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TAKEAWAYS AS A FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER

A "Hack" for Checking Elevations & Site Distances

10/2/2019

 
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.
​
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.
Anon.
10/2/2019 12:05:31 pm

That's a really sick hack, whippersnapper, thanks! I had been just recording the elevation of two points displayed in the lower right hand corner and subtracting. The calcs are only as good as the flow test, and elevation is a crucial, but often ignored factor. I just used this to measure elevation distance to the height of the base of a known reservoir, to give me a reasonable hunch until I can get real flow test data.

Anon.
10/2/2019 12:10:17 pm

(...perhaps the elevation reader I was referencing in my comment above is in Google Earth, not in Goggle Maps.)

Dave Sornsin
10/2/2019 12:08:56 pm

I'm thinking an easier 'hack' is to open Google Earth, zoom into and place the cursor at a specific location, and read what elevation is at the bottom of the screen. In a pinch for a bid, I've grabbed the elevation at the base of a water tower, then switched to 'street view', and used doorways, etc. to help estimate the height of the water tower, then added that to the elevation shown on 'Earth'. I've also used street view to 'walk' along roads and find hydrants, and to verify (correct?) hydrant elevations given to me by water authorities or FD's who've provided flow tests.
- Dave (DOB 1963 making me a young Boomer)

Dave
10/2/2019 12:16:01 pm

Agreed, Mr. Sornsin, I use those same tricks. And I'm also DOB 1963.
(Google Earth even lets you change the distance measurement to Smoots, for the MIT graduates out there.)


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  • Blog
  • Forum
  • PE Exam
    • PE Forum & Errata
    • PE Problems
    • PE Store
    • PE Tools
    • PE Prep Series
  • TOOLS
    • TOOLKIT (FREE TRIAL)
    • *TOOLKIT (PURCHASE)
    • SUBMIT AN IDEA
    • BACKFLOW DATABASE*
    • CLEAN AGENT ESTIMATOR*
    • CLOUD CEILING CALCULATOR
    • DOMESTIC DEMAND*
    • FIRE PUMP ANALYZER
    • FIRE PUMP DATABASE*
    • FIRE FLOW CALCULATOR*
    • FRICTION LOSS CALCULATOR
    • HANGER SPACER*
    • IBC TRANSLATOR*
    • K-FACTOR SELECTOR
    • NFPA 13 EDITION TRANSLATOR ('19 ONLY)
    • NFPA 13 EDITION TRANSLATOR ('99-'19)*
    • LIQUIDS ANALYZER*
    • OBSTRUCTION CALCULATOR
    • OBSTRUCTIONS AGAINST WALL*
    • PLUMBING FIXTURE COUNTS
    • REMOTE AREA ANALYZER
    • QUICK RESPONSE AREA REDUCTION
    • SPRINKLER DATABASE*
    • SPRINKLER FLOW*
    • SYSTEM ESTIMATOR*
    • TEST & DRAIN CALCULATOR
    • THRUST BLOCK CALCULATOR
    • TRAPEZE CALCULATOR
    • UNIT CONVERTER
    • VOLUME & COMPRESSOR CALCULATOR
    • WATER SUPPLY (US)
    • WATER SUPPLY (METRIC)
  • ALL-ACCESS
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