How does land surveying work?
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the importance of land surveying in civil engineering projects, highlighting the history and evolution of the profession. Grady explains how surveyors use tools like theodolites, total stations, and even DIY methods like sight levels, water levels, and laser levels to measure angles and elevations for large-scale projects such as roads and bridges. The video also offers a simple tutorial for conducting a topographic survey at home. Sponsored by Blue Apron, Grady shares the convenience of meal delivery services while working on home improvement projects.
Takeaways
- 📏 Surveying is essential for large-scale projects like roads, bridges, and pipelines.
- 🏛 Civil engineering projects often begin with a land survey to establish boundaries and assess land features.
- 📐 Surveying is the science of taking large measurements and determining the topography and layout of land.
- 🔭 A common surveying tool is the theodolite, which measures angles between points and helps in triangulating locations.
- 📡 Modern theodolites, called total stations, can measure both angles and distances, equipped with on-board computers.
- 📜 Surveying has a rich history and was used for ancient constructions and mapping, like the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.
- 🌍 Surveying has advanced with technologies like GPS and unmanned aircraft for more complex projects.
- 🔧 There are DIY surveying methods like using a sight level, water level, or a laser level to measure relative elevations.
- 🎯 The laser level is a fast and accurate tool for home surveys, useful for topographical measurements.
- 🛠 Surveying combines legal knowledge, technical skill, and fieldwork, making it vital to civil engineering projects.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video?
-The video focuses on the importance of land surveying in civil engineering projects and demonstrates some basic methods for performing a topographic survey at home.
What types of projects typically require surveying?
-Surveying is typically required for large projects such as roads, bridges, dams, pipelines, and any civil engineering projects that involve land measurement.
Why is surveying important in civil engineering?
-Surveying is essential in civil engineering because it helps determine legal boundaries, locate existing infrastructure, and measure the topography and slopes of the land, which are critical for construction projects.
What is a theodolite, and how does it work?
-A theodolite is a tool used in surveying to measure angles between two points. By combining these angles with distance measurements, surveyors can triangulate the location of any point using trigonometry.
What are total stations, and how do they improve upon traditional theodolites?
-Total stations are modern theodolites that not only measure angles but also distances. They have onboard computers to perform calculations and record data, making surveying more efficient and accurate.
What basic surveying tools were demonstrated in the video?
-The video demonstrated a sight level, a water level, and a laser level as basic tools that can be used for a DIY topographic survey at home.
How does a sight level work in a survey?
-A sight level combines a telescope and a spirit level. By sighting a surveying rod and centering the bubble, you can determine a point that is level with your eyeline, allowing for simple elevation measurements.
What are the advantages of using a water level for surveying?
-A water level is inexpensive and doesn't require a line of sight, making it useful for measuring around obstacles like trees or corners.
Why is a laser level considered the best option for a DIY survey?
-A laser level is fast and efficient for creating a perfect horizontal line, allowing for quick and accurate measurements. It is a popular tool for both professional and DIY projects.
Why is surveying considered one of the oldest and most important careers?
-Surveying is one of the oldest careers because of its historical role in building ancient structures and creating accurate maps. It remains crucial because land ownership and construction rely on precise measurements.
Outlines
📏 Introduction to Surveying and Measuring Tools
This paragraph introduces the use of everyday measuring tools such as rulers and tape measures, noting their limitations for large-scale projects like roads or bridges. It then transitions to the main topic of the video: land surveying, a crucial aspect of civil engineering, and how viewers can try simple surveying at home. The paragraph also briefly touches on the role of surveyors in determining property boundaries and topography, and mentions the historical significance of surveying in major construction projects like the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.
🔭 Theodolites and Modern Surveying Equipment
The focus here is on the tools of the trade for surveyors, primarily the theodolite, which measures angles between two points. The modern version, called a total station, includes the ability to measure distances and perform calculations using onboard computers. The paragraph explains how surveyors use this equipment in conjunction with reflectors to measure points with precision. It also introduces more advanced technologies such as GPS and unmanned aircraft, while emphasizing that surveying technology has evolved significantly but retains its fundamental importance.
🏡 DIY Surveying Methods for Home Projects
This paragraph presents three methods of DIY surveying: a sight level, a water level, and a laser level. Each method is explained in detail, highlighting the advantages, disadvantages, and use cases for performing simple topographic surveys. For example, the sight level requires a helper and is less precise, while the water level allows measurements around obstacles like trees. The laser level, although more expensive, is quick and effective. The paragraph underscores the practicality and simplicity of these methods for small-scale home improvement projects.
🌍 The Importance of Surveying as a Career
The paragraph explains why surveying is such an important profession, linking its significance to the value of land ownership. It highlights the combination of legal, technical, and fieldwork skills required for a career in surveying, emphasizing the surveyor's role in civil engineering projects. The paragraph concludes by recognizing surveying as a mix of ancient tradition and modern-day necessity.
🍽 Blue Apron Sponsorship and Final Thoughts
The video concludes with a sponsorship message from Blue Apron, where the host shares his personal experience with their meal delivery service. He praises the convenience of Blue Apron, especially while settling into a new home. The paragraph includes a promotional offer for viewers, encouraging them to try the service by providing a discount code for three free meals. It wraps up with a final thank you and call for viewer feedback.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Surveying
💡Theodolite
💡Topographic Survey
💡Datum
💡Total Station
💡Leveling Survey
💡Triangulation
💡Water Level
💡Laser Level
💡Civil Engineering
Highlights
Surveying is the science of taking big measurements, essential for civil engineering projects.
Surveyors are responsible for determining legal boundaries, existing infrastructure, and land topography.
Surveying has a rich history, playing a role in major ancient constructions and mapping continents like the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.
A theodolite is the ubiquitous tool of surveyors, measuring angles between points to triangulate locations using trigonometry.
Modern theodolites, called total stations, can measure both angles and distances, and come equipped with on-board computers for calculations.
GPS and unmanned aircraft have advanced surveying techniques, allowing for more complicated projects.
The video demonstrates how to perform a simple leveling survey at home using basic and inexpensive tools.
A sight level, a combination of a telescope and spirit level, can be used for a basic leveling survey, though it lacks precision.
The water level method, using a clear vinyl tube filled with liquid, is an inexpensive and effective way to measure levels without line of sight.
A laser level offers the fastest and most efficient way to perform a leveling survey, especially for DIY projects.
Surveying remains one of the oldest and most important careers due to the value of land and its importance in civil engineering.
Land ownership is often a person’s most valuable asset, making accurate surveying critical.
Surveying combines legal knowledge, fieldwork, and technical challenges, making it a dynamic and essential career in civil engineering.
Blue Apron sponsors the video, offering a service that delivers fresh ingredients and recipes directly to consumers’ homes.
The video encourages viewers to try DIY surveying techniques and appreciate the historical and practical significance of the profession.
Transcripts
We use all kinds of measuring tools in our everyday lives: rulers, protractors, squares,
and tape measures, etc..
These work fine for small- and medium-sized projects, but what if we need to layout something
big like a road, bridge, dam, or pipeline?
Hey I’m Grady and this is Practical Engineering.
Today we’re talking about one of the civil engineer’s most important companions, land
surveyors, and we’re also going to try a little bit of surveying you can do at home.
This video is sponsored by Blue Apron, more on that later.
Surveying is essentially the science of taking big measurements, and you’ve probably seen
these guys on the side of the road looking through fancy equipment on a tripod.
Just about any civil engineering project starts with a survey to determine the legal boundaries
between parcels of property, the location of existing infrastructure, and the topography
and slopes of the land.
Humans have always had a penchant for building big stuff which means surveying is career
full of history and tradition.
Behind every wonder of the ancient world was an ancient geometry nerd who laid out the
angles and alignments during construction.
Surveying is also how we created accurate maps of the continents like the Great Trigonometrical
Survey of India, which took almost 70 years to complete.
I personally think everyone should aspire to accomplish something in your life that
can be prefixed with the words “great trigonometrical.”
The ubiquitous tool for a survey is called a theodolite, and it’s one job is to measure
the angles between two points.
Combine those angles with distances from a chain or tape measure, and you can triangulate
the location of any point using trigonometry.
Modern theodolites, called total stations, can not only measure angles, but distance
as well, and they have on-board computers to do the calculations and record the data
for later use.
When you see a surveyor peering through a funny telescope, it’s probably a total station,
and he or she is probably sighting a reflector to record the location of a point.
That’s just scratching the surface of sophistication with modern surveying equipment.
With GPS and unmanned aircraft, things can get a lot more complicated.
But I’ve got a few ways you can do your own topographic survey with fairly basic and
inexpensive tools.
Maybe you’ve got a drainage issue on your land, maybe you’re planning a landscaping
project, or maybe you just want to exercise your god-given right to take measurements
of stuff and write those measurements down on a clipboard.
That’s my kind of recreational activity.
My goal is to perform a leveling survey of my front and back yard, which is just a way
to get the relative topography for an area.
I laid out a grid of points on a map of my house and then transferred those points to
real life using pin flags.
Now I just need to pick my datum or base point and measure the relative difference in height
between that point and all the others.
I tried a few ways to do this and there are no sines, cosines, or tangents required.
First, a sight level which is essentially a combination of a telescope and a spirit
level.
To use it, first get a buddy or a willing spouse to hold a surveying rod on the point
of interest.
Now, look through the sight at a surveying rod and raise or lower the end until the bubble
is centered on the line.
Once it’s centered you know that you’re looking at a point that is exactly level to
your eyes.
Simply subtract the height of your eyeline with the height measured on the rod and that’s
your elevation.
It’s not a precision technique, but it is cheap and simple which the most you can usually
hope for in any part of a home improvement project.
The next way I tried is a water level which is literally just a length of clear vinyl
tubing filled with a liquid.
As long as there are no bubbles or kinks in the line, the free surface at each end of
the tube will self-level.
I kept one end at my datum a fixed height and measure the height of the water at the
other end as I carry it around to each of my points.
It’s a little more unwieldy but it does have a distinct advantage, no line of sight
required.
You can use this method around corners or behind trees with no problem, and again, it’s
a cheap and simple solution.
The third method to take a level survey worked best for me: my laser level.
Here’s the thing: I really like lasers.
I relish any chance I get to use them in a constructive way, and this is perfect.
The laser level creates a perfect horizontal line that can be used to line up cabinets
or tile, but it is also easy read on a surveying rod.
You don’t need a helper, but you do probably need to wait until dusk unless your laser
is really bright, or you have these sweet laser enhancement glasses.
This isn’t the cheapest solution for a DIY land survey, but it is the fastest one I tried,
and it’s a tool a lot of people already have.
Surveying is one of the oldest careers in the world, and also one of the most important.
Why?
Because land is important.
If you own some, it’s probably your most valuable asset, and even if you don’t, you're
pretty much stuck to it no matter where you go.
As a career, surveying is a fascinating mix of legal knowledge, field work, and technical
challenges.
And since most civil structures are too big for conventional measurement tools, the surveyor
is one of the most important companions for the civil engineer.
Thank you for watching, and let me know what you think!
Thanks to Blue Apron for sponsoring this video.
We are still in the process of getting settled into the new house.
After a long day installing lights in the workshop or throwing away all the junk left
by the previous owner, it has been really nice not to worry about groceries.
Blue Apron delivers all the fresh ingredients you need, right to your doorstep, in exactly
the right proportions to create delicious recipes at home.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, the first hundred people that click the
link in the description will get 3 meals free with their first order.
If you like it, you can continue your subscription, and if you don’t, hey, you just got three
free meals shipped right to your doorstep.
Again, thanks for watching, and let me know what you think!
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