Are you carrying out maintenance or redevelopment work on a former industrial complex? Maybe you have been asked to modernise a sprawling retail development? While building something on a greenfield site is not without challenges, working somewhere that has seen prior use can be even more complex. One of the trickiest aspects of redevelopment can be working around the parts of the former development that are left in situ. Walls and visible constructions can sometimes be inconveniently placed, but they can be seen. If the infrastructure you want to preserve is below the ground, the situation can be more difficult, especially if you don't know the precise location of the infrastructure. The best way to identify the location of hidden infrastructure is by using GPR concrete scanning.
What might be under the surface?
Any previous development is likely to have been supplied with water, electricity, and maybe gas. Rupturing any of these supply lines could create problems for your team. There could also be other features under the ground that are better left alone. These features might be storage tanks or other facilities. Most of these items should be on the plans drawn up when they were first installed, but you may not have access to the plans, or they may not have been accurately updated. Bringing in a team to conduct GPR concrete scanning is the most effective way to see what may be hidden.
How does GPR concrete scanning work?
GPR, or Ground Penetrating Radar, concrete scanning is a non-invasive way of investigating below the ground. If you were to take a mechanical digger or even a spade to the ground, you risk damaging anything in the ground, but by scanning the surface, you can see exactly where the utilities are located, so you can avoid them or bring in a non-destructive digging team to excavate around them. GPR concrete scanning doesn't just see through concrete. The scanning technique works with most surfaces and materials. GPR concrete scanning can scan walls and pillars just as easily as concrete floors and bare earth.
Working with the scan data
GPR concrete scanning does not label every item it detects under the surface. It will provide a density for each object, and it will be the skill and experience of the scanning team that will determine whether the object is a pipe, a cable, or something else. In many cases, you can identify what is shown by comparing the scan results with an existing map. If something new is found, it must be added to the map to provide valuable data for future investigations.
