Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The Most Popular Subsurface Investigation Techniques

By Donna Moore


There are many times in life when contractors and property owners wished they had x-ray vision to see what was underneath the ground or within a concrete wall or slab. Since x-ray vision only exists in the movies and comic books, contractors and property owners have to rely on ground penetrating radar when it comes to subsurface investigation. The good news is that there are many types of concrete scanners as well as concrete scanning companies that can help with this type of investigation.

The use of metal detectors on the beach to find coins and metallic jewelry is the simplest form of subsurface investigation. However, this strategy is not usually effective at great depths. It is usually effective for depths of up to several inches. Furthermore, it cannot work on concrete surfaces. That is where concrete scanners come in.

Plumbers find concrete scanning devices incredibly useful. They use these devices to pin point the exact locations of water pipes and gas lines. This helps to eliminate the need of demolishing different sections of a wall or floor to find the pipes. Therefore, concrete scanners can save plumbers a lot of work and time. These savings will translate to reduced cost for the client. This means that concrete scanning is incredibly useful in the plumbing industry as well as other industries.

A concrete scanning machine works by sending an EM wave to the ground or to the wall, or surface under investigation. The electromagnetic wave will be reflected back to the device for analysis and comparison. The difference between the reflected waves and original wave is used to map out the locations of different components in the structure. The logic behind this technology is that different items, such as plastics, metals, hollow spaces, concrete and gas lines reflect EM waves in different ways.

Only professionally trained persons can use concrete scanners effectively. That is why it is important you check the qualifications of the technicians working for the company. On top of having the right professional qualifications, the ideal technicians should also have years of experience in the industry.

Ground penetrating radar can be used to identify the location of steel rebar when an HVAC contractor wants to pass electrical cables and refrigerant tubes across a wall to a different room. Building inspectors can also use the device to inspect the structure of a building to determine whether or not it is structurally sound after an earthquake. As you can see, the technology has many applications.

It is always a good idea to do a comparison of the fees charged by the top-rated concrete scanning contractors. This will enable you to find the most affordable service providers. Once you know about the rates, you will be in a position to make informed decisions.

Only licensed and insured concrete scanning companies should be given any consideration. This is because you want to work with qualified professionals that offer guaranteed services. In case of losses due to poor interpretation of the image produced by the scanner, the firm should be able to compensate you for the losses. That is why you need to check that a firm is properly insured before hiring them.




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