Do you own a structure with a concrete slab in San Diego that you would like to renovate or repair? Something you should do early on in the process is call in a concrete scanning service that works in the San Diego area, like the team at Enhanced Scanning.
Concrete scanning services in San Diego can vary quite a bit. There are those that only offer concrete scanning using ground penetrating radar (GPR), or those that specialize in concrete X-ray. And then there are companies like Enhanced Scanning that have access to a wide variety of tools to provide customers with a holistic picture of their concrete slab.
Before we get much further in this blog post, let’s make something clear: in many situations, conducting only a GPR scan of a concrete slab is perfectly sufficient to provide a customer with the information they need for their project. For example, if they just need to know where the rebar is located in a certain area of the concrete slab in order to avoid hitting it when drilling, GPR is the perfect tool and is likely the only one our team would use on the project. Bringing in additional tools and doing further testing wouldn’t be helpful or a good use of resources.
However, when we have a customer who needs information beyond just the location of the structural elements in a concrete slab, like rebar or post-tension cables, it can be very beneficial to have access to additional non-destructive testing (NDT) tools.
Prior to the start of a renovation project, understanding the structural integrity of a concrete slab is vital. You need to be sure that the slab can support its intended load without failure. The Enhanced Scanning team is often brought in by structural engineers to assess the overall condition of concrete slabs in San Diego. When we go to a site for a holistic concrete analysis, we bring our whole “toolbox.” We are able to utilize single channel and arrayed GPR, ultrasonics, eddy current, rebound hammer instruments, and more.
GPR is used to locate the reinforcing elements, as well as any voids within the slab. Ultrasonics are also useful for identifying voids, cracks, and honeycombing. Eddy current can help us calculate the diameter of rebar in concrete, as well as the depth of cover over the rebar. A rebound hammer test can measure the strength of the slab. When you combine the results of all these tests, you get a very complete picture of the makeup of the concrete slab with which you are dealing!
If you need comprehensive concrete scanning services in San Diego, like the ones provided by Enhanced Scanning, contact us to schedule service. We offer fast response times and provide you with the results you need in a timely manner.