Method and apparatus for construction layout

A method of converting a floor plan for construction layout and locating wall lines on a construction site, the method comprising:

• generating, with a processor of a computer, a best fit of a floor plan on a building footprint, and storing the floor plan and building footprint in a memory of the computer;
• locating seed points at selected locations within the floor plan using a user interface of the computer;
• locating a plurality of defined points, with the processor of the computer, at selected locations within the floor plan, the selected locations including at least one of an end of a wall, an intersection of a plurality of walls, and a control point;
• defining a first defined point of the plurality of defined points with a first description, wherein the first description includes at least one of a wall designation, a unit number, and a label;
• associating, by the processor, the first defined point with the first description to thereby generate a first annotated defined point, and storing the first annotated defined point in the memory;
• providing the first annotated defined point to an electronic surveying instrument, the electronic surveying instrument configured to determine an offset distance between the first annotated defined point and a detail locating apparatus on a construction site, wherein the detail locating apparatus comprises:
• a marker base;
• a prism assembly extending vertically from the marker base;
• and
• a measuring instrument extending horizontally from the marker base;
• determining, on the construction site, the locations of wall lines associated with the first annotated defined point based on the offset distance, and determining the orientations of the wall lines based on the first description;
• and
• locating, with the measuring instrument, the wall lines associated with the first annotated defined point.