If you need to conduct a major construction project on top of an existing superstructure, you will want to know what you're dealing with. You may need to build on top of some existing concrete, but this may be buried deep below with no clear access. In this case, you may want to avoid destructive excavation for various reasons, including cost, and should turn to technology to help you achieve your goals. In particular, think about concrete scanning using ground-penetrating radar tech, which is a cutting-edge solution in your case. How does this work, and how can it be particularly beneficial?

The Challenge

Before this type of solution was readily available, you may have had no choice but to penetrate the ground beneath to see what you were working with. After all, you may want to see if the concrete below is still capable of withstanding new pressures and weights from above, or you may not have full information about the concrete itself and whether it had a sufficient amount of rebar within. To give you a full picture, you may have had to open up large sections of the land and may have found it particularly difficult to access all areas. In this case, it may have been difficult to gauge the strength of the concrete at its lowest point without actually damaging the installation itself.

The Modern Approach

Today, you can deploy technology that has been specifically designed for this task. It can see down to considerable depths and create an accurate and comprehensive scan to show you exactly what you're playing with. You'll only need to access one side of the concrete but will still create real-time images that you can access on-site.

Hidden Threats

While you may certainly want to gauge the strength and suitability of the hidden concrete, you may also want to see what lies within.

  • Sometimes, utility companies lay cables inside the concrete when it was originally poured, and you'll need to pinpoint the exact location.
  • A utility cable might have been laid under high tension. If you were to penetrate the concrete without being aware, this could release the tension without warning, with potential risks to workers.
  • You may disrupt any utility supply, which could be costly and time-consuming.
  • You may also annoy other people supplied by that utility company, leading to reputational harm.

Your Best Approach

As you can see, there are many advantages involved when you deploy concrete specific GPR concrete scanning. Talk with a contractor to get further details and see how this could work for you.

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