HEAVY CONSTRUCTION of a Sewage Pump Station - Ep 1
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- Опубліковано 9 тра 2024
- I'm on location to document the construction of a new wastewater lift station!
🚧Watch the next episode on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/practicalcon...
🌌Not subscribed? Get 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/practical-enginee...
This is the first episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's Made"-esque heavy construction videos, so let me know what you think! Got an idea for an episode? Share it here: practical.engineering/location
Huge thanks to our project partners!
Owner: San Antonio River Authority (@SanAntonioRiver)
Engineer: Utility Engineering Group
General Contractor: MGC Contractors (@mgccontractors3304)
Practical Construction is a UA-cam channel dedicated to the built environment. The show builds on the success of @PracticalEngineeringChannel , one of the largest engineering channels on UA-cam, with more than 3 million subscribers and monthly viewership in the millions. Hosted and produced by civil engineer Grady Hillhouse, Practical Construction videos provide thoughtful and engaging explanations of how the world is built (and maintained) around us.
Credits:
Created by Grady Hillhouse
Edited by Wesley Crump
Camera Operator Josh Lorenz
Script Editing by Ralph Crewe
Graphics by Max Moser
Music by Donovan Bullen
Color Correction and Blurring by the Nebula Studios team
Some music from Epidemic Sound: epidemicsound.com/creator
🚧Thanks so much for letting me try something totally new and different on the channel! What did you think?
🏗The next episode will be out in two weeks, or watch it now on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/practicalconstruction-heavy-construction-of-a-sewage-pump-station-ep-2
Hope you'll be able to do more of these in the future.
As yourself, I grew up watching "How it's made" and other similar shows.
I've read books in the same vein.
I'd love to be able to show the same kind of quality content to my children when they're old enough.
im 10 seconds in. this is rad, love the branching out.
This is awesome. I've always been interested in the design of lift stations and how they're built (many seemingly in the middle of nowhere). Great video, keep it up!
This is some of the best, most in depth, engaging construction content on the platform. I really hope that this series becomes synonymous with the rest of your channel’s high quality productions!
One my father built in the 1970's is still in use, and is the final destination for sewage, before it takes the long trip to the outfall pipe deep in the ocean. He was quite proud that, in the design he had accepted by the metro, that the entire interior of the building was covered with glazed ceramic tiles, from the floors, to the roof, so that cleaning was easy, and no need to paint.
He pointed out that, with no paint needed, and otherwise needing to paint every 5 years, just the first repaint was cheaper, at prevailing price, in having the tile there, as it would just require pressure washing, and perhaps some minor repairs, and the tiles were a standard product, with a specification that was already approved.
goo.gl/maps/Lro3a5U989evhp7LA
Near me, but due to layouts, and that pesky river thing in the way, my sewage flows down into the city, where it lands up at the other outfall pump station, and from there goes out 4km to sea instead. Yes the biggest issues are non flushable wipes, sanitary pads, plastic bags, and other assorted waste that runs into the sewer system, plus of course all the illegal connections of storm water to the sewers as well, so when storms come they have to run at full capacity, and hope the pumps do not fail, or the peak load to be exceeded by much, but the lowest lying levels will get a lovely lake of not quite fresh water. Plus of course hope they do not lose power due to rotational load shedding, as they have no working backup power at all. But at least have a direct feed from the HV transformer yard over the bridge.
This felt like a kids show written with an adult level of detail. Love it!
This might be my favorite description of this series.
I agree. I think it might be the background music playing a big part of that, and Grady sounded a little more enthusiastic than usual? Like how people talk to kids? It's definitely a noticeably different vibe. Edit: the pacing is slower as well
My 5 yo son and I both watch
The pacing helps to, descriptive voice over, followed by a brief moment to absorb the information while watching large machines in motion
We are all like a bunch of kids that want to play in the dirt. I got to do this for a while for work.
Great new series. Hope this turns into a big success and more projects in future.
Thanks!
imagine a 200-episode day-to-day update on a megaproject, or a major infrastructure construction, like an airport or a dam or something...
agreed, hope it comes to fruition.
@@alveolateI'd love that! Or an NFL stadium
A day to day format would take a much bigger crew, including full time people. But its a great idea.@@alveolate
This content is a perfect companion to your lessons. It feels like this is the lab course to your lecture course. We get to see everything you teach in action!
Perfect description!
The production quality of these videos really makes you appreciate the amount of effort and time put in these videos. This kind of quality easily surpasses the old videos I used to watch on the Discovery channel for instance!
... and the amount of effort and time put in by the construction crews, too.
Agreed! This is top-tier content. I work in construction and this channel is always teaching me brand-new stuff. The management and planning required to build these infrastructure projects just blows my mind.
As a Civil Engineer and project manager in construction, I can watch this all day
Probably you watch it anyway
As neither of those, same here! Love this stuff... been watching Andrew Camarata and Essential Craftsman for years, so this is going to be a treat.
As a psychology student whose hobbies are bushcraft and gaming, I can also watch this all day
I’m not engineer and can watch all day too.
And then you can call it work!
As a contractor that does this kind of work it is cool to see it shown to the masses. We also work in this area and for this owner, and you picked a great contractor to follow. Job well done!
This truly is next level production. Perfect narration, audio clarity, diagrams, art, b roll, drone shots, time lapse, composition, sound production, and detailed scientific explanation for the layman. This channel is $$$$.
Grady, thank you!
This is so well put together, highly informative and so interesting.
Just the right level of detail, not so much that you get bogged down or overwhelmed.
The scripting is on point and the visuals all relevant.
Content of this quality is really hard to find on YT.
Excellent work! A+
I'm loving this. It's one thing to see stuff like strucutal fountations be explained in a 10 minute video, and a whole nother experience to follow a project along its entire process in SUCH detail. I'm aware how much effort it is to show every small step, and IMO that's what makes this really stand out! Big thanks to you and your team for the great work in documenting this.
it's amazing that you've come so far that places like the san antonio river authority now see you as a legitimate way to educate the public on things like this, I love it.
As a San Antonio native in construction, I love seeing these videos. I’ve seen that exact same 300 ton Howell crane on one of my projects too! Keep up the good work
I’m currently working on the design and construction of a sanitary lift station in my city, and you have no idea how thrilled I was to see this appear on my feed!
As a Pump Engineer in the UK I am excited to see how you guys over the pond get it done!
I wish we had UK version of this!!
As a civil engineer and having designed storm sewers for years, I always enjoy seeing the actual process to build out the final design! Thank you!
My best and most informative day in Civil Engineering was the day I got to spend on the construction site watching the crew get close, then throw a shovel down and say yeah the Catch Basin is going here.
Always puts the down to the hundredth plans in perspective.
Rewatching the entire series since *Grady said they’re getting less views than his usual content* . Please let these series continue!
Same, rewatching it again for like the third time. Like you said, I really hope he does more like this, even if it only goes on Nebula. I love stuff like this.
I was once a laborer on a crew that put up a cable stayed bridge over a large river. It was a job, and it was a couple years of hard work, but it was also fascinating to see all the details coming together. Your new feature is sure to be a hit. This stuff is some of the greatest content out there. I can't wait for more.
Fantastic work!
I was excited when you described it at thinkercon, and I think you hit the theme perfectly! it 100% feels like old Discovery =D I'm glad you guys were able to pull the series together - it does NOT sound easy to film and compile a series like this! Now that I've seen an episode I need to watch the rest.. here's hoping you get an awesome reception and get to make a lot of these, because I want to watch a lot of these!
Oh man this is *quality* stuff. You're nailing it. All the stuff that made the big networks big back in the day, it's right here but it's better. No drama, no fake shine. Just the meat of a good project. It's like the construction/engineering version of why I watch Nature, NOVA, Planet Earth, etc. Yes please.
No rushing gold, no survival in carefully controlled "wild" settings, and no aliens of any vintage!
As a Temporary Works Engineer this is brilliant to see - please do keep making these!! 🙏
Construction has never been this fun to get to learn about. pls make this a series!
This was SO FUN. It's fascinating to realize how much goes into what some folks would only see as a big mess and a big inconvenience. This was like real-life Bob the Builder, and I mean that in the very best way! (And as a total side note: I think the crew was just as glad you were over there quietly having lunch and staying out from underfoot!)
And it's even MORE interesting for me because soon - there will be some water-and-sewer work going on right in front of my house!!! Our whole neighborhood just got the official word from the city, they're finally able to update the water mains and all the other lines. It'll involve digging up the entire street, in sections of course, and they're projecting it to be a one year to 18 month project. Everyone's pretty excited about it (some in a good way and some not so much haha). I for one am REALLY looking forward to not having terrible colors show up in the water anymore >.>
(as far as I know the mains here were laid down fifty years ago, and the soil here is VERY damp, clay/sand mix, because southeast US; so you can maybe imagine the kind of damage those pipes have endured over the decades. add in a kerfuffle involving the tax money for the city and.... we're just glad to finally get some updates!)
I am now emotionally invested in this lift station and it's imperative to my wellbeing that this project succeeds. Thanks Mr. Grady P. Engineering
Lol. Yeah
I don't comment much, but this blew me away enough to warrant it! I love how you show every step of the process and talk about how the construction actually needs to be done -- you don't skip over the "boring" parts, and even manage to make them interesting. Looking forward to the next episode!
Honestly as someone with no professional or even academic experience in engineering, this was fascinating. I wish we could have such a follow along for all of a city's projects and see a large scale time lapse of development to really appreciate the work that goes into our modern world.
This will be a good series. I'm a retired engineer. I spent most of my career in the water/wastewater industry and worked on many lift station projects. It's interesting to note the differences in construction you use in the south, compared to up here in the northern US - for instance a lot of your process piping and valves are above grade in open air, where we have to worry about freezing temperatures.
I understand that Texas doesn't worry about freezing temperatures and is surprised every time they occur. I'm not sure this is the wisest approach.
Perhaps they decided to put them in the open so they are easier to get to for repair when they freeze 😉
Based on how they were impacted by recent winters maybe they should look into more northern standards.
My dad is a soils engineer, and Ive been around heavy civil my entire life, Im all for episodes like this
Dude please do more like this! I love your normal videos, but a series like this with your narration is next level!
Grady = Civil engineering + you're favorite high-school teacher. I love this guy and all of his content.
Funnily enough, I am currently in the construction phase of a 10 MGD submersible station. (My first plan set I personally stamped.) We are just finishing up submittals!
Edit: I also loved that you purposely showed the pump truck's prime not going into the pour location. Sometimes we have to provide a friendly reminder to the contractor that the pump truck's prime is not considered concrete. haha
It is good for less critical things though, like filling in holes in the ground, or to make a walkway that will be demolished after project completion. Here by me they consider that concrete, even if it is more water than cement. Just make a note not to buy in those buildings....
whats MGD? Mega Gauss Donkeys?
@kubeek Mega gallons per day at a guess, here in SI units that would be MLD, mega litres per day, or hectolitres per minute
@@kubeek Million Gallons Per Day. In general when I am working on anything with a flow rate we either use gpm (gallons per minute) or MGD.
@@SeanBZAMega is the right numerical value, but this is in freedom units, so it's "million". 😁
Like you said, this is the type of content that has been seriously lacking since the demise of the cable channels. Thank you.
Grady, this is awesome!! Please, more Practical Construction! I've already watched the second episode on Nebula and I can't get enough of this. Judging by this comment section, I think I can speak for most of us when I say that I am very much looking forward to this series!
Side note, I work in Water Distribution. I muddy my boots repairing, building and maintaining potable and reclaimed water systems. Although I do this type of work every day, I can spend endless hours watching these videos.
I have really been missing shows like that on TV, and your regular content really helps to scratch that itch for me. This latest idea is fantastic, and I think you’ve really nailed exactly what you were going for. The production quality is incredible. The editing, sound, camera angles, and everything else looks like something straight off of Discovery, History, or Nat Geo.
I truly hope you keep making more of this and everything else, because you clearly enjoy it, and so do I.
Yea, sadly all those channels go now more for "reality" shows... driving away all their old viewers.
That bit of this video got me lol... NAILED IT!
We miss our old TV days... Heck, I even miss those great videoclips on MTV. I had MTV on everyday, playing on our Home Stereo. Yup, those were the days.
I remember the severe drop in quality occurred around the year 2000, alot of things past that turned into entertainment for idiots. If you analyzed the amount of "information" given in a typical documentary, it amounts to a middle-school paper assignment with lots of images to look at... stretched over 45 minutes. With Ads.
@@JOSEPH-vs2gc This is actually a really interesting question, the net information delivered per time spent, over time. Would take some doing.
I think this will be a beneofical series. There is often a disconnect between the guys in the office and the ones in the field. As one of the office guys, this helps 😄
This brings me back to my childhood. My grandmother worked at a hospital that was getting a new wing built. I was interested in construction at the time, and my grandmother managed to talk the construction company into giving me a tour.
For a seven year old getting to wear a hardhat and safety vest while walking around huge machines was just so cool.
This is that childish joy of watching heavy equipment operators that you can only get from either being there or those old "mighty machines" VHS tapes.
I am totally fascinated by your content; as someone who has never worked in either engineering or construction, I am nonetheless very curious to see how our world's structures are designed and built. As someone else mentioned, I could watch this all day! Thank you for continuing to provide excellent, informative and fabulous material!
As a former wastewater engineer, this is making me oddly nostalgic. I'm totally here for the new series.
As third year water resources engineering student in Estonia, it was fun to watch. I think this autumn we need to make similar project for our studies.
The best engineers I've worked with in the industry made sure to develop relationships with the operation and maintenance staff that operate the facilities. Get to know what they like and what they have difficulty with, and adjust designs accordingly. The more they get involved at the design phase of a project, the better project commissioning will go.
Hit the nail on the head with your reference of How It's Made. This new series of yours is like How It's Made for construction projects. I love it. All the facts, presented with explanations, and no fluff like on Discovery channel's construction shows. Hope to see more.
If this first episode is any indication, this will be a great series. You do a great job of explaining things so that anyone can understand. I hope that you are able to partner with others in the future to show a wide range of construction projects. This channel just keeps getting better and better.
ok, its so cool that they allowed you to be there during the construction, and even put cameras on the equipment. that is a really nice touch that i din not expect. i already love this new series
Nice! I loved this! Something that would be cool is if you could periodically indicate the day of the project to give a sense of time taken.
I just came here to suggest the same thing
This series should get an award!
I wouldn't have expected to enjoy watching construction so much. Your level of detail and production quality make it super enjoyable!
I love this. I've never thought before about how deep digs are shored up during construction, but of course they're regulated for safety and have special tools and temporary constructions for just that purpose! Incredible!
Now we're getting into my line of work, I'm excited to see this project progress, I wish more places would let you watch and film the project so more people understand how construction projects actually work
Watching this took me back to the days walking home from school, passing a construction site, I would watch for hours. My Mom when she got home would worry why I was not. The difference here is that with the narration I now know what they are doing and why. Thanks, love your channel.
Felt warm and familiar. Much love. This video just eased my hectic day and was very satisfying. I know this content takes effort and it is not taken for granted. Thanks to all involved. Great team, awesome job yall
The Ep 1 is making me quite excited...!!
Amazing work..!!
I love this! It's like Richard Scarry come to life. 'Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. And drone coverage and time lapse really make that come-to-life vibe so much more easy to see and follow.
Thanks Grady!!! I'm the Safety Officer for the City of Chesapeake here in Virginia. This video has 100% application to our Public Utilities Dept. Thank you!!
"...I just decided to make it myself!" And we couldn't be happier! Thank you for doing this job.
I love this series already. As a native Texan and San Antonian, I am always amazed by the construction process whether its commercial, residential or anything in between like the 1604/151 Contruction to expand those highways always has me wondering about the various stages in progress.
It's really nice actually getting to follow along with a construction project, and actually see some of the principles and concepts you've discussed in your usual videos in action.
I grew up loving shows like dirty jobs, modern marvels, how it's made, and this old house. This video just takes me back in a way I didn't think I'd ever get to see again. Love it!
A "How it's made" but about construction? Sign me up! I was always fascinated by those incredible videos of Marti's Group, but they are all about digging. Would be so nice to see how all the stuff that makes the modern world possible gets made, even if it's just the US version.
I work in the tech industry and know nothing about construction, but I'm always fascinated and love to watch stuff being constructed with all the various types of equipment used. I like all of your videos they educate me on things I would pay no mind to, but this type of video is a step above. Can't wait to see more! Thank you Grady!
I was able to settle a debate over a local construction with this video. Its signage says it's part of water treatment, however there is no water nearby, and they are not building any retention ponds. I now am pretty sure it is a sewage pump station as our area is experiencing very rapid growth.
Love this Grady! "Practical Construction" is what I have done most of my life. I've been a civil surveyor for around 16 years now. Before that, I worked most every other trade in this video. I love my job and all the related trades. Thanks for sharing the fascinating complexity of this job, along with the dirt, mud, rain, and diesel fumes. 😎
Interesting. I designed a few sewage pump stations, and quite a number of additional emergency storage tanks for older existing stations (as environmental restrictions on overflows during power cuts became more demanding). Since the sites were usually fairly restricted, all the excavations were sheet-piled.
Groundwater levels were significant - one of the main considerations was ensuring the station or tank stayed down and didn't try to 'float' up out of the ground.
I don't think we ever had the luxury of firm uniform clay like that in the video.
We used precast on smaller pump stations, but the chief advantages of precast are precise geometric dimensions, accurate steel positioning, and the lightest weight for a given load-carrying capacity - important where the overall weight of a building is concerned; but when your main concern is making sure it doesn't float, in-situ concrete with plenty of cover to the steel has its advantages.
Kudos for getting that level of access. This looks to be a great series!
The sliding panel & rail system for the excavation is so cool to me. It's cool mechanically and is for worker safety.
You know you're an S-tier nerd when you call making a video on sewer transfer systems and related infrastructure a vacation. Right there with you, brother. 🤓🤙
I know these aren't your usual fare, but I find them incredibly informative and your delivery makes it entertaining. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series; thanks for making them!
Absolutely baller series idea. Hope this gets the traction it needs to make more.
What you said about shows like How It's Made and Modern Marvels is so true. I love videos like this and I'm glad that the people creating similar content do what they do, it's just a shame that there aren't as many big budget productions about these things anymore.
History and discovery used to have shows like this. Thank you Practical Engineering for providing your shows.
Genuinely awesome to see UA-cam channels remind me of old informational TV in the 2000s-early 2010s that's have been completely left behind. And the quality is amazing
This is *so* fantastic! My 12y/o nephew loves all things construction & I just sent this along to my brother. You’re doing great work here, thanks so much ❤
This is such an awesome series! As a kid, shows like Mighty Machines were some of my favourites! And I've just started working for a stormwater utility, so hearing about the construction of water infrastructure is so cool! I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
I am beyond excited to be seeing this type of contact being made again, just like you, I miss when construction shows were about construction and not drama. Love it Grady!!!! Thank you.
I hope practical construction will become a series. How something is built can be as interesting as what it does.
You’re knocking it out of the park with the ideas for your videos. Love this one and looking forward to more of these episodes
This is pretty cool! I work in Controls, and I've done a few lift stations in my own backyard but it's quite neat to see the machinery I've written the control ladder for actually get installed
This man's entire name is construction oriented. Perfect fit
This is incredible content. It's something everyone takes for granted but it's massively important! Thank you for making this!
I love it! I understand these types of series take a long time and a lot of work. I hope you continue to have projects like this going in the background.
Grady, it would be great if you could do a video on the school closures in Britain due to failures of aerated concrete (they call it RAAC). Thanks for your wonderful videos! I was a physics major many years ago (then went to med school) and it’s so fascinating to learn about the crucial systems and structures we tend to take for granted.
I think the sewage system is one of the underrated things in urban life. Thanks for the insights!
Loved this. Nicely done.
high quality work. editing and stitching all of the shots together, with expertly inserted sounds and music, in a cohesive and simple way to explain how these things go together is no small feat. i like yourself love those shows growing up and this is top notch. LOVE IT!
Wow man, that was nice. Great work with the segway! Keep it up, and best of luck over there
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ideas and videos. Always interesting and entertaining to see projects like this proceed step by step. As a power system operator for a large power utility I had the privilege of being at the end of a long string of emails displaying the steps involved in repairing a faulted section of 345kv buried cable in a small neighborhood. Was truly amazing all the steps that went through the process of isolating and repairing the cable buried in the middle of a two lane street without blocking the people from being able to come and go from their homes. The structures that were left behind simply represented by 3 manhole covers were truly amazing. in short they built 2 rooms for freezing the cable to cut off the circulation oil and in the middle they built a clean room for technicians to completely unwrap, rebuild and rewrap the cable in place. All of which is still in place to this day. If you ever get the chance to film such a process you will have a video worthy of its own show. 😂 Wishing you and your family the best.
I made a video about that project ;) ua-cam.com/video/z-wQnWUhX5Y/v-deo.html
Absolutely loved this. I’ve always loved your enthusiasm for the seemingly mundane that we take for granted in everyday life. And now to watch them be built with each step explained is awesome! I hope there’s many more projects in this series!
What we have all been wishing the discovery channel still was. You are the combination of kids/adult learning that we wish we had. You the man, Grady...you the man.....
Notification Squad!🔥🔥🔥
I love that a lot of times on job sites with heavy equipment like excavators, the bigger structural pieces are usually made with the thought of being hit by said equipment in mind. Like, the fact that someone will look at a excavator and think "That can pile drive this steel beam in the ground easier and faster than they could get some special other machine out here" and just do it, and it works is testament to mankind's desire to hit things with bigger things.
Love it. Yes, more please!
G'day from Australia
beat me to it, gday from perth
@@sickgr33kme too!
gday mate
🌞🌏🪃🐨🦘🇦🇺 G'day! 😎✌️
"i wanted a modern 'how it's made' but TV doesn't make good stuff anymore so I'm going to make it myself" sounds wonderful.
This is the sort of youtube I want to watch with my kids when/if I ever have any. Please keep it up. These videos will age well.
The little robotic compactor was my favorite! I also have no background in engineering but loved How It's Made. I usually watch your videos but left this one thinking it wouldn't be the same. But WOW! You brought the same style to this and I was glued the entire time! Somehow you know a lay person's questions/interests and present the information just the right way. Now I can't believe I'm so excited to watch videos about installing a sewage pump! I'm so glad you went through all the effort to share this with us. It can't be easy to get this group together. Whatever your instincts are keep going with them. You are the David Attenborough of engineering!
love this new series! more!
Never thought I would get cliffhangered by a construction series. Bravo!
Love this! Can't wait for more!
Alright, I like the new Practical Construction series. It's amazing just how much work needs to be done before you can start work.
This is absolutely incredible. Being able to see this commentated by an expert in such detail and quality is easily one of the best documentaries of all time. I hope it gets noticed and honored by the usual award organizations.
I design these for a living. So good to see the unseen and forgotten parts of infrastructure getting some love. Civil engineering is much more that roads and bridges.
This is a great series, props for going above and beyond and actually getting involved in the industry. It really makes for some great content.
Thank you, this is a great video!