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Once rough grading has been completed, concrete curbs are in place and area drop inlet drains are in place, fine subgrading and ABC grading requires no calc's or measured layout to achieve grade. The only equipment you need is a self-leveling level and a linker rod along with your bag of hubs and blue-top paint.
For purposes of discussion lets assume 6" high curb, 3"ABC, 3" Asphalt pavement and drop inlet grates are at finish grade.
The slope in the parking lot must be great enough to be able to "stick" the level. Lets assume you need to set a line of blue top stakes from the drop inlet to a curb. It makes no difference what direction you are going. Set your level up at the edge of the drop inlet on the side you intend to run your stake line from. Align two of the leveling screws 90 degrees to the direction of your stake line; the other will be pointing in the direction your staking. Level the level. Lets assume we are blue staking subgrade at this time. So the grade we are looking for is 6" below the finish grate grade. Set the X on the linker rod 0.5 above the eye piece side of the level and lock it; The X is always the grade you are staking. Remember you are staking in the direction the level is facing. Have the rodman take the linker and place it on top of the curb where the vertical level hair crosses it. Move
only the level screw facing the line of staking: while looking through the eye of the level you will see no movement on the horizontal cross hair at first, then it will "stick"; move it until you are reading 1 foot below the X. From this point on move only the focus screw on the level. The rodman
will walk towards the level stopping where he wants to place a stake; the level operator will put the rodman on line; he will mark the ground with his linker rod and begin setting the hub; rodman sets rod on hub; level operator looks for the X and tells rodman to lower or raise hub by amount to get X
at cross hair on level. That will be your grade at that point on the lot---no calc's or taping needed.
Now move to next hub location. You will grade the parking lot 3 to 4 times faster using this method.
PS: Don't cross grade breaks.
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