Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. of Phoenix, AZ. was contacted by a local residential plumbing contractor to lay out all of the Post Tension cables inside a bathroom prior to remodeling.  The contractor was needing to cut the floor to move some of the plumbing pipes around for the install of a new handicap shower/ bath.  GPRS is able to come into a project like this and mark the exact locations of each PT cable and mark them directly on the floor as shown in the picture below.  We also give the depth for each of the cables so the contractor is able to chip around these without hitting them.  It is always a good idea to get these cables marked out prior to any saw cutting or drilling to avoid damage and added cost to have the cables repaired.

Ground Penetrating Radar is ideal on a busy construction site as well as a place of occupancy. GPR does not require evacuation of the area as does traditional x-ray concrete imaging. GPR emits no radiation and is completely safe to be around. Traditional x-ray is mostly done after hours; GPR can be done during normal business hours. All data findings are marked directly on the surface at the customer’s request for the easiest interpretation of the scanning provided.  With GPR, there is no wait for developing films as with traditional x-ray. Only one side of the slab is needed for scanning so time and resources are much more ideal for tight schedules of projects. Ground Penetrating Radar is the new way to x-ray!

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. specializes in ground penetrating radar service as well as private utility locating. With that in mind, regarding the amount of experience and specialization of concrete imaging and utility locating as well as a nationwide network of technicians, GPRS, Inc. is unrivaled in the industry.  GPRS, Inc. can supply your project with the safest and most accurate ground penetrating radar service in the business. Your safety and job effiency is our main goal at Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Inc. We are the experts in GPR.

GPRS was contacted by an environmental firm to clear several areas prior to drilling for soil sampling. GPRS was able to locate crucial lines including an unmapped sewer line heading directly toward one of the areas they were going to be drilling.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems was contacted by a communications company to clear a directional boring path of all utilities approximately 1,872 feet long.  The contractor had many issues in the past with striking underground utilities with the directional boring and was required to use a company to clear the directional boring path prior to drilling for all future projects.  The contractor was drilling to put in fiber optics throughout the entire apartment complex in Dallas, TX.  This created many issues because of the site’s age.  The apartment complex was so old that many lines have been tampered with, redirected, or abandoned.  This created difficult site conditions for the locators on site and added difficulty to the drilling process by raising the risk of hitting old lines that could have been overlooked since they may be dead or no longer in use.  Ground Penetrating Radar was able to come out within 48 hours and successfully located all critical lines prior to the drilling process.  This gave the contractor a successful project, creating more work for both parties in the near future.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems used a 400 MHz antenna for this application and a Radio Detection (RD) device to detect electrical current deep in the soil.  All findings were marked with SUE marking paint directly on the surface for easy interpretation by the customer.  GPRS’ 400 MHz antenna was ideal because of its accurate, deep penetration and the open clear area the technician had to work.  GPR was ideal for this application due to the active work site in the surrounding areas.  GPR emits no radiation and is safe for others to work in the area near the scan location.

GPRS Inc. of San Diego was contacted by a local general contractor to scan for known and unknown utilities prior to installing new footings for the car ports and boring for a new power run from the panels to the school building. This contractor was installing a new solar car port structure at an elementary school. GPRS was onsite within 24 hours of the general contractor’s request. Upon arrival, the general contractor showed the GPRS technician the approximate location of the bore path, as well as the area where the new solar car port structures were to be erected. At this point, the technician onsite thoroughly investigated the areas shown, and used a combination of ground penetrating radar, which is also known as “x-ray”, as well as traditional locating methods using electromagnetic locating, to locate all existing utilities in their path. All findings were marked directly on the surface with their corresponding depths, and explained to the site contact at the completion of the job. The project took approximately three hours to complete, which kept the costs to a minimum. The photo below shows an example area where multiple electrical and communication lines were crossing the proposed bore path. GPRS was able to accurately identify electrical, communication, gas, water, fire water, sewer, and storm drain lines to mitigate potential costly damages when boring or excavating.

Per normal procedure, DigAlert was contacted at the commencement of the project, but due to the majority of the work being done on a private property, 811 services were not much use to the contractor. As opposed to the normal DigAlert or 811 requests, GPRS will identify and mark private AND public utility locations, as well as give relevant depth information that these public services do not provide. GPRS can operate onsite without the use of existing as-built plans, and can account for the unaccounted for when dealing with subsurface obstacles. With the information provided by GPRS, the team designing the solar structure was able to accurately plan where to place footings for solar structures without fear of discovering a potential obstacle during the construction phase, causing costly shutdown time and additional resources to relocate footing positions for the solar structure. Digging without hiring a third-party utility locating company can be detrimental to project schedules, project budgets, as well as onsite safety for excavators. In addition to scanning areas for utilities, GPRS also has the ability to locate any subsurface obstacle, ranging from old footing foundations, to UST’s, to unmarked graves. GPRS leads the industry with advanced technology, training, and a highly motivated team of technicians that can help with any subsurface imaging needs.