A stave is simply a larger ruler, which commonly come in 5m lengths, usually made of aluminium. A type of stave is an “E” type stave, where the pattern is designed to make reading smaller sections of the stave through the level. E Stave measurements are in m and cm, with estimation to the nearest mm. E staves have features that make it easier for the user to determine what number is being read, these include:

Major Graduations- These occur at 0.1m intervals and are denoted by a number which tells you the height of the stave at that point.

Minor graduations- These occur at 10mm intervals and are coloured blocks going up the length of the stave.

Alternating colours- Some E staves may have altering colours, normally red and black at 1m intervals.

Blocks and bands- The lower 50mm of any major graduation has a band along the left of right edge, to help reading smaller sections of the stave easier.

Alternating band direction- Every 0.1m, the orientation of the “E” changes, if it is forward facing it is typically even e.g. 1.8m, if it is backward it is odd 1.7m

Reading the Stave

Reading a stave should always be conducted to the nearest mm and should always be booked with 4 numbers (3 decimal places after the meter), even when rounded numbers occur. For example, 1.800 should always be booked, rather than 1.8.

When booking readings, the first two numbers come from the major graduation below the horizontal cross hair, such as on the image below, all readings will start with 2.2. The third number comes from the minor graduation blocks, which are 10mm each and can be counted to get third number. To help speed this process up, the banding on the side of the first 50mm can be used to help place the halfway point of the major graduation.

As the blocks are 10mm in height, estimation can be used to get the fourth number. When estimating, the blocks should be broken down into 10 equal points, as shown below and a rough position obtained of how far up the horizontal cross hair is from the block below. For example, if the cross hair is about halfway, on the example below, the reading would be 2.215.

Example Readings