Contour Problems with Landmark SIte Model

[jwlandscape]

HI- I'm a fairly new self-taught user of VW over the past 6 months and I wanted to ask a question that I haven't been able to figure out no matter where I look:

 

1)When I try to make a contour map based on stakes placed in my drawing, the lines of the contours always continue up/around the edge of the map. They look terrible, the layered contours become indecipherable and I don't want there to be any confusion about where these lines extend to. These are usually small, contained properties so the site readings are usually done to the edges of the property and aren't performed on neighbouring properties. How can I get the lines to simply end at the edge of the property/site map?

 

 

2)Is there any way to control how often and where the elevation lines are labelled? As you can see in the example, areas where elevation loops around creates area where elevation labels are stacking and cluttered. Again, it's ugly and I want to avoid confusion.  I've tried playing with classes but they only turn the lines on or off. Any help here?

[Peter W Flint]

You might try slightly adjusting the site model crop (R click "Edit Site Model Crop") to solve both issues. You can use the Reshape tool, draw a new shape, or copy and paste the parcel boundary into the edit window. Are the contours based on stakes from a survey file or from another source of vector data (ie a DWG or SHP file)? I tend to import contour lines from a GIS source and create my source data from that, but I've seen other folks do it with stake objects. Either way, VW will interpret them as 3D polygons, like slices of cardboard, which is why you're getting that wrap-around on your drawing boundary. You could try extrapolating the source just past the boundary edge, then use the property line to clip the visible data. The contour labels seem to be a source of frustration for a lot of users, bringing the crop in slightly to eliminate the crowding of labels at the edges is the only real effective strategy I've seen. I play with the contour labelling in the site model settings menu to clean things up when I'm presenting to a client, but it can be a real headache for a construction document.

 

[Jeff Prince]

Labeling the manually with text objects seems to be the only reliable method of control 😞

Unless of course you enjoy having 100s of them stack ontop of each other, see link in my signature.

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by jeff prince

[jwlandscape]

@Peter W Flint Because they tend to be small properties, the survey data is usually in the form of a booking sheet with reduced levels. No GIS data. I've been manually placing stake objects and then entering in their Z / Elevation values and then building the site model from these points. 

 

I have to crop in quite a bit on the model to eliminate the problem and then I have a contour map that doesn't come close to the property boundaries- in some spots up  to 1.5 metres from the boundary- something which the development authorities won't like and will knock back and make me do again.

 

Also, because they refer to real points that exist in the property, I don't want to extend the points past the property line because that would be making a guess as to how to property slope behaves, which I think defeats the purpose of having someone go out and measure the points accurately in the first place- especially since these designs will be going into the hands of some landscape construction guy who will be going off the drawings for building.

 

I haven't found the resources the Vectorworks explaining the site modifier tools to be very clear in explaining how to extend a contour line past a boundary.