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All industries › Glossary › Survey layout and staking

Glossary

Survey layout and staking

Also: construction staking, layout, survey

Marking on the ground where every road, foundation and pile goes, before and during construction.

Before crews build anything, surveyors mark its place: the site boundary, roads, basins, inverter pads and, on a solar farm, the position of every pile. Layout runs ahead of each phase of work, from the first clearing to the last row of piles.

Some builders keep survey in house; others hire a survey firm for the project. Either way, layout starts close to mobilization, so the construction stormwater permit and the builder's own hiring are the best signs of when it begins.

Guides

Who builds a utility-scale solar farm: developer, EPC and the tradesThe companies on a solar farm from site to switch-on, who hires whom, and when each one is chosen.

Related terms

Pile drivingSetting the steel posts that hold a solar farm's racking or trackers; one of the largest scopes on a solar site.Trade subcontractorA company hired by the builder for one scope of work: clearing, grading, piling, electrical, survey, fencing and the like.Construction stormwater permitThe permit a site needs before it disturbs the ground; the notice filed for it often names the builder and dates the start of work.
Every term Utility solar projects Data center projects

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