Cut Height
Determining cut heights and Finished Floor Levels is not hard, but having it explained in a simple way is very useful. Here are the steps…
…but before we start, there are a few assumptions to note, these are:
- you have a self levelling laser level (red or green beam)
- You have an RL (a line on a stick somewhere that indicates the natural ground level height for example 28,000)
- You have a cut level from the plans
The steps to determine how far to cut are:
- Set up your level and turn it on; make sure that the laser is located above the final cut line
- Place a stick on top of the block where the RL is located
- Grab your laser receiver, find the laser level and lock the receiver to the stick
- Mark that spot as “RL height” for example 28,000
- Now wherever you walk around with the stick, the bottom of it will be at 28,000 when the receiver is inline with the laser level
- Finally, to work out where your cut level is, you have to follow the steps in either one of the two scenarios below.
Scenario 1: your cut height for a section of the land is higher than your RL (e.g. 29,240 for a patio slab)
- The difference is 28,000 – 29,240 = -1,240
- that means that the cut level is 1,240mm above the RL
- now measure 1,240mm below the RL line on your stick and write “Top Cut” or “Cut Level”
- at that measurement, set your receiver
- now you can walk around and whenever the receiver is in line with the laser level, the bottom of your stick is at the cut level
Scenario 2: your cut height for a section of the land is lower than your RL (e.g. 26,350 for a carport slab)
- The difference is 28,000 – 26,350 = 1,650
- that means that the cut level is 1,650mm below the RL
- now measure 1,240mm above the RL line on your stick and write “Cut Level”
- at that measurement, set your receiver
- now you can walk around and whenever the receiver is in line with the laser level, the bottom of your stick is at the cut level



Links
Construction
- 2021 Revision of AS 1684 – Residential Timber Frame Construction Standard
- ABCB Housing Provisions Standard 2022 (1 May 2023)
- AS 3660.1:2014 Termite management, Part 1: New building work
- AS 4440-2004[Current] Installation of nailplated timber roof trusses
- BCC – Building work noise
- Brisbane City Cranes
- Construction Australian Standards Store
- E-Beam Span Tables
- How To Set Up A Laser Level. Construction Site Levelling.
- Hyne Design Software (Free)
- Installation Guide 2020 Roof Truss
- LVL Beam E13.2 H3 LOSP
- NCC 2022 – Consolidated Requirements (1 May 2023)
- NCC 2022 Complete Series
- NCC 2022 Volume One – Building Code of Australia (1 May 2023)
- NCC 2022 Volume Three – Plumbing Code of Australia (1 May 2023)
- NCC 2022 Volume Two – Building Code of Australia (1 May 2023)
- Ozbuild Materials
- Primed Treated Pine Lining Boards 138 x 18mm
- Pryda Connectors
- Renegade Red Rotary Auto Laser Level RIRL500-2
- Slip-resistance for stairways, landings and ramps Advisory Note 2020
- Smart Piece Count Calculator
- SmartLVL 13 Design Guide
- Span Guide
- Timber structures Part 3: Design criteria for timber-framed residential buildings
- Understanding AS1684-2
- Versace Timbers
- Wesbeam LVL and other
