Topographic map to 3D options

[Gaf]

Wasn't sure if landscaping might be the better forum for this, but took a chance here.

 

Our site has an approx. 7m incline from front to back. We got a topographic survey completed and have the site plan with all of the contour lines / measurements on it. We're having to make a call on whether to go with a stepped back garden or one gradual slope. Wife and I are thinking differently - she likes gradual slop, I like the idea of the stepped back garden.

 

We're stuck a little on making a call primarily because we can't visualise how either option will look because we just have the 2d image of the site with the contour lines and one cross section from the architects (they don't do the 3d stuff).

 

I've seen references to QGIS and/or Sketchup. I've tried viewing a couple of QGIS tutorials and haven't found one that just cuts to the basics of trying to import the 2d topographic map and then I 'trace' over the contour lines to create the site. I've tried to get Sketup but it's pricey for a one off (I plan to give the 7 day trial a spin).

 

Was curious if anyone could point me in the direction of any reasonably easy to use software that I might convert the topographic data into a 3D visualisation, that I could also then manipulate to create the two proposed options (slop vs. stepped)?

[Alan Ambrose]

Just a thought before you do the visualisation - sloping will allow wheelchairs … if you’re planning to be there a long time.

 

7m is a longish drop, but you don’t say over what horizontal distance. Planning on using a garden designer anyway - you could just give them the problem.

I did have a quick look at qgis but found it looked a bit of a long winded learning curve too.

 

You should be able to use most CAD programs to import the topo file and use it to construct 3d images from various viewpoints. Then it’s easy to send from there to 3d print or slice out for a larger foamboard model. You’ll need to model your stepped or sloped landscaping options too, pf course. What file type(s) did your topo file arrive in? You should have something like a dfx or dmg file as well as a pdf. If you don’t have the skills yourself, you can probably get someone on fiverr to do it for you for cheap.

 

Another way, maybe even better, is just to take a bunch of bamboo canes onto the plot and a laser/dumpy level and ‘visualise’ in place.
 

Lastly, I’m surprised your architects ‘don’t do 3d stuff’ because … that’s patently what architects do. Is this an old person near to retirement? Ask them again a bit more forcibly?

[Moonshine]

I am pretty handy in Qgis if you wanted to send me the dxf / dwg file I can see what I can do with it.

 

The ease of ot will depend if the surveyors file is in 3d or not (they should be)

Edited March 24 by Moonshine

[HerbJ]

We had a similar design challenge for our garden design and we used a landscape designer to help solve it. I provided a lot of detail in this post, which may be helpful

 

[Kelvin]

We had exactly the same challenge and decided to terrace it rather than slope it down to where it flattens out. I did the bamboo cane suggestion above which was a quick and easy way to visualise how the terracing might look. We’ve got three terraces or four including the area immediately by the house. We had to make a quick decision as the digger was still on site and each terrace is 70m long. 
 

The thing to consider is how you access the slope or terraces to maintain them and how to cut a path through them. 

[SimonD]

2 hours ago, Gaf said:

Wasn't sure if landscaping might be the better forum for this, but took a chance here.

 

Our site has an approx. 7m incline from front to back. We got a topographic survey completed and have the site plan with all of the contour lines / measurements on it. We're having to make a call on whether to go with a stepped back garden or one gradual slope. Wife and I are thinking differently - she likes gradual slop, I like the idea of the stepped back garden.

 

We're stuck a little on making a call primarily because we can't visualise how either option will look because we just have the 2d image of the site with the contour lines and one cross section from the architects (they don't do the 3d stuff).

 

I've seen references to QGIS and/or Sketchup. I've tried viewing a couple of QGIS tutorials and haven't found one that just cuts to the basics of trying to import the 2d topographic map and then I 'trace' over the contour lines to create the site. I've tried to get Sketup but it's pricey for a one off (I plan to give the 7 day trial a spin).

 

Was curious if anyone could point me in the direction of any reasonably easy to use software that I might convert the topographic data into a 3D visualisation, that I could also then manipulate to create the two proposed options (slop vs. stepped)?

 

We have 8.6m height over 55m length. We have a mixture of terrace and slope and sometimes different across the width of the plot. Then there's access. In some parts we have steps and sloped paths and we have a bridge taking us out of the 1st floor to a main garden terrace.. Even with a 3d cad drawing it's very difficult to design a way to make this work that is both aesthetic and functional. For this I think you need an experienced eye and mind to visualise and design. In the grand scheme of things paying someone to produce some designs is a small part of the budget and it might be worth getting a couple even.

[Temp]

The free version of Fusion360 would probably be good for this. 

 

It's relatively easy to trace shapes to make a sketch, then extrude them upwards to the required height using the push/pull tool. 

[Temp]

It doesn't have to be a choice of stepped or sloped. Can be a mixture, one side stepped and one side sloped, mostly sloped but with flat areas etc  Curved retaining walls are stronger and look better than straight walls/terracing. 

[SteamyTea]

Can the topological file be saved, or read as a .csv (comma separated value) or similar.

Then you can open it in a spreadsheet and use a 3D chart to visualise it.

[Gaf]

Just realised I have the measurements wrong; I was initially taking the whole half acre site as the total incline and not just the north facing rear garden area where the whole focus is on now. It's actually a 4.6m incline over 14m distance, lowest at our rear path level.

 

@Alan Ambrose Hadn't thought of the access bit...good idea. Topographic map received as a .dwg. I might be getting the bamboo idea wrong, but for us all of the groundwork will involve removing soil, rather than adding it, so we've no way of visualising it on site (sorry if I'm misunderstanding that idea, wouldn't be the first time I've misunderstood something 😑). The architects did a 3D for the house, but they don't do the landscape / site topography part in 3D, only a cross section.

 

@Moonshine Thank you for the offer. I was tinkering with DWG Fast View and couldn't get it working, and also tried Fusion 360 and it's dog slow on my PC for some reason so can't get that working either. I'll drop you a DM.

 

@Kelvin Yeah access wasn't something we thought of for later years, so that's made me start to maybe reconsider my all terraced approach.

 

@SimonD Got a quote of approx. €500 for a landscaping design. Might be the way to go but timelines might not align as it's a call we have to make in the next week.

 

@Temp Cheers for the steer to Fusion. My PC seems to dislike it and it's really slow for some reason so not having much luck.

 

@SteamyTea It possibly could. Might give it a shot and see how it turns out.