Here's What GPR Surveyors Can Offer You

For the past years, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology has been used to scan concrete to find numerous things. This is a non-destructive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables or masonry. To avoid accidentally hitting an object, most people who need anchoring saw cutting or core drilling concrete would engage GPR surveyors before cutting. This makes these professionals important in making sure that the job site is safe and efficient.

To help you decide whether you should hire one too, here are the reasons why you should do so:

Locate reinforcing bars underground

GPR concrete scanning might be the most commonly utilised method for rebar (reinforcing bar) location. It is essential to locate reinforcement and other features in concrete before cutting or drilling. In most cases, the  GPR Survey professionals only scan the area where the intrusive works will be carried out, marking up detected rebar and other features in-situ. In this type of scenario, it is not necessary to determine the full distribution of the reinforcement.

Find tendon location

Whether you need to locate tendons to assess their condition, verify their presence, or accurately locate them before cutting or drilling concrete, GPR surveying experts’ GPR is probably the most reliable concrete scanning method for detecting tendons. Tendons can be deep and are usually behind a layer of reinforcement, which can be dense, particularly near anchors. Consequently, the majority of other strategies can’t find them.

Detect sinkholes and voids

Often dissolution features, such as sinkholes and voids, develop due to water movement through subsurface drainage systems within soluble rocks, like dolomite and limestone. These voids create impediments to a stable construction foundation – particularly in near-surface situations. Moreover, operating heavy equipment when uncharted gaps exist beneath the surface can be extremely dangerous. In industrial landscapes, professionals find out that faulty construction, pipeline leaks, or rogue chemical dispersions are generally culprits in an accelerated rate of soil erosion and void features. More often than not, these problems are identified within the first ten feet of the ground. Therefore, many people call a  GPR Surveying expert to help detect void development. Detecting sinkholes and voids requires a thorough investigation and mapping to aid in construction development. Depending on your absolute survey depth and budget, you can find professionals who can offer multiple instrumentations that can accurately detect and subsurface structures and voids. Professionals may also use advanced GPR post-processing and imaging software to form a 3D picture of what they have detected underground. They will see how the voids, subsidence, and sinkholes look like by providing a CAD drawing. With this technology, you can detect both deep and shallow sinkholes, manufactured voids, and more.

Locate previous UST

GPR survey services is the best solution to check where the underground storage tanks (USTs) are and their excavation areas. With tools commonly used in underground utility locating, including cable and pipe locators together with GPR, ​GPR Survey professionals can often find the associated vent pipes. These can lead you to where the USTs are or used to be.

For soil and water samplings in environmental investigations, drilling locations are usually chosen strategically with GPR, as unlimited locations are not an option. One best location is where former underground storage tanks were but have now been removed. Drilling locations are preferably chosen in and around excavation areas of former USTs to determine possible contamination levels. A few feet of difference may mean missing or catching contamination. Using GPR helps people know the exact excavation locations if they lack or have inaccurate records.

Every site is unique, and the previous experiences of the surveyor could play a critical role in locating past UST excavation areas. Whether it’s for locating past UST excavation areas, UST themselves, or other underground targets, one should look for ​GPR surveyors who are experts in geophysical surveys to assist you in environmental investigations.

These are just some of the many reasons why you should consider hiring GPR surveyors before any construction projects, mapping, locating bodies, and so forth. Given that this method needs proper equipment and knowledge to be done perfectly, the last thing you surely want is to do it yourself and risk your safety and project along the way. That said, make sure to give hiring a professional some careful thought. And when you decide to get one, see to it that you hire the best expert to guarantee quality work.