Ground penetrating radar (GPR), which is the main technology used in concrete scanning, has been around a lot longer than most people realize. It has been used since the early parts of the last century by those who study subsurface soil conditions, as well as glaciers. In the latter half of the 20th century, it started to be used by the military for several different purposes, including locating tunnels in demilitarized zones. In addition, it was used by NASA to study the makeup of the moon during the Apollo 17 mission, and by well-funded archaeologists to assist with their digs. It wasn’t until the 1980s that GPR equipment became affordable enough to be used in the average commercial setting.
We wanted to give you this short history of the uses of GPR to reassure you that this isn’t some new-fangled technology that we are still testing out. Rather, it is a tried-and-true method for finding all types of unseen items.
GPR is especially effective in concrete scanning. It allows us to find what is embedded in a concrete slab or in a concrete block wall without disturbing the concrete at all! Our concrete scanning services can find reinforcing elements, such as rebar or post-tensioned cables, as well as pipes and conduit, and it can tell us how deeply those items are embedded. GPR can also detect voids in the concrete and allows us to examine any concerning cracks. If you need a more comprehensive understanding of your concrete slab, we may need to bring in tools in addition to GPR to provide you with all the information you’re looking for, but for most concrete scanning projects, GPR is all we need.
But now, let’s get to the question we posed in the title of this blog post: Are concrete scanning services reliable?
Our answer to this is a resounding “yes,” but with a caveat. The concrete scan must be performed by a trained and skilled technician. The accuracy of GPR results depends heavily on the data interpretation skills of the technician. So, you want to make sure you work with a company that has qualified technicians on their staff. It’s not enough to have the right equipment. In the hands of an inexperienced technician, even the best, most expensive GPR equipment will not provide you with reliable results.
At Enhanced Scanning, we put a lot of time and effort into training our technicians. They go through training on the equipment itself and learn to interpret GPR data in real-world environments. We would never allow someone to complete a concrete scanning job on their own unless we were completely confident in their abilities. Many of our technicians have been with our company for many years, and they are some of the best GPR technicians in the industry!
The results you will get from our company’s concrete scanning services can absolutely be relied upon, allowing you to safely complete whatever project you have planned for your concrete structure.
To schedule concrete scanning services, contact us at Enhanced Scanning. We complete standard concrete scanning projects throughout Southern California and can travel throughout the United States for specialty projects.