Common Underground And Concrete Scanning Misconceptions

If you are getting concrete scanning services to mark out underground utilities, you need to be clear about what to expect. Hiring concrete professionals with unrealistic expectations is not a good idea. Ensuring a safe inspection of ground and concrete is essential. Otherwise, site workers and structures can both face danger. Let us discuss some common ground and substrate scanning misconceptions to know scanning services deeply. 

 

7 ground penetrating radar scanning misconceptions: 

 

Once hired, Contractors will scan everything under the ground:  

 

If you want to locate the electric power, telecommunication or natural gas lines under the ground and hire a company for that, they will do the best in their power to scan the mentioned utilities. If you want them to go off the track and scan unmentioned entities like sanitary sewer and storm drain utilities, underground tunnels and other things, the overall cost of service will increase. 

However, it is essential to communicate well and clearly mention your expectations to the company. Being honest about what utilities to map in the ground will set clear quotes and budget and avoid unnecessary budget extension. 

 

I don’t need to worry about anything after scanning:

 

GPR scanning doesn’t give a clear picture of underground utilities in the form of a photograph. It provides an educated guess about the location of a utility. Although it marks all the relevant items under the soil, if you think you can excavate carelessly after the scanning, you are wrong. Having ground scanned doesn’t assure that every utility is located. You will need to do the digging work with care.

 

I can sit back after hiring the services:

 

If you really think your part is complete after hiring the services, that is not true! You need to make sure the area to be scanned has minimum disturbance. Especially if you have a complex industrial site. Make sure no vehicles are parked on the site of inspection and piles of material are removed.

If you already have some utility maps, make sure to bring them during scanning, no matter whether the maps are accurate. These maps could have clues which could help locate missing utilities.

 

Utility marks are always 100 % accurate:

 

Utility marking technology is not always 100% right. Even if a GPR scanning device is highly accurate, there are certain limitations. The readings of the device can come wrong due to the presence of obstructions and calculation errors. 

 

While starting an excavation or core drilling, make sure to stay 2 feet away from the marking made by scanning experts. Also, note that there can be a possibility of parallel lines and cables, and one marking can indicate multiple pipes or cables.

 

My previous records are right:

 

Past records are not entirely updated and correct. Also, with time, new utilities are added to the ground. To detect unknown utilities, you will need to hire GPR scanning services. While scanning concrete during a renovation project, consider scanning your slabs to be sure about where to cut the concrete for slab extension. 

 

Ground penetrating radar scanning can locate all underground utilities:

 

This is one of the most believed misconceptions, but sadly, it is untrue. GPR cannot scan all the utilities under the ground or inside the concrete. It cannot detect the presence of plastic and fibre optic cables. Different materials can absorb the GPR signals and make it difficult to interpret the data.

Other limitations of the GPR device include low resolution of device clutter and antenna gain effect. Moreover, GPR can be used as an extension of human senses. In most cases, GPR fails due to the following reasons:

 

• Out of the reach penetration depth 
• Difficulty in the subsurface material (e.g., wet soil) 

 

GPR scanning device shows the image of the hidden objects: 

 

Ground penetrating scanning doesn’t mean actual scanning and imaging. When radio waves are sent to the slab and ground, the professional detects the location of an object by noting the time travelled by waves to reach back. A professional doesn’t know what material is beneath the earth. They calculate it using their experience and data. 

 

Qualities of an excellent concrete scanning company: 

If you are looking to hire concrete scanning, coring or testing services, you need to make sure the company you are hiring is insured and licensed. They must have legal certifications from the government. Your industrial or commercial project needs to be completed while following all the rules and regulations.  

 

Takeaway: 

 

When it comes to finding the best concrete scanning company, check out the companies near you on your phone. Go through the websites of each company and check their portfolio. Finalize them only after communicating your budget and expectations with them.

Keep all the above-discussed misconceptions in mind and choose concrete services to make sure you avoid all these mistakes. You can come this far. Let us share a good concrete coring, testing and scanning company with you.

 

Check out Concrete Insight for concrete testing, scanning and coring services now!

 

About Author