Cut, from defined level or existing ground

I am new to the software and have a question. i recently set platforms and roads on a project and am not sure how to double check quantities, as i have some concern of being short on the cut.
Question- once i set the defined elevations and finished contours on the paving, does the cut quantities come from the defined levels OR do the cut quantities come from the existing ground elevations?
Can i double check quantities by using the topsoil spread tools and fill the areas?

thanks

I am new to the software and have a question. i recently set platforms and roads on a project and am not sure how to double check quantities, as i have some concern of being short on the cut.
Question- once i set the defined elevations and finished contours on the paving, does the cut quantities come from the defined levels OR do the cut quantities come from the existing ground elevations?
Can i double check quantities by using the topsoil spread tools and fill the areas?

thanks

Hi Salvy

Welcome to the forums.   Without seeing your project it is difficult to know 100% what is happening.  In a road or building pad phase if you have used FFL level and correctly adjusted them down to the subbase level (see Kubla Cubed - Adjusting to Subgrade \ Formation Level) then you will be seeing the cut from the ground to the subgrade.  If you have a strip in the previous phase it will actually be from the strip level to the subgrade.  If you have a Professional licence, feel free to send the project into the support mailbox and we can talk you through it with a screen share.

The important things to remember is that on each phase there are only two surfaces that are used in the calculation : The ground surface (which is copied from the previous phase's proposed) and the proposed (made up of combining the elements in the stack).  This is explained in more detail here :  Kubla Cubed - Understanding Construction Phases & Calculation Order

Your statement about using spreads (in KC2021 they are known as 'Raise' elements) to calculate to FFL level and know the volume of material from the sub base to the FFL level is sound and should work.  However it must be that you do this in another phase. 

For a road you would usually have Existing->Strip Phase (if you have one)-> Bulk Earthworks -> Build Up to FFL (if you want to do this).


Going back to how to check.   Remember in each phase there is only one ground surface and one proposed.   So the following is from the user manual and might help you do a reality check  :

Essential Project Checks

1. Elevation Spot Check
   Going back to check each point height would be a laborious effort. However, you can change the cursor options to show the XYZ values and then mouse over. To do this, from the menu, select 'Measure'. Within the sub menu 'Cursor', select the option X: Y: and then Z(proposed): and/or Z(existing): . Now, when you mouse over terrain, the selected dimension values will show beneath the cursor.
   
   
2. Elevation Cross Section Check
   Draw a cross section line across your site. View the graph within Kubla Cubed and check where the proposed line rises above and falls below the existing. Moving the mouse across the graph, you can also check individual sections are precisely as expected under the cursor.
   
   
3. Vertical Exaggeration Check
   To help check for incorrect Z values and to a lesser effect XY values, exaggerate the terrain height... Change to one of the 3D cameras to show the Vertical Exaggeration Tool. Move the tool's slider up/down to highlight obvious mistakes such as height spikes.
   

Let me know if you have any more questions about this.