A plan on its own is a picture. Measured against the ground as it is today, it becomes a quantity of soil to move. This lesson sets that up.
Two models
Cut and fill needs two things: the ground now, and the ground you want. In Lan3D they are two models of the same site.
- Make a model called, say, Plot 14 — existing and draw the ground as it stands: the levels you surveyed, the existing pond, the bank. Trace them off a survey with a reference photo if you have one.
- Make (or copy) a second model, Plot 14 — design, and draw the plan you want. Both should have the same canvas size.
Point the design at the existing ground
- In the design model, open Environment settings at the top of the sidebar.
- Under Reference landscape, choose the existing model as the reference project. Shared models you can see are offered too.
- The panel reports the earthworks:
- Cut — soil to take away.
- Fill — soil to bring in.
- Net — the balance: to bring in, to cart off, or balanced on site.
- The deepest dig and the highest build-up.
It updates as you change the design. Raise the terrace and Fill rises; deepen the pond and Cut does.
What it means
The figure is worked out on a cell survey of both surfaces, so it is good for scale — whether the job is three lorries or thirty — rather than for setting out. If the two canvases differ in size, the smaller counts as flat ground beyond its edge, and the panel says so.
One area at a time
For a single feature — a pond's capacity, one pit's spoil — select it and click Volume in the toolbar over the plan. That reads the space between the area's top and the ground the rest of the plan forms under it, without a reference model.
Next
The things that stand on the ground: Sketch a building with walls and a roof.