Getting height information
 

Although most forumers may be common for getting height data of structures, a thread for this matter would be useful as there may exist some unknown methods.

The most important ways are

1.) Official websites (not available for all objects)
2.) Sites with touristical informations (only for some objects with touristical importance)
3.) Air-traffic obstacle lists (not available for most countries, may not contain all tall objects, but often contain even military objects)
4.) Google Earth (works only for areas in and around big cities, not suitable for objects with thin pinnacles like lattice towers)
5.) Special maps. Tactical Pilotage Maps ( https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/tpc/ ) may be a tool, but they are old and not always correct. Use only recommended when no other way works! An other map tool is the old Soviet military map on https://maps.vlasenko.net/
6.) For objects with publical broadcasting in the USA the FCC-database available on https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/Asr...tionSearch.jsp . It may also work for highrise buildings with broadcasting antennas, but does not work for antenna towers used by governmental offices.
7.) Wikipedia

Which other sources do you know and for what kind of structures, in which countries do they work?

Best source would be info and drawings from the building permits. Those are becoming more widely available on the web. For some building permit archives, you need to be a citizen of the country to access. Others are accessible all over the world.

I find Google Earth 3D view to be reliable. Newer 3D views seems to work better for structures with thin pinnacles, but for many places the data are getting quite old, and I don't trust those as much in general.
The 3D view for Milan, Italy and Tokyo, Japan seems to be brand new, while I think most of the 3D views in Sweden is from 2018. Hong Kong is 2014. Brazil and Switzerland seems to be even older.

I also know fire insurance documentation can have height info. Just keep in mind that such info probably refers to the top floor or maybe main roof height, excluding spires, penthouses and mechanical floors etc.
Height info from traffic obstacle lists etc. probably refers to antenna height.

And of course sites like Phorio/SkyDB or CTBUH. And the now defunct Emporis.

Air-traffic obstacle lists refer to spire or antenna heights, but are there 3D views working also for rural areas where Google Earth does not work?

I calculate height by brick masonry or proportionally by distance between axes, then floor to floor height; chimneys by height of casing, masts and truss towers by height of sections.

How'd you measure with Google Earth with precisiion of decimal meters? or is it simply feet recalculated in meters?

Is there a possibility to determine heights of structures from Google Streetview? If I have the exact location of the structure and the position, where the picture was made, it should be possible. Are there metadata of Google Streetview pictures published?

I do that too sometimes. Doors are most often 2 m tall as standard. So looking at that is a quick way to estimate a floor height. And then just counting the floors.

Most of the time on Google Earth I just measure the estimate in meters, and mark the building height as estimated. It is possible to change to feet to get a more precise height.

https://www.pss-archi.eu is a nice source for French buildings and structures.

https://globalenergyobservatory.org sometimes have data for chimney height of power plants.

In Argentina it is quite easy to calculate the height of a floor in a building under construction. Each course of bricks is equivalent to 0,2 m (brick = 0,18 + cement = 0,02). So if, including the slab, one floor is equivalent to 15 courses, then it has 3 m in total. If it is equivalent to 14 courses (the most common around here), it is 2,80 m in total.


You can make a polygon in Google Earth and see it in Street View. If you have no placement errors, the height will be fairly accurate (but it will still be an estimate, because the margin of error can vary). Then you can check it with calculations.

I did the calculations for this building. I found that each floor is ~2,70 m in total, and the sum was around 52,3 m. In Google Earth I put a 52 m polygon and it matched:

https://i.imgur.com/GBCuUU7.jpg

Does this method also work for areas where Google Earth does not allow a 3D-display?

Yes, it's an alternative to the 3D, but less accurate.

When I define a polygone, it is always on the ground. I cannot set a corner on an elevated place.

However would the polygone method work for

* the radio mast at 45.056353 N 25.262332 E
* the smokestack at 61.302464 N 47.120313 E ?
If yes, with which results?

In order to generate the polygon, make sure you have the box checked and the third option from the drop-down list selected:

https://i.imgur.com/G0KXofD.jpg


radio mast at 45.056353 N 25.262332 E: ~235 m

https://i.imgur.com/U8u6k0m.jpg


smokestack at 61.302464 N 47.120313 E: ~95 m

https://i.imgur.com/OKIlVJ8.jpg

Which version of Google Earth did you use? The online version available on https://www.google.com/intl/de_in/earth/ ?

Drawing a polygone does not work at me. I can create such objects, but I cannot see them.

No, I use Google Earth Pro for Windows. I guess it's the latest version (I can't check it right now, but it's supposed to be updated regularly).

On https://help.aurorasolar.com/hc/en-u...iew-Ruler-Tool an interesting tool for height determination is described. Does someone know how to get it?


P.S.: If you have access to the top of a structure you can also measure its height with
a barometer.

In the German Wikipedia ( https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer-Frage ) the question
of determing a height of a structure with a baromete was highly eloborated, as this is a well-known scientific joke.
If you have no knowledges of German language - make an online translation of the article and laugh!

Seems very interesting. Is it a plugin tool or it's own program?