yo been working heavy construction for over ten years....not a bad video but an easier way to explain is just divide any whole inch by 12... for example 6" converts to .50' being as it is half a foot.... think of it like money..... 1 foot equals 1 dollar their for 6" is half a foot so half a dollar is .50... 3" is .25' as it is one fourth of a foot as .25 is a quarter of a dollar when u divide any whole inch by 12 you are left with these results... .08 .17 .25 .33 .42 .50 .50 .58 .67 .75 .83 .92 1.00
Great point! Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to see the different ways people think about these problems and break them down. That's a great way to think about it.
@@DieselandIron ya for sure just showed your video to my class.... im now an instructor for the ohio laborer's union...thanks for the video would love to see a video on cuts and fills with actual grade stakes and lathe....hard to find on here....especially now that im not in the field anymore to make my own.....so maybe something to think of....great video again keep making more!
@@anthonystrassell1643 that's awesome that you've decided to move into the education field. We need more of that. More actual operators that are in a position to instruct. Once the work season fires up let me go see if I can find a job site around here that has some good Cut & Fill stake examples and make a video. Thanks for the support brother
on my opinion engineer scale is way easier to work with , any elevation from the ground down we used (civil plans ) engineer scale, from the ground up inches.
You know, on the job I always have a Construction Calculator in my pocket, and I didn't realize until now how dependent I've become of using that to convert from tenths to inches. I appreciate this video, it did help my mind start going into a direction of just being able to recognize and know what the conversion is, which will be able to make me just that little bit faster on the job-site. But where time is money, that adds up! You're a pretty good teacher :) Keep it up!
Thanks Chris! This was a really hard topic to teach. It's hard not to drone on with numbers but also get the point across and demonstrate the concept. I can't tell you how much the feedback means!
8ths and 10ths are not the same thing. 2" is actually .17, not .16, and 3" is .25 May not seem like a big deal, at first, but it may have a significant impact over long distances depending upon what you're doing.
I cheated a long time ago and got an engineers folding rule which has tenths on one and inches on the other, I was sitting curb and gutter offsets from grade hubs. But I really appreciate you laying it out on the table again,,, because as I get older the mind tends to wander........ stay safe sir!
Sat on the total station a few days laying out a 5 acre site of curb and gutter. My partner and I took turns on the dumb end. We were taking 385’ shots with 1’ story pole. He and I on the end of islands on shot number 5 just stabbed the story pole in and hit the point to .001’ on line and distance
We, as Americans, like to take the simplest of tasks and make them near impossible. Then we can turn around and brag about how smart and awesome we are because we can do complex math problems....even though they are completely unnecessary! 😂😂 Thanks for watching! Say a prayer for me while I go try to cook and convert a quart into cups and then into teaspoons! 😂😂
I was just thinking the same thing. Making a grade stick into tenths is COMPLETELY unnecessary! I'd rather just stick to inches when finding grade or finish floor heights.
Hey guys, once you start using this everyday it’s so easy to memorize. It will just be natural. I had rather use 10ths and 100ths than feet and inches.
That's a great concept. You know, now that you mention it, I think a system that also allows you to easily convert between units of volume and area would do really well. Some sort of easy....tracking metric....we....we could call it the metric system! Wait.....
Can you let me know how to use the laser to find an elevation that’s higher that my bench mark elevation (144.17) wanting elevation (152) This elevation is higher than my bench mark?
Always set your laser up at your high point. I'm this case you will shoot your unknown elevation first, record your number and then shoot your benchmark. The difference in those numbers will be added to your benchmark elevation to find the elevation at your high point. Ex: your benchmark is 900ft ASL. You shoot your high point (unknown) and get 3ft on your grade rod. You then shoot your benchmark and it comes out at 7 feet on the grade rod (because it is lower you will be higher up on the rod). You have a difference of 4 feet but your unknown elevation is higher so we add the 4 feet to the known elevation giving us a result of 904ft ASL.
OMG!! I LOVE YOU. You are so incredibly skilled in the craft of Operating. I am hooked on your videos, every morning its coffee and Diesel & Iron. I could bing watch them like a Netflix Series. Im a relatively new operator and since i started watching your videos, i feel like i have gained years of knowledge in just weeks. I have friends that have been in the industry for 10+ yrs. I have been able to teach them some things, that i got from my memory bank of infinite construction knowledge…….🤭 (your videos) Lol. Your a lifesaver. I appriciate every second of ur time that u put into sharing ur knowledge with the world. Thank you bunches!
Thanks for watching, I really appreciate it! You know, that's how I learned a lot of my skills too when I was starting out. I'd sit and watch RU-vid videos of guys operating. Watching and learning, it's the best way. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with!
@@DieselandIron Good morning. Im sure questions will arise in my near future, and i am very grateful for the opportunity in receiving ur help. Thank you. I wish you a happy monday and a wonderful week. Not sure if u know this, but one of the Heavy Equiptment Colleges here in Cali (i have personally attended this school) they highly recommend your channel for a post grad refresher. Thats pretty cool bro. 😎
@@nicollekennedy1100 feel free to reach out to me if you've got questions going forward. You can shoot me an email at contact@dieselandironproductions.com. Thanks for the info on the school recommending my content. That's really exciting to hear. It really amazes me how far this channel is reaching
I equate it to dollars/cents because people should be used to working with that kind of math. Then I just simplify the crap out of it. If 3” = 1/4 of a foot then that’s .25 right? .25 divided by the 3” will give us 8 with a remainder of .01 so for arguments sake I just go with 1”=.08’ and every 3” I add .01 so 3x8 is .24 but add .01 and you’re at .25 or say it’s 6” so 6x8 is .48 but add .02 now you’re at an even .50 . We’re working with dirt, not framing a house so being off .01 9/10 times isn’t an issue. If it’s a big pad or parking lot then yeah that .01 will definitely add up but for the most part this method is fine. Math is all about what works for you, not the right method. If the method you have gets you the right answer then that’s all that matters🤷🏼♂️
You just said we do hundredth there's hundredths. The answer to the first one is 1.666666666 wouldn't that have rounded to 1.65? And it would need to be at least 1.68 to round up to 1.67? According to previous logic
I need to remake this video due to a number of small errors I made during recording. The main thing here is to get the concept of how the math works. On most dirt sites a difference in .01 in elevation won't be a deal breaker. You only get down to that margin of error when working on major highway projects where miles of road are being paved and the resulting error could cost thousands of dollars in extra material.
No one measure this way! Either use Imperial or Metric. I have never seen any measuring device with tenths. Also you can’t round when you need accuracy.
You must be from Europe or never been on a large dirt site here in the States. Every large job uses tenths instead of inches. Rounding absolutely works when your tolerance is 1.2 inches of accuracy. Mathematically rounding up or down by 1/100 of a foot is fudging 1/8 of an inch.
It is absurd to me that we in the United States. Still use a measuring system based off a dead king's toe, foot In distance from his throne to the fricking garden its stupid lame and old
If you are unable to do the math from the videos provided I'd be happy to jump on a video call with you for a fee. Let me know if you need some help or shoot me an email at contact@dieselandironproductions.com
Surveyors, could benefit from this Clip, too! The use Feet & Inches, 10ths if an Inch, & 100ths of an Inch, along with "Rounding" of 1000ths to the Even 100th! (I was watching those "How to Learn Surveying" clips, when I discovered yours! 😲😁)
I appreciate you flipping over to my channel! This was an interesting video to make. Once you start getting into the numbers I was confusing myself and had to do a couple takes😂😂
Hi, Great video! One question I have is how can you have two correct answers depending on how you round?? Isn't the rule that you always round up for consistency??? Remember science is repeatable.. I would say it is incorrect to round either way! Because the 1/2 inch in your example could equate to a huge mistake, including changing of slopes by several degrees... Can you clarify why you would allow yours, or any crew constructing a several million dollar building to use whichever of the two answers they like Because both are correct??? There has to be absolute answers and formulas to keep everything in line... Thanks again Don Sullivan
There's a lot to unpack here Don. First of all, this is a beginner video meant to help people understand the principals of converting between tenths and inches. If you want to be as accurate as you propose, don't round at all. My second thought is, what project are you working on where a 1/2" variance in grade is going to make or break the project? Generally when you need that degree of accuracy you aren't using a laser and grade rod. Even GPS systems will have variations of 1/2" in certain conditions. Bear in mind, this is a dirt channel. If we were constructing a building foundation then of course we would want to dial in with extreme accuracy but your example is a slope for a hill or ditch. I don't think anyone would complain if I'm within 1/2" of accuracy. If you are an engineer, yes, complete accuracy is paramount. As a guy in the field everyday I can tell you that being within a 1/2" is perfectly acceptable 99% of the time.
Hi again, you are spot on with your reply, and Thank you! I was referring to foundations, and buildings, and of course would never accept more than 1/8+- for FFE... I COMPLETELY AGREE that 1/2 inch in dirt work is ok.. I am not an engineer, I am an A General Contractor... I like your videos and share them with the guys to help keep an open mind, and see that there is more than One way to accomplish the task... THANK YOU AGAIN!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND BE SAFE! DON SULLIVAN
Probably a dumb question but what is zero? Sea level? I am setting up a concrete pad for a transformer. The marking for the elevation is 11.77 which is 11” 9 1/4’. If I did the math right?
@@DieselandIron not on a job site I was looking at something online that says it's 0.4" inches , So I was trying to figure out what that would be on a tape measure size-wise so I know if the part will fit
I just take the decimal and multiply by 12 to get inches and divide the inches by 12 to get decimal. No need to shift anything. So 12.7’ means .7 x 12 = 8.4” or 8”. 8/12 = .7 I convert decimals into usable fractions by multiplying by 16. So 8.4” would be 8 6/16 or 3/8. Divide 6 by 16 to convert the fraction back to a decimal.
Or just do it the easy way and ignore the feet and divide the remaining inches by 12.... Example. 4'2" to tenths = 2/12= .17 + 4 = 4.17' (Not using metric is almost like being a 3rd world country except even 3rd world counties use metric....)
Thanks bud. The math itself is not as complicated as I thought unless you throw a curve ball and make it metric . Do most of these gadgets provide an option for metric system ?
You can get story rods in metric units rather than feet and tenths. Metric is the way to go if you're not in the US. Way easier than the complicated system we've created....
You are correct at all of your time stamps. I need to remake these videos when I have time to sit down and dedicate more time to them. That being said while I did screw up my words the concepts are sound.
I'm new to construction working at a paving company on the grading side and they talk about tenths and hundredths and going up and down with grade I get confused haha we use a handheld gps thingy whatever it's called and I do not understand
Go through my Down & Dirty series and search for "elevations." I should have two or three videos that will walk you through that process. The stick you are referring to is a grade rod or a story pole. If you are using GPS then it is called a rover.
64 feet is 64 feet so we will ignore that for now. We want to multiply 7.3 x 1.2 (because a tenth is 1.2 inches and we have 7.3 tenths) which gives us 8.76 which is 8 3\4 inches. Your elevation in feet and inches is 64ft 8 3\4 inches.
@@nelsonanas1140 What you gave me was an elevation that you wanted converted to inches. If you are looking to figure out differences in elevation then you would need to know your hub elevation and your manhole floor elevation. Take the difference between those numbers and you will have your cut depth.
I don't have a video on cut sheets but I do have this gem for you: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kdzcUAgU4f4.html Let me see what I can do on the cut sheets video as the season winds down
Made my life so easy with this technique,carpenter by trade aka framer starting a new career as assistant super,need to know this to be more on point thanks for your time
Hey Diesel & Iron, For the heavy equipment operators out there using the decimal system...fantastic..but for the thousands of guys out there using lasers on their own excavating projects, using inches & feet is just fine. I remember when the government was going to change to the metric system back in the 1960's...never happened. Maybe 3/4 of the world uses meters & litres, so what.. we (USA) uses gals. & Inches, and that's OK with me. No disrespect to you man.
At first this seemed hard but when I tried it all the numbers worked out perfect when I compared them on a standard 12 inch ruler with my tape that is marked in tenths. So the math works in the real world, very useful. Thanks for sharing.
Ok. So how does this all translate to construction such as setting grade and digging your footers using a grade rod. I mean most builders use a grade rod thats in foot and inches. So if you have your grade set and you have to dig out for your footers and they are 2'x2' then it doesnt matter if its in tenths or inches cause feet are feet.
You have to dig a hole that is 2x2 but your benchmark is at an elevation of 100.68 feet and the bottom of footer is 95.72 feet. That's where this comes in. While builders may use feet and inches, pretty much every dirt guys uses tenths because of how much easier it is to do the math. Most of your engineering prints will come with elevations listed in tenths as well so you're going to have a nightmare on your hands using an inch rod on a dirt job.
