How to Read Grade Stakes on a Civil Construction Site

Grade stakes are easy to treat like survey crew paperwork, but they control a lot of the day. If the operator, foreman, and laborer are reading them differently, the site can look busy while the grade slowly moves in the wrong direction. I have seen a small misunderstanding on cut and fill marks turn into extra hauling, rework around a curb line, and a paving crew asking why the base is not where…