Figure 8
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Contour lines are an essential part of the assessment and this subject matter needs to be clearly
understood. Contour lines are lines drawn on a plan connecting points of equal elevation. If you
walk along a contour line you neither gain or lose elevation. The contour interval is constant for
each plan. The interval will be indicated for each exercise or assessment. Depending on the slope
of the lot, intervals can be 100 mm, 200 mm or 500 mm.
Contour lines show the vertical dimension (the third dimension) of the ground on site plans. The
vertical distance separating contour lines gives an indication of the steepness of the slopes. A few
simple rules for contour lines will be helpful in interpreting the vertical dimension of a building
site.
In general gentle slopes are
represented by widely spaced
contour lines.
Steep slopes are represented by
closely spaced contour lines.
Figure 7
b) is more accurate if the ground between the RL's is nearly straight. Similar triangle rule is then
used to calculate the contour line.
Method a)
Contours lines are at 500 mm interval, that means there are two contour lines between grid point
21 (RL 10.541) and grid point 16 (RL 11.687) the 11.000 and 11.500 respectively. The distance
between the two RL's is 5 metres. By estimation the 11.000 contour line would be approx. 0.4
5m 2.000 m from RL 10.541 and the 11.500 contour line would be close to RL 11.687