A "Hack" for Checking Elevations & Site Distances

I'll come out and say it.

I’m a millennial.

I like to think I can opt out of millennial status voluntarily, but I'm told it doesn't work like that. Technicalities…

​I like to think that the relentless pursuit of finding better & faster ways to do better work is about innovation and constant improvement. I guess it could also just be considered finding ways to avoid work or wanting the "apps" to do any real engineering.

Today's post covers one of my favorite cheats on checking site elevations and distances. It's super easy and a major benefit when setting up or reviewing hydraulic calculations.

On a side note I'm also told that the kids these days call these "hacks". I'm told that a "hack" is a good thing, so I'll roll with it. Besides - age is just a state of mind, right? I'm cool, I promise. Just don't ask my kids.

Here's the “hack” - just follow these steps:

Get Elevations Between Any Two Points
1. Open Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps)
2. Enter or zoom in on any address. 
3. Right click on any location you wish to get an elevation on. Select "Directions to here"
4. Now right click on any location at least a block away, such as your tap for the building's water connection. Select "Directions from here"
5. Now you'll have opened up the directions dialogue. Instead of car directions, click on the walker icon in white at the top.
6. Click on the very bottom description in gray. It often reads “Mostly Flat”. This opens up an elevation view from your original point (such as your building’s water tap) to your building. This shows your end elevation (against sea level), your original elevation, and the elevation difference between the two.

Measuring Site Distances
While still in google maps, you can also get distances on a site.

1. Open Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps)
2. Enter or zoom in on any address. 
3. Right click on any point you wish to measure from. Click “Measure distance”.
4. Now right click on any point you wish to measure to. Click “Distance to here”. You can now drag around this measuring tool and get point-to-point distances. No more using a ruler on your screen or scaling a drawing based on google map’s graphic scale in the corner.

Here's a video showing both (click this link if you don't see the video):

So What?
Earlier this year I had a project I was reviewing which showed no elevation difference between the flow test and the base of the project. The pipe distance was roughly accounted for, but no elevation. 

I checked the test distance on Google Maps and despite only being several hundred feed from the project, the test was at an elevation 32 feet lower than the base of the project.

Did this affect the hydraulic calculations? It absolutely did. The calculations went from having 6 psi safety to being 8 psi over the available water supply. 

The measurement tool comes in handy for many projects where site plans are not prepared. This doesn't come up quite as much in new construction, but certainly for retrofits or projects with no site work - a site plan often isn't available. Use of quick measurements can give some guidance towards using conservative measurements for hydraulic calculations.

If you already knew these two tricks, congratulations, you’re probably also a millennial.
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If you didn’t, and would like to send money for the gobs and gobs of time these simple tools will save you in the future, please make the check out to “Joe’s Beer Fund.” Actually better yet – just tell another friend about this site. It is always very much appreciated! Hope you have a great rest of your week.