Is anyone measuring the volume of concrete being poured into new home construction foundations and comparing them to take off plans?

[WickedRedux]

Hello everyone. First post here.

Before I receive answer's for this specific question let me please fill you on with what was asked of me and a brief background history. I work for a 3rd party quality control inspection company as a UAV operator. My usual task are to do final roof inspections, 3D Models, Photo and video Marketing and editing. Occasionally I will use our DroneDeploy business account to do volume-metrics. Our clients typically do not get request calculations. However, two days ago our client (A home builder company) asked us if we could examine the footing depth versus the foundation concrete that's poured to provide accurate measurements. There are a few reasons as to why they want to do this. One being they want to make sure footings are not over dug. Two being they usually accept the concrete pour tickets with no real way to check. and three there is no point in paying for excess material when its not called for in the plans of the foundation. Now that you may have a brief oversight of the situation and understanding here comes the question.

Is anyone in the industry doing these calculations? I would like a better understanding when measuring the volumes (negatively) because I am trying to get the depth from dronedeploy by putting the area fence on the forms. with metal and post tension on my maps I would say I'm getting close but I'm about 5 cubic yards off from exact plans. If I can dial this in or figure out the best time to measure (perhaps its better without post tension cables and metal in maps) we could fulfill the service requested. Below are attached pictures showing one of the sites that I am trying to measure, pre-foundation pour. In laymen's terms, I just need a way to measure how much material will be used to fill this hole.

 

[Andy9]

No replies? I think it's obvious.
Don't know how can you do this with a drone.
Why don't you do that simply on the ground with manual measuring?

 

[Great Pumpkin]

We have done some volume calculations on a much larger scale, and that experience tells me perhaps Drone Deploy may not be able to measure a shallow depth change. We use Pix4D and have not been able to measure a depth change of less than one foot with confidence. We place 4', 6', and 8' posts at the same places each time in the target area , together with ground targets, also located at the same place every time.

 

[WickedRedux]

Well, I'm cross posted in CommercialPilots under construction. Seems like most people only see it as impossible. So far I have been able to calculate about a 5cubic yard variance. "Why don't you do that simply on the ground with manual measuring? " - Andy9. To be honest I have no problem doing that but the home builder specifically asked me to try with the drone. Obviously its faster to fly several sites and measure than it would be to manually check every foundation that's about to be poured. Kinda of a no brainer and I think that's why the construction industry is growing in drone services so rapidly. I can imagine It wont be very long for someone to figure out how to calculate with a at minimum 5% variance. Not to mention If the homebuilders out there don't trust the concrete pours in the foundations (no real way to check currently how much is being poured, builders just receive a pour ticket $$$) then there's a reason to have us keep things in check if we can calculate close enough. Not to mention I wouldn't complain about being hired for years to check hundreds of divisions of foundations across the US and be so busy I would have a crew of pilots to hire and support more limited UAV positions.

 

[TxArch DroneGuy]

Well, I'm cross posted in CommercialPilots under construction. Seems like most people only see it as impossible. So far I have been able to calculate about a 5cubic yard variance. "Why don't you do that simply on the ground with manual measuring? " - Andy9. To be honest I have no problem doing that but the home builder specifically asked me to try with the drone. Obviously its faster to fly several sites and measure than it would be to manually check every foundation that's about to be poured. Kinda of a no brainer and I think that's why the construction industry is growing in drone services so rapidly. I can imagine It wont be very long for someone to figure out how to calculate with a at minimum 5% variance. Not to mention If the homebuilders out there don't trust the concrete pours in the foundations (no real way to check currently how much is being poured, builders just receive a pour ticket $$$) then there's a reason to have us keep things in check if we can calculate close enough. Not to mention I wouldn't complain about being hired for years to check hundreds of divisions of foundations across the US and be so busy I would have a crew of pilots to hire and support more limited UAV positions.

Being an architect, who designs both homes and light commercial projects, i like the concept. Being 5 cu. yds. off does not seem too much

 

[Recoveryone]

The problem your going to get into is that there should be a certain amount of overage, in the field we call it batter. Its not calculated in curbing or foundations but its there. as far as foundations, deeper is better, as an inspector I never cite a correction if the contractor is deeper, but if it is shallow, not in accordance with the plans (which is marked on the laff/Control points) that part will not get signed off.

 

[Samsellars]

This is a total station job you won’t ever get the accuracy

 

[JoronoJorvani]

It's probably impossible to do it with a drone you can't use it for everything. Such things are done on paper and with a use of some math, you should calculate pretty much every square inch of of the foundation. This might help volume in cubic feet. If you somehow find a way to use it with a drone I'll take it back

 

[soundousrelay]

The work is so delicate that it needs experts to do it.

 

[Gawellentus]

If you want good work done on your building, you should find the best contractors working with the best tools and materials for concrete works. The construction of a concrete building is not just a matter of pouring concrete. It is an art, or rather, a science. That's why it is important to work with the best experts in the field, like www.concretecontractorsfortworthtexas.com. It involves using different materials, including cement, water, and sand. These raw materials are mixed in different proportions depending on the needs of the construction. The mixture must be properly proportioned to have certain qualities such as strength, durability, and resistance to wear and tear.

 

[Gagey52]

I wonder if anyone ever resolved this question. I was thinking out loud that if you did a high-quality 3D would that assist in the volume calculations?
Regards

 

[Andy9]

This should be easy but you need to measure the depth of excavation on the ground.
Then you need the exact height of the camera position (the distance from the ground) so you can calculate the length of the edges of the excavation.
But even then we have more exact tools to measure the distances on the ground (e.g. LASER).