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Sprayed letters and figures giving a buried service's size, material and depth.
Also known as: Locate lettering, Dig mark abbreviations, Service marking codes
Beside a locate line, sprayed abbreviations give what the colour cannot: the owner, the size, the material and sometimes the depth. A figure with an inch or millimetre mark is a diameter; letters such as PE, PVC, DI or CI give the pipe material; an arrow marks a change of direction and a short bar the end of a run. Because the abbreviations are set by whoever performed the locate rather than by a single standard, the key is local and a legend is normally sprayed alongside.
Gives the owner, the size, the material and sometimes the depth of a buried service, which is the information a colour alone cannot carry and which decides how an excavation is done.
Contexts: Technical drawing, Public information
Uses a local key rather than a single standard, because the abbreviations are chosen by whoever performed the locate — which is why a legend is normally sprayed alongside the marks on a large site.
Contexts: Technical drawing, Public information
Short groups of sprayed capital letters and numerals set beside a painted line, with occasional arrows and short cross bars.
The colour gives the class and the lettering gives the detail.