PatCloutier wrote:
> or is there a way to just trim the contour lines at the builing edge?
> do I have to explode the surface to do this?
You explode your surface, you remove the dynamic link that any further
edits would have. In other words - "DON'T DO THAT"
Yes, the contours are going through the buildings because of varying
point elevations. How to stop it? Many ways - create a feature line
at the correct elevation (what's the correct elevation? That's for you
to determine) and add that feature line (with the same elevation at each
PVI) to the surface as a breakline. Or explore surface masks. Or,
if you're comfortable with holes in your surface, use a hide boundary on
the surface (warning - be prepared for inaccurate volume calcs.) Or
adjust the points so that they have the correct elevation (although the
surveyor may smack you on the head for this, unless you are the
surveyor, in which case your license gives you free reign over the
survey data.)
As you can see, there are numerous ways to accomplish your task. A
firm understanding of TIN modeling and the editing features of Civil 3D
will assist you in far more detail than I can/have.
--
Jason Hickey
Civil 3D 2008
Dell Precision M70
2 GIG RAM, 256 MB nVidia Quadro FX Go1400
Intel Centrino 2 gHz Processor
www.civil3d.com