Concrete X-Ray vs Ground Penetrating Radar

How do you know when it’s best to use concrete x-ray or ground penetrating radar? First of all, we generally know which method will work best for your project and we will be completely honest and upfront with you. We are in the business of building long term relationships, not profiting from one job that we should never have done. If it’s in your best interest to use radiography (concrete x-ray), we will not hesitate to tell you and give you the contact information for 2 competing concrete x-ray companies. However, that’s not usually the case and here’s why:

1) Ground Penetrating Radar uses an antenna equipped with both a transmitter and a receiver. Because of this, we only need access to one side of the concrete. If you have experience with radiography, you know that a film has to be attached to one side of the concrete while the radiation is administered to the other side. This process is time consuming and it allows for possible inaccuracies within the data. This saves us an average of 5-10 minutes per hole and we all know time is money. Also, for any work that needs to be done on a slab on grade, GPR is the only possible solution.

2) Ground Penetrating Radar results are instantaneous. Instead of taking a film into a mobile dark room or back to our lab, we tell you what you’re looking for right on site. On average, it takes a film 45 minutes to fully develop. GPR generally takes 10-15 minutes including set up time to clear one hole so you can see that we can usually clear anywhere between 4 to 6 times as many holes in a day.

3) There are some places that concrete x-ray just isn’t practical. Because of the harmful radiation used, areas must be evacuated up to 50 feet in every direction. Can you imagine trying to evacuate a hospital 50 feet in every direction? Imagine the cost and inconvenience of moving several patients to other rooms or even other floors. Using GPR, we can work near anyone because there is no radiation put out by our equipment. We can work during normal business hours instead of always having to do your work at night when the jobsite is empty.

As you can see, we can often save contractors and home owners a lot of money and/or time. Contact us today for your free estimate.