch-point offset = offset_at_hinge + ratio * |cut/fill| for the planar approximation, with the slope-ratio convention (H:V) stated.
Source and editionSlope-stake cut/fill and the catch-point (daylight) offset for a planar design slope per FM 5-233 Construction Surveying and the FHWA construction-survey guidance, by name; first-principles grading geometry.
Free accessFM 5-233 is public-domain US Government work. A field staking aid; the grading plan and the surveyor of record govern.
What governsEstimate. Engineer of record governs the design and acceptance. Verify against the project structural drawings and the manufacturer's published capacity / chart.
API field namesexisting_elev_ft, design_elev_ft, slope_ratio_h, cut_fill_ft, catch_offset_ft
- Planar slope planar design slope to a single catch point; compound slopes out of scopemethod