A beginners course in understanding elevations, contours and grading
You should have a basic understanding of math and simple algebra and how to read a scale rule. We'll be working in architectural, engineering and metric scales, with a concentration on the engineers and metric scale rule.
This is a beginners course on understanding elevations and contours and how they impact garden design. Having an understanding of how to work with slopes and uneven ground will give your designs more interest and open doors to your own creativity. It will enable you to convey, discuss and explain your ideas to a much fuller extent to clients, family and landscape contractors - it will give you a starting point to talk with confidence about your ideas.
We'll begin with the basic concept of contours and topographic maps, watersheds and simple contour manipulation. This course is filled with exercises that will grow more complex as you move deeper into the different Sections. By the end of this course you'll have a much better understanding of contours and how to use different elevations to your advantage. The last Section will cover field procedures for when you want to survey and create your own contour map of a site and build your design onto it. Overall, this is a practical course in simplified grading for garden designers, contractors and homeowners.
WHAT THIS COURSE IS NOT:
This is not a course in engineering. While the methods and concepts are basically the same you will need to realize your own limits and when you should hire professional help from surveyors, engineers and general contractors.
✔ Garden designers and design/build landscape contractors will benefit from this course. Homeowners will also benefit if you are looking to design/build a patio or have some drainage issues.
✔ This course has been created using Imperial, Engineering and Metric scale values. Regardless of where you live or work this course will help you to create more interesting and diverse gardens and explain your solutions to homeowners and contractors.
✔ In this course you will learn the basics of contour manipulation and how to create a simple grading plan for your landscape design
✔ You will complete exercises using this same Slope Formula to control and direct drainage in your designs.
✔ You will learn how to use Ratios rather than Slope Formula to speed up the creation of proposed contours and create a simple grading plan.
✔ You will learn how to use the Slope Formula to show proposed contours and create useable space in your designs.
✔ Demonstrate how to convey 3D concepts on a 2D sheet of paper.
✔ You will work with exercises in Imperial, Engineering and Metric scales to demonstrate your skills and capabilities to solve grading problems.