How Soil Destroys Buildings

[@HydraulicPressChannel]

I think it's time to build orbeez press to show their full destruction potential :D

[@philiphugoofficial]

Please don't or else Trump will think NK tested another nuke

[@bobsayamundae9976]

Velcome tu ze hydrulic press chenel

[@TheDaniel366Cobra]

Ultimate orbeez hydraulic press w/1000 degrees knife vs fidget spinners.

[@DJAsHeRMusic]

Please do Laurie that would be amazing I really think they could lift/crush a lot

[@snowcoalRC]

press orbeez in hydraulic cylinder

[@QuilloManar]

“The wise man built his house on rock, but some civil engineer had to build a road to that guys house.” I love the deconstruction of the meaning of that quote right there.

[@trevorh6438]

Nah, just dirt roads, all of them. no engineers necessary.

[@InfernosReaper]

until no one can get to the house because of how horrendous the mud is....

[@trevorh6438]

@@InfernosReaper Tamped Earth?

[@nzzenith]

Truth rocks.

[@JackFlashTech]

Trevor H That’s how my great-great-grandfather built the road to his house.

[@Fede_uyz]

Im in medical school.... Never thought of being a civil engineer Never thought of being an engineer no particular interest in civil engineering Yet i've watched most of your videos, that good of a story teller you arr

[@oussamabourbab589]

Im first year medical school I was thniking engineering isn't intersted But now i having that i would change my path

[@blahblahblahblah2837]

Sitting at home Watching a 7 minute demonstration for free Passively learning about expansive soil = entertainment vs Going to campus for several years Spending hours on each topic and lots of money to get the degree Melting your brain, exhausting each concept = trap. Civil engineering. Not even once!

[@ShangZilla]

@@blahblahblahblah2837 College is free in my country. You can study anything you want from medicine to engineering, provided you pass the exams. Sometimes the college PAYS YOU if you study a critical field like nuclear physics.

[@oriontigley5089]

Well, at least your major is English...

[@JustinShaedo]

Graduated from medical school 2 years ago .. but this is my first Practical Engineering video...

[@trulyinfamous]

I truly adore your content. I don't think I'll ever specialize in civil engineering, but that doesn't mean it's not cool. Please never stop making videos, they're just so good.

[@tomsegev7338]

Truth

[@Fridgemusa]

DIABEETUS!!!

[@_hector__]

@David You're wrong, no kind of engineering is better than the other. Besides, civil engineering is the oldest kind of engineering and the ancestor to the ones we have today :)

[@hasnan7]

@David How can you say one engineering is better than other? Without Civil engineering there are no infrastructure for mechanical engineers to apply their machines like cars, airplanes etc. We can live without machines as our ancestors did but we can never live without Civil engineering structures.

[@trevorh6438]

The wise man built his house upon a rock, and made his road with compacted dirt, thus sparing himself the difficulty of painstaking concrete engineering, and expensive maintenance.

[@badlandskid]

Trevor H and sealingeth the joints.

[@bretterry8356]

The capitalist built his road out of the cheapest asphalt he could get away with because government contracts go to the lowest bidder and he knew he'd get repeat business when it broke down in two years.

[@steveo6016]

But the wise man never got any CBR or plate load testing, so the road buckled when plant moved over it to build the house.

[@Jellymiqo]

@@bretterry8356 government intervention goes against everything capitalism is about bad example

[@javejave1870]

But what if soil that isn't compacted swells underneath the compacted soil?🤔 I'm guessing the foundation stays leveled but sinks evenly without damaging the building.what do you think? We have to come up with a solution to this because it's needed.

[@1945d18]

This is why it important to have the soils tested and analyzed for construction projects prior to design. However even a good program of sampling can miss some pockets of expansive soils. This is why a good contractor with good construction oversight by a geo tech engineer can help resolve issues that arise during the construction process itself

[@PozesD]

I'm a civil engineer here in South-Africa and do consulting work for banks regarding insurance claims. Most of the cracks caused in the houses I inspect are as a result of poor workmanship (narrow foundations, improper joint detail). With most insurance claims where there are cracks in the walls I will ask the lab to do a test pit investigation to determine the size of the foundation and properties of the founding soil (Atterberg limits and grading). Various buildings I investigated are built on active soil (shrinks upon drying and heaves upon wetting). This poses a big problem for many house owners as insurance brokers do not cover for damage caused as a result of active soils. It is therefor important to know what you are building on and how to mitigate any future problems. Many property developers skip the process of doing material investigations. It is a cheap and important part of construction work and can save a ton of money and hassle in the future. P.s. Thanks for the video, very well done. :P keep up the good work

[@reizayin]

In South Africa? That sucks...

[@unkelpipit7157]

Charl Ellis any tips for the public searching for a new home?

[@PozesD]

I can only give advise regarding the structural integrity and overall condition of the building, I'm not a property sales agent :P. Shortly: -Look at how well the building is maintained; any leaks in the roof? Fascia boards in good condition? Damage to wall paint as a result of moisture seepage (mostly in brick walls)? -Look for cracks at the corners of doors and windows. If cracks are localised (say for instance only on the Southern side of a structure) it will probably be as a result of differential settlement (clay, collapsible soil, inadequate foundation). Don't be shunned away by hairline cracks. Those are easily fixed. If there are numerous cracks larger than 2 to 3 mm I would be worried. :) Hope this helps. There are obviously a bunch of other things one can look at, but these are the major ones.

[@unkelpipit7157]

Charl Ellis hey thanks alot man. Will definitely look for the signs. You have a nice day

[@wino0000006]

Charl Ellis Do you have any regulations and standards for building foundations in South Africa? What about foundation slabs under the whole buildings instead of foundation walls - does it help? Do you have standards for ground freezing depths while building foundations?

[@gasa1165]

"I got a bag of... Instant viral video" lmao

[@Mabidemonstrations]

It's the truth xD

[@slashsnemesis]

This is one of the best educational channels on KZbin. Your presentation is professional and your explanations are easy to understand. Your visuals and models are very well made. You deserve many more subs. That's what I think :)

[@dolzaolcom]

You forgot to mention the self depreciating humor he throws in.

[@playandsplash1329]

it's just sad to see him wearing a NASA shirt...

[@cadenorris4009]

"don't tell my wife" wait who's holding the camera if not his wife- "just kidding, she knows who she married"

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

Best expansive-soil-based free energy device idea gets a shoutout in the next video...

[@HorzaPanda]

Basic Newcomen type thing. Expansive soil raises a piston when wet, lowers when dry. Want middle of this thing to be on a stable foundation, other end free is to go up and down. I think I'm going to have to draw that out, but still, hopefully fairly clear. Of course, a couple of inches of reciprocal motion for every wet+dry cycle is going to be a very average low power output XD

[@Luredreier]

Perhaps, but the soil in question can sometimes lose parts of its capability to absorbe water as it dries up. So this could potentially end up as essentially non-renewable...

[@dykam]

Wouldn't that essentially be solar-powered? Where the "energy" to expand again next time is put in by drying up the soil.

[@mothman.industries]

Oh, great, the challenge has been posed and now the ideas are starting to form. I already have the week off. I'm going to end up going in too deep.

[@poseidon4675]

Dykam yup, just as the rain that falls on it is brought over there by evaporating water and blowing it over there by wind

[@kevcraft9852]

"Remember kids, 'Ya gotta have dirt under your concrete!'"

[@ppppugh7892]

"Dirt" being the opposite to "clean"! Thank fully the title of this vid has the word "soil" in it.

[@justayoutuber1906]

"Well there's yer problem right there"

[@Crusader1815]

After seeing this, that's the last thing you want under your concrete. How about digging all the way to bedrock before building anything?

[@mureithikivuti]

@@Crusader1815 Expensive AF!!!!

[@yangrichardd]

Next on the wife's shopping list, "Dirt from outside the lawn, expandable dinosaurs, Orbies, and 20lb dumb bell." ... Yup, another day of experimenting.

[@ianlarkin9957]

Y.Rich uu

[@magi163]

I live in wisconsin, and the moment you mentioned soil expanding I went "oh yep, ground heave". We get massive problems with ground heave in winters around here, so a lot of our older roads and driveways are in bad shape and need repaving every couple of years

[@KristianRobertsen]

Same here in Norway. The amount of gravel used under new roads to combat this is staggering.

[@macharmon4852]

I'm studying Mechanical Engineering currently and it's people like you that make me want to continue my studies even though it seems very arduous and time consuming at the moment. Your channel makes me see the potential of engineering. Thanks!

[@boneheadd911]

Thanks for the video! In Colorado we have plenty of expansive soils. In residential construction most soils engineers that I see choose remove a portion of the expansive soils and replace with select fill. Select fill is usually just better dirt but sometimes includes a stabilizing layer of rock or fabric. Grading is always used in conjunction with drain systems around foundations to prevent water from ever touching the expansive or potentially expansive soils. Fun!

[@KHouli]

Nice job. This is one of the best pop-sci videos I've seen on youtube. The material was fresh and the pacing was excellent.

[@entropicgirl8648]

And this is why I was surprised that geology isn’t required for a undergrad in architecture.

[@nubreed13]

It's like how a lot of engineering classes dont require you to source the parts for the item you designed.

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

Wow, seriously 😳

[@adityabayu7646]

already there hired geologist

[@ThisOldTony]

love it! (off to buy some orbeez)

[@davidmyers5224]

This Old Tony - fun to see big fish supporting small fish. Now go finish the cart.

[@adammadison4618]

I am an inspector of civil infrastructure and deal with geotechnical technicians daily (Alabama). I observe soil/stone compaction testing all the time, and this is the first I have heard about expansive soils. Very informative. Thanks for the video!

[@drewwest428]

"she knows who she married". lol

[@MR-nl8xr]

ngentotsemua. Doesn't matter.

[@babyflor5377]

Best part lol

[@grandcarriage1]

Well, Science is sexy, so can you blame her?

[@peregrination3643]

I knew a wildlife biologist who would put field collections of poop in the fridge. He always praised her for putting up with him. (It was a second fridge though and double bagged.) I collect insects and plants, so I also track in nature.

[@hawks9142]

Notice how he never said he told her though 😉

[@MajBlood94]

I work in a district lab for roadway infrastructure and u did a great job explaining what alot of people dont understand and automatically blame the designers and contractors for failing roads and structures.. and some other major tests we do on soils are testing the P.I of the material, moisture density relationships to determine the optimum moisture, dry and wet density. Atterberg tests and many more.

[@coreygrace334]

Great video! Another way to deal with expansive soils is to simply allow for them to expand and account for it in your design. Examples include: (1) being mindful of location/elevation tolerances for a foundation and allowing it to "float" with the expansion and (2) utilizing products like void forms underneath mat concrete foundations. With option (1), factors to consider would be deflection tolerances of whatever's being supported by the foundation (piece of equipment etc.) and how/if it's tied into other items on site. It doesn't work to allow the foundation to float and move only to have a piece of equipment tied to another off the foundation with pipes or have the foundation tied to another with concrete reinforcement. With option (2), the bottom of the concrete pad does not actually get placed on the soil itself. A void is created between the soil and the concrete which allows any future expansion to occur within the void and not push on the concrete itself. Common void form systems include ones made of cardboard (which support wet concrete but deteriorate over time, leaving a void) and plastic interlocking "tables" which look like the plastic tables which protect pizzas in pizza boxes. The plastic table void form system maintain a void from the onset of construction as the bottom of the wet concrete is supported by the top of the plastic voids. With each of these two void form options, its important to consider the behavior of the concrete foundation. Most simply, it will no longer be considered as a soil-supported mat but rather it will act like a suspended slab between grade beams etc. (This typically results in a more critical design of the rebar within the concrete itself to support the loads.)

[@grumpybastard5744]

Option (2) - the waffle pod foundation, invented in Adelaide, South Australia (or so I understand). Certainly we have a lot of very reactive clay under much of the Adelaide Plains. For some structures, such as our recently completed elevated road, you build on really deep piles, going below the clay layers.

[@josephdestaubin7426]

But you don't make videos about dirt in your garage, you make videos in your garage about dirt. Yours is the best channel ever, cheers!

[@CybranM]

your videos are all great, love it when i see one in my subscription feed

[@holguacamol8408]

You're EXPANSIVE range of jokes really CRACKS me up and really takes the PRESSURE off such a intensive topic please kill me

[@PlasmaHH]

Around here, 99% of such fractures in walls are because of insufficient dynamic compaction before pouring the concrete basement plate.

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

That would assume 99% of structures have basements... ;)

[@glitchsmasher]

+Practical Engineering that assumes all fractures are evenly distributed between basement and no-basement structures!

[@TGears314]

Rather B Flyin the most important separation is that we can pass on knowledge without the need for first hand experience. This is why we have cities and no other species does. Other animals communicate, other animals make social structures and things. I'm not trying to give a lecture or anything and I'm sure you can think of other examples, but try to find an example of a species teaching without showing. Clearly we learn from seeing things firsthand, but I don't need to go do every mathematical proof ever in order to know that 5*4 is the same as 4*5. I know that because someone else figured it out and can communicate that knowledge without me having to do the rigorous proof. Same for fluid dynamics or quantum physics.

[@agilemind6241]

But, most of human teaching does include showing. I'm pretty sure my math teacher showed us the proof of 4*5 = 5*4. And there has been an experiment with monkey that had them "teach without showing" - they put a ladder in the monkey enclosure, whenever a monkey climbed the ladder they soaked all of them with cold water. Pretty soon they all learned not to climb the ladder but then when a new monkey was added the others acted aggressively towards that monkey whenever it got close to the ladder thus taught it to never climb the ladder without them ever getting soaked. They gradually replaced all the original monkeys with new ones until none of them had ever been soaked by climbing the ladder but they all continued to never climb the ladder.

[@rlewis1946]

I have this fact written all over my 1968 basement floor! Good to keep in mind, next I build a house. Thank for your comment! RL

[@mikesacco8457]

Simply LOVE this video. Been contracting 30 plus years. And customers always ask about this due to damage I find. I have sent several customers to this video for a better understanding.

[@steezydan8543]

Love the videos. Keep ‘em coming. I remember being in a hotel in Guatemala, on the second floor, that had a fissure from the floor to the ceiling. Good times.

[@KokoroKatsura]

A N I M E N I M E

[@madzen112]

Your channel is extremely good at giving quite dense information in a digestible way. Love the vibes here, getting smarter and enjoying it!

[@sasjadevries]

In stead of building on expansive soil, you can just buy expensive soil.

[@suisegs69420]

sasja de vries. Keep your opinion to yourself

[@marcelo90z]

Iwasaki wooosh

[@fluffyrat4440]

whoosh

[@pianoman47]

Good one!

[@justruinedyourday4864]

Knowing that spending money on dirt is actually a good thing baffles me.

[@er.vijayakumarselvaraj6762]

Excellent... It's not easy to make such videos with high quality precision on its content... Keep up your good work...

[@EnraEnerato]

Autum 2007, in Germany the city of "Staufen" thought it was a good idea to to restore a historical building and go geothermic with it. An austrian company put seven heatprobes(?) in the ground down to a depth to -140m. Problem most buildings are hundresds of years old and most of them have no or just minor levels of foundations, somewhere below the city is a layer of plater/gypsum and with these holes a connection between groundwaterand this layer was made -> catastrophic for the city. The layer contains anhydrite, anhydrite + H2O-> gypsum the volume expands the soil rises and the city literarily breaks appart over this (not just because of people pointing at the responsible parties). 2017 the ground was still rising, estimates point out the possibility of the ground rising about 2m in total, it was found, that the city as well as the boring company hadn't informed themselves about the geological structures beneath otherwise no one would have attemptet this in first place. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpbdeKlqnLWMmqc (unfortunate only in German but the pictures of the devastation are of "good" quality)

[@alveolate]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staufen_im_Breisgau#Geothermal_drilling_controversy it's apparently significant enough o have its own wikipedia section!

[@etheraraf]

I've been there, it really is impressive.

[@Atarian6502]

Here is Tom Scott's video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIDKnZhubdh-qNE

[@MarcusWolschon]

@@alveolate 1 page in the english Wikipedia or 1 line in the German one. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staufen_im_Breisgau#Geologie

[@kvakerbillduck9500]

Looks like that some cuties have self solving solution to seal lvl rising.

[@69A12SuperBee]

Grady, I just love your videos. They are not only informative, but you deliver them in such a concise and thorough approach that the most lay person could grasp! I, much like yourself, live in the great state of Texas(approx 60 miles from SA) and I am all to familiar with the devastating affects of our expansive soil base. It wreaks havoc on my homes! Every season I see the same crack in the mortar joints of my brick veneer expand and contract at least 1/2”! Thank you for your well thought out and well articulated series’.

[@JohnYow1]

6:32 is a geologically accurate representation of what is happening in the soils beneath us. Expansive soil is basically expanding dinosaurs.

[@sarcasmo57]

"General Out-of-plumbness" is my super hero name.

[@roadtoad7704]

Mine is Major Fubar.

[@grego5838]

Apology accepted. In Australia We use AS1289.7.1.1 to test the shrink/swell of the soil

[@DMack6464]

*andy g* ok (I don't know what that means)

[@Huyvovo903]

I remember doing it in college. Fuckin' Mike tried to spike our samples with sand.

[@TGears314]

D Mack the internet is an amazing thing. Gotta love search engines

[@richmeisterradio]

I

[@FIRE_STORMFOX-3692]

Man you make science be as beautiful as it can be

[@DataStorm1]

Hmm, here in the Netherlands, we scoop away the top layer of bout 1 meter, pound large poles into the ground down to "stand" on the layer of sand below the top surface of clay and other stuff, those poles then get their tops removed to expose the ironwork and then a "frame" of concrete is made incorporating all those poles (bout 8-15 per house) filling the gaps with a small layer of sand. On top of that frame the house is build... The depth those poles have to cover can be between 10 meter up to 23 meter. It makes for a very rigid structure that prevents such issues.

[@2adamast]

With good reason, even before gas extraction large parts of the dutch polders have shrunk because they are now dryer than before. Even now the NAP is still a moving target.

[@DataStorm1]

de betonnen frames zoals wij doen? sommige, maar zeer zeker niet in de USA. Daar leggen ze een betonnen plaat neer en noemen het klaar.

[@colincampbell767]

That's also how we deal with it in Texas. Slab on pilings. And during the dry season you water your foundations to prevent soil shrinkage. The real problem is roads. They build roads using over 10 inches of concrete that's reinforced with rebar and they still start to come apart after 10 years.

[@uiomancannot7931]

The problem is the road isn't as heavy as a house, and it's spread over such large areas it's doomed to get fukt. We had a slip on our road and when they finally reconstructed it, it was steeper than before. The road was nearly unusable before and was all cracked. It was a cul de sac so you basically had to use that shitty road to get up the hill to go back down. Dirt is stronger than people give it credit for.

[@Duntrew]

DataStorm momenteel les over grond. Op kaart is te zien dat in nederland idd. Heel veel dezelfde grond te zien is met de bovenste 5-20 meter slechte grond waar moeilijk op te funderen is tov de volgende laag die op 20-500m onder de het maaiveld ligt. In belgie daarintegen, daar is op elke meter een grote kans op andere grondsoort die andere eigenschappen heeft. Niet alleen Vertikaal maar ook horizontaal. Momenteel een project bezig met vloeropp van 5x30m en we hebben horizontaal 6 verschillende grondsoorten. Wat berekeningen wat moeilijk maken

[@florianburger8026]

I have worked with this kind of projects; the company used to make many tests in soil samples to estimate the tension capacity of locals for pavings projects. You have made nice examples. Thx a lot

[@ratherbflyin3301]

(I realize I previously put this under another comment by mistake) Hey Grady! I love your content and soak up all the info in your videos. Really captivating and top notch stuff. Just a word of caution when it comes to cutting cylindrical objects with power tools: use a V-block to hold them. There is a strong propensity for the cylinder to spin when it’s being cut, rotating your fingers towards the indifferent cutting implement. It can happen so quickly that you won’t be able to react. Happened to my old shop teacher on a chop saw for “just a quick cut” and he now keeps his thumb on display in formaldehyde. I mean, what separates us from the dogs but an opposable digit? Gotta grab your clipboard with something.

[@ullisses]

Hello there, I am not an engineer, but I have just found out about your channel and I must say I love it. The way you explain makes it easy for non specialists like me. Congratulations for your work and thank you for sharing your know-how in a fun and clear way. This is why the internet is the best invention ever. Cheers, from Central Brazil.

[@TopFloorEricc]

It’s actually crazy how well buildings withstand movement. They’ve been doing construction on the pipes of my home town for years now. I came home one day and there was a whole small apartment building that moved about a hundred feet back from its original location so they could do construction. They just put a new foundation down and moved the whole building. I thought I was tripping, but apparently they can do that 😂

[@italomillermachado8965]

I work in a soil laboratory, i'm studying expansive soils and how they can cause damage to road pavements. I loved your video. Greetings from Brazil

[@rayakoth]

Phil: "That's a lotta damage!" Grady: "A tremendous amount of damage"

[@improcrastinating8063]

4:23 The timelapse takes 1 picture every 60 seconds, the seconds and hundredths are constant on the watch. Neat stuff.

[@gormster]

Julius Conservicus III I think it’s every 30 seconds, the seconds oscillate between 42 and 12 on every frame.

[@fernosan]

Me, not an engineer, watching very interesting expandable dirt. Someone: what are you watching that is so interesting? Me: well it's complicated...

[@tantamounted]

"What's so interesting?" "I'm watching dirt grow!"

[@zeening]

i know alot of these videos are old but they are incredibly informative and interesting, would love to see more you make great content keep it up!

[@SierraLimaOscar]

This explains a lot of stuff I've experienced - Thanks! Oh, and Go Spurs Go!

[@sefratatouille]

As a geotechnical civil engineer student i am familiar whith the terms used .. but it realy helps that you are using simple language and explain everything so everyone thats interrested can follow .. Thank you for the great video

[@jennrodriguezdaluz]

I had not realized you're from San Antonio! when I started watching this video I was all "jeez sounds like my house." lo and behold 😁

[@aspencooper8495]

I really enjoyed the way you have laid this out in layman's terms. I find your calm and composted demeanor very easy to listen to and learn from. Thank you!

[@briannelson605]

Cool. And most excellent Casio watch!

[@scottyj6226]

great video and as someone who intends to build a house, thank you for the practical knowledge laid out in layman's terms. much appreciated.

[@smadge1]

I love the Casio F91W Watch, I’ve owned several.

[@ethanaylett]

Our city is by a lake therefore rests almost entirely on clay. Every home in our neighborhood suffers from what we have always thought was “settling”. I was thrilled to see this video and to learn more about what is really going on.

[@bdafeesh]

Wow, absolutely amazing work on this video. Clean, concise, and you sprinkled in the right amount of humor. But I'm a person on the internet, thus I have to give it an 11/10.

[@Youth4technology]

Hi bro, I am a non-engineer, and I love the way you simplify it for laymen to get you point in all you videos I have seen so far. Thanks for such simplicity, and practical visual everyday examples, instead of complex math equations.

[@Vladimir_4757]

I want "You gotta have dirt underneath your concrete" on a t-shirt

[@mtadams2009]

My wife is from Texas and she told me as a kid they would need to water around their foundation - slab so the soil would not dry out to much. I never knew what that meant, thanks

[@jacob-jamescompton5152]

San Antonio represent!

[@76argon]

northwest side here reporting in

[@oogalook]

West side here. We need to do a meetup, maybe go to some caves and get a real geology fix. Or maybe an exciting visit to an overpass to look at pre-stressed concrete!

[@griffinhall8]

Grady, your videos outperform every one of your competitors in content and entertainment value. Bravo!

[@mikeh5722]

I see expansive clay soil break foundations in my neck of the woods almost daily

[@TadashiYasahiro]

I tried explaining to some of my clients in South Carolina about this. This video gives great insight so I will save it for another discussion meeting with them so they see how clay soils work

[@GraveUypo]

the solution is simple: flying structures.

[@trevorh6438]

Aha! Someone know's what's up. Simple Airship base is all one needs.

[@entropicgirl8648]

The problem is Hydrogen is out because it can’t pass code; fire hazard and all, and helium being a rare Noble gas with finite reserves would be to expensive and not sustainable😜

[@riccardoorlando2262]

@@entropicgirl8648 Big steel balls pumped to near vacuum is the way.

[@seanconnell622]

Suspended structures

[@danthemango]

why don't we put the structures in space?

[@emilylynn4578]

There's a mall in my general area that was built in 1999 with the knowledge that the soil is quite...swampy. They've had issues with the structure because of this and within the past few years it's become quite apparent with a section of the parking garage being closed for repairs (could be a multitude of other reasons as well). Thank you for creating this as it gives to light some engineering issues that the rest of us take for granted.

[@reamuji6775]

4:05 "i got a bag of instant viral video" *actually get viral*

[@wesleyverity7310]

I watched your vid on traffic lights and it was equivalent to about 1/4 of a semester of transportation, I feel like now I’ll excel in soils. Thank you!

[@photographeratlarge]

Thanks for this great illustration. My house (on clay soil) goes up and down with the weather causing doors and gates to go way out of alignment just like this. We have had 2 weeks of -30 weather here in Saskatchewan and everything has just shifted again. I understand the soil getting wet and dry in the summer, but the ground has been frozen for months. How did my garden fence shift 3 inches when everything has been below -20degC for weeks? Is the moisture able to move out of the soil even in Arctic conditions? Thanks for the great channel

[@victorvonsteuben1728]

I think the ground a few feet below wont be freezing. If the soil is permeable to that deep, the water in those lower levels of soil will continue to drain. Most of the big rivers and streams continue to get water, so Im pretty sure its water from soil. Im not an engineer and dont know this for sure.

[@cliffp.8396]

I think I never get tired of learning this cool stuff you have to teach.

[@Eucal]

That's not a barbell, its a dumbbell @ 5:11

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

Whoops!

[@RayZde]

Medokai who you calling dum?

[@lynnhayes2363]

Mid-way thru 2020. So glad I found a channel that is interesting, informative and REAL.

[@berys76]

This hapens in my city (šilute,Lithuania) all the time . Specaly in old rusdian buldings

[@ricardoleite7933]

Hey man! Just so you know, your channel is watched in Brazil. You're fantastic, thanks for taking ur time to teach and remind us of some concepts.

[@RadioactiveLemonn]

"expansive soil?" More like *RIPPED SOIL*

[@McFlyOrPie]

I love all these diagrams and examples, that you use for all of the subjects you cover. Diagrams and maps and everything you put in these videos, should've just been my schooling. I learn better with these more than anything most my teachers could do. 1 million thumbs up.

[@calebr4191]

"Don't Tell my wife! Just kidding, she knows who she married!" My poor fiance is in the same boat as your wife!

[@rumham7631]

Just want to say thank you for taking the time to make these videos, very interesting topics and it's nice to learn about them from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, and didn't just read a Wikipedia page.

[@Bo-uh9id]

0:59 "where the shaPUHHe and arrangement..."

[@matthewdelgado7515]

I came to the comments searching someone who also noticed it lol 😂

[@whateverrandomnumber]

As an architect, I had a teacher who said the Pisa Tower was located in such a place - with hydrophilic soil, and that "they" carefully control the soil humidity to keep it at the ideal tilting. He said a very specific name for the soil at the time. I remember looking it up online and never found anything. At the time, I dismissed it as a ducktale. But here it is! And it's just about any clay! Duh!

[@xabibilboful]

1:00 shapePOP

[@IqbalJamzuri]

Xabier G. so satisfying

[@games1004]

Xabier G. I very much missed it watching the video. Thanks for pointing out that unexpected bit of humour. ;-)

[@ewerybody]

I was about to make exactly that comment 😁

[@avianivy0775]

This explains SO much. The first house in my neighborhood has shifting driveway and sidewalk panels, and on the sides of the driveway, the dirt is lower down. Also, sometimes a lizard that has scales like a snake lives under there. But it’s not a snake, it has arms.

[@MachtPlays]

3:40 "ooo Brownies!"

[@bobellison7752]

Very informative bite-sized chunks of useful knowledge - love it!

[@Quancheese]

Do you think this, expansive soils, had something to do with today’s building collapse in south Florida?

[@charleneknighton]

That is exactly what I was thinking when I saw this pop up in my feed. Perhaps one day he will do a show on what happened in Florida and is it something that could have been prevented.

[@Joseph93]

There’s an interview with a superintendent of that building from the 90s and he talks about the sump pumps being constantly overwhelmed by salt water in the basement. I’m guessing the rebar just corroded away.

[@martymcfly3153]

I believe there is never one single factor and it almost always combines with human error if not human nature in avoiding fixing things by pretending the problem isnt there until it arises

[@pixequil]

I love what you added to that parable

[@GabrielTobing]

3:42 “Don’t tell my wife, just she know who she married” HAHAHAHAHAH

[@jenniferstinert5498]

In your video about “why foundations are needed”, you briefly talked about water washing away soil. This video takes about the swell factor, but how else can water affect the soil under a foundation. In my situation, we bought an older home like yourself. The neighbourhood that I live in, used to be farm land with areas of muskeg close by as well. Interestingly, when a new school was built 2km away from our house, construction was shutdown because a pocket of methane gas was discovered and had to be safely removed. The soil underneath the driveway settled after 20+ years, causing the driveway’s concrete to sink lower the our home’s garage foundation. Instead of adding more or better soil and replacing the concrete, it was “mudjacked” to raise it back to the same level. Every year after, the driveway would rise a bit over winter and then drop back down over the rest of the year. A fact you stated about the power of freezing water. Those are the joys of living in Canada ☺️ However, recent events out of my control caused flooding, digging and poor drainage in the area next to the driveway. Some of the soil directly underneath the driveway was disturbed because some of it was removed. This occurred right before winter and large amounts of snow accumulated in this same area right next to the driveway. Last year was the first year that our driveway did not heave up over winter; instead it continued to sink more and started to move horizontally away from the house’s foundation. When the snow melted large pools developed because the water wasn’t able to drain properly towards the street’s storm drain system. Now even rain is not draining properly because the grade is poor. So I’m wondering if you have time to explain a few things… #1. Are foundations affected by the improper water drainage and disrupting the soil that supports the concrete underneath? Could the flooding and poor drainage be the cause for the concrete moving? In your opinion, what is the most important thing to do first to rectify this situation. #2. What exactly is Mudjacking, and is it affected by the soil underneath (for example: high clay context), extreme temperature ranges (for example: -30°C to +30°C), large amounts of water and/or droughts? #3. What exactly is“Muskeg”, and are there any specific considerations when building; what issues affect homes that are built in areas that have this type of areas nearby. For anyone who is considering building a new home, are there are any major things to consider. #4. Does previous farm land or areas with muskeg have any affect on drainage, ground swelling or sinking? I know this is a lot to think about. There really isn’t a lot of available engineering information for Canadians living in this type of landscape. Your one video talked about the worker in BC that got sucked into the ground. Would a type of soil like muskeg be a contributing factor in this types of event? Thanks again for the videos, I’m learning a lot of great info. I’ve even repainted the inside/outside of my pool frame to prevent more rust from developing.

[@jasckon7994]

Bruh you live in San Antonio? Me too!

[@JonAnderhub]

Thanks for doing these videos in an easy to understand and quick way.

[@behrensf84]

when buying a house, ask if the foundation is made of post tensioned concrete. smart buyers know that is a huge value adder...

[@lensofeli1762]

these videos have been a life savior on this 8 1/2 hour road trip

[@forestreese1704]

could you use orbeez to convert rain into energy?

[@superalvin7208]

No, but you could use rain to convert energy to orbeez

[@comethawk2663]

The real trick would be using energy to convert orbeez to rain.

[@OfficialYouTube3]

No, but but you can use energy to convert rain into orbeez

[@geovannymartinez7760]

I’m a civil engineer, and it is very interesting the way you present the information. It keep me interested on it, thanks for taking time to do this videos, some kid will know that things have a reason to exist maybe we will have another engineer coming UP.

[@egghole3]

Your recent video on the condo collapse has lit a fire of interest within me. I started going around my home with a flashlight, camera, and a level to document all of the cracks and signs of deformation that I've been aware of for a while; but never had a cause to attribute to. It's been a curiosity to me why the living room floor's south edge curves downward dramatically, why the front door (also on the south face) is hard to open because the top of the door and frame are squishing together. Why there are long cracks in the west face foundation that extend from the floor to the ceiling (of the basement). I don't have the sophisticated equipment or knowledge, yet, to be certain, but now I've begun researching differential settlement, and funny enough, it led me back to you! Unfortunately, Tacoma rests in that uncertain yellow zone on the soil map you used in this video, so I've got to dig deeper; so to speak. This rabbit hole has me questioning whether i ought to move from mechanical engineering and register for the civil engineering program. A tough choice indeed. Thank you for all of your detailed and informative videos! You've certainly had an impact on my life!

[@bradbrown8759]

Steam, water hammers, and orbies... I've found another favorite channel. So sharp and well done.

[@Kinsanth_]

This was top notch informative on a simple and very practical shown level. Impressive examples

[@Smith-re6jq]

I work in concrete construction on the front range of Colorado and you would be surprised by how many foundations are built on void or on a full under slab drain system. Lots of sump pumps as well in basements. Good vid brother.

[@RotundRager]

That was a pretty cool video to explain a simple but not necessarily easy to convey concept most people would never directly see.

[@francescakho7750]

I learnt about soil creeping...i believe this is it, the best representation/video i have seen so far. Thanks a lot!!