Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Installation
Setting out is the process of transferring the facade geometry from the design model onto the completed structure: surveying what was actually built, deciding where the panel line sits relative to it, marking the datum and grid lines the substructure is fixed to, and installing the first panel that every panel after it is referenced from. It is the point at which design tolerance meets construction tolerance, and it is done before fabrication is released rather than on the day the first truck arrives.
A structure can be built entirely within its own tolerances and still be 40 mm out of position where a facade bracket lands. The facade has to absorb that, and setting out is where it is decided how.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First step | As-built survey of the completed structure | Before panel fabrication is released |
| Survey method | Total station, or laser scan to point cloud | Scanning suits complex and curved geometry |
| Typical survey accuracy | 2 to 5 mm on a total station control network | Point cloud registration stated per project |
| Structural tolerance | Commonly 15 to 25 mm on plan position | Cumulative over height; check the specification |
| Facade adjustment range | Typically plus or minus 15 to 30 mm at the bracket | Three axes; see packing |
| Control | Vertical datum plus two horizontal lines per elevation | Transferred from the primary site control |
| Panel line decision | Best fit against the survey, not nominal | Documented and agreed before fabrication |
| First panel | Set, checked and signed off before the run continues | Its error repeats in every panel after it |
| Record | Marked-up survey and as-set-out drawing | Part of the handover documentation |
Survey before fabrication
The single most valuable decision on a panel facade is to survey the structure before the panels are made. Panels are fabricated to the design model, and if the structure does not match the model the mismatch has to be absorbed somewhere: in bracket adjustment, in joint widths, or by remaking panels. Discovering that at installation means a delay and a variation. Discovering it before fabrication means adjusting panel sizes, joint widths or the bracket schedule on paper, which costs almost nothing.
The survey should capture the elements the facade bears on and is measured against: slab edges, column faces, structural steel, finished levels at each floor, embedded plates or cast-in channels, and the openings. On a rectilinear building a total station survey against the site control network is sufficient. On a curved, faceted or freeform building a terrestrial laser scan producing a registered point cloud is the practical method, because it records the real surface rather than nominated points and can be overlaid on the design model. That overlay is the deliverable that matters: a deviation map, colour coded against the available adjustment range, tells the facade engineer whether the design absorbs it, whether local remedial work is needed, or whether the panel line has to move.
From datum to grid lines
- Site control: the primary survey control network from which everything else is derived
- Vertical datum: a benchmark transferred up the building, with level taken at each floor from a single reference rather than floor to floor
- Structural grid: marked on each floor and checked against the as-built survey rather than assumed
- Facade offset line: the horizontal offset from the grid to the outer face of the panel, determined by best fit
- Panel and joint lines: the set-out of each panel edge and joint on each elevation
- Bracket set-out: the position of each bracket, marked from datum and grid lines
- Level and plumb references: string lines, laser lines or an instrument set on control, used continuously
The rule underlying all of it is that every measurement comes from the control, not from the previously installed component. Measuring each panel from the one before accumulates error, so a run of twenty panels each 1 mm out finishes 20 mm out and the joint at the end is visibly wrong. Working from control keeps each panel’s error independent and small.
Deciding where the panel line goes
The panel line is a design decision made against the survey, and it is worth making deliberately rather than defaulting to the nominal offset. A best fit resolves the survey deviation into the available adjustment so that no bracket runs out of range and no joint falls outside tolerance. Sometimes that means moving the whole facade outward by 10 or 15 mm to clear the worst high point in the structure, which costs a little more bracket projection and cavity depth and solves the problem everywhere at once.
The first panel and the run
The first panel on each elevation is the reference for everything that follows and its errors propagate. It should be set with instruments on control rather than by eye, checked for level, plumb, face alignment, projection from the structure and the width of the joints it creates, and formally accepted before the run continues. Half a day on the first panel saves a week later.
After that, panels are installed to the panel map rather than in the order they come off the truck, since the map distributes colour variation and puts each panel where its dimensions suit. Checks are made against control at agreed intervals, typically every few panels and at every level, so drift is caught within a few units rather than at the end of an elevation. Joint widths are measured and recorded, not eyeballed, because joint width is the visible indicator that something is going wrong and is also the input the sealant design depends on.
Standards and references
- AS 3610 and AS 3610.1 Formwork for concrete, for the structural tolerances the facade must absorb
- AS 3600 Concrete structures, construction tolerances for cast in situ and precast elements
- AS 4100 Steel structures and the project structural specification for steel erection tolerances
- ISO 4463 Measurement methods for building, setting out and measurement
- ISO 7976 Tolerances for building, methods of measurement
- AS 5216 Design of post-installed and cast-in fastenings in concrete, for edge distance and embedment at bracket positions
- The panel manufacturer’s installation manual for permitted adjustment range and panel tolerance
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
When should the structure be surveyed?
Before panel fabrication is released. Panels are made to the design model, and any mismatch with the as-built structure has to be absorbed in bracket adjustment, joint widths or remade panels. Adjusting on paper before fabrication costs almost nothing; discovering it at installation costs a variation and a delay.
Total station or laser scan?
A total station survey against the site control network is sufficient on rectilinear buildings. For curved, faceted or freeform geometry a terrestrial laser scan producing a registered point cloud is the practical method, because it records the real surface and can be overlaid on the design model to produce a deviation map.
What is a best fit panel line?
The offset from the building grid to the outer face of the panels, chosen against the as-built survey so no bracket runs out of adjustment and no joint falls outside tolerance. It often means moving the whole facade out slightly to clear the worst high point, which solves the problem everywhere at once.
Why measure from control rather than from the last panel?
Because error accumulates. Twenty panels each set 1 mm out from the one before finishes 20 mm out and the final joint is visibly wrong. Working from datum and control lines keeps each panel’s error independent and small.
Why does the first panel matter so much?
Every panel after it is referenced from it, so its errors propagate along the run. It should be set with instruments on control, checked for level, plumb, face alignment, projection and joint width, and formally accepted before the run continues.
Have a structure built and a facade to fit to it? We survey, best-fit the panel line and adjust the panel schedule before anything is fabricated. Talk to us about setting out
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.