Safer Constuction In Florida With Concrete Imaging

In the past, Florida building constructors and ground crews had to dig new ground blindly. There was no technology to warn them that they could be digging up live wires, pipes, post tension cables and other embedded building materials. This caused high risk to the men and equipment on construction sites. Today's technology offers the Florida construction industry a safer alternative by using concrete imaging to locate post tension cables and other embedded structures.

What Is Concrete Imaging?
Imaging concrete uses a detection device to allow builders, contractors and drilling companies to know what kind of embedded structures lay beneath the construction site. Imaging technology allows construction teams to evaluate a potential building site before they put men and equipment at risk. The use of this device is becoming a requisite evaluation technique before any construction can be allowed to take place.

Imaging Can Locate Post Tension Cables
Concrete imaging can also locate post tension cables. Post tension cables are used in construction to provide support and increased strength to slabs of concrete. The great majority of post tension cables are typically made from high-strength strands of steel that are put in place before the pouring of concrete. These steel cables are normally laid out in a grid pattern that can be detected by the use of concrete imaging equipment.

Using Concrete Imaging To Find Rebar On Florida Building Sites
The Florida construction industry can also use imaging technology to locate old embedded underground rebar. Rebar is the abbreviated form of reinforcement bar. These reinforcing bars have a much longer history in the construction industry and have been used for hundreds of years in the building trade all over the world. The rebar grid pattern establishes the base for any concrete support in much the same fashion as the more modern design of post tension cables. Before the invention of imaging devices, work crews generally had no idea what they could encounter during a dig.

Imaging Allows For Safer Construction In Florida
Being able to locate post tension cables and rebar on a construction site has improved the safety of the construction industry. With today's modern underground infrastructure consisting of miles of interrelated cables, phone lines, natural gas pipes, sewer systems, electrical power lines and many other types of embedded underground structures, a construction team can begin the necessary ground work fully aware of any dangers and areas to avoid.

X-ray concrete? That's what GPR is all about

Ground penetrating radar brings futuristic technology into the lives of Florida builders, contractors, remodelers, geologists, and archeologists. 

This scientific method is in demand for forensics and missing persons cases as well. In fact, it is truly the future of everything from environmental assessment to geology to archeology. For instance, the same technology that can x-ray concrete is used by the military when they are looking for unexploded bombs and other ordinances. Also, GPR can be used for bridge delimination testing. Furthermore, it can locate graves. Just as importantly, it can prove that there are no graves located on a building site. 

Using sound waves and computer imaging, ground penetrating radar can essentially x-ray concrete. These imaging inspections reveal imperfections in existing concrete structures. This is an important tool in a Florida contractor's tool box. After all, he doesn’t want to build on top of a poor foundation. Each time GPR is used to x-ray concrete, the look below the surface can provide a Florida contractor with a geologically sound picture of the building site. It puts the tools of a geologist in the hands of a Florida builder and ensures that a remodeled or new structure has a firm foundation.

The same GPR can eliminate any concerns about grave sites or archeological discoveries by confirming their absence from a building site. This can be essential when trying to move forward with a construction project. 

Qualified contractors have a unique tool in GPR because not only can it x-ray concrete but also can determine much about the topography of the land. With this technology, experts can provide a geophysical survey of land and buried structures. It can detect and map where buried utilities are. This mapping can help builders prevent costly accidents. It can save valuable time because builders know from the beginning what areas to avoid. GPR provides void detection as well. 

In all, any money spent on GPR is quickly paid back in terms of money saved. There are fewer unexpected expenses and it becomes more likely that a contractor or builder will finsh their project on time. This is important whether the building is built on speculation or under contract.

In Florida, where swampy land, sandy soil and high water tables cause building headaches, it is great to know that there is ground penetrating radar avaialble. It's almost as good as having Superman sight that can x-ray concrete.

GPR is science in action in South Florida

Imagine being able to x-ray concrete. That's one of the ways that Ground Penetrating Radar can help those in the building industry. Ground Penetrating Radar uses sound waves and computers to find and map everything from graves to buried utility lines. 

Imagine a Naples builder, a Miami contractor, a Ft. Lauderdale surveyor or an Orlando architect who is able to see what lies beneath a building site. This has the sound of science fiction but it is a reality with Ground Penetrating Radar. GPR can be used for bridge delamination testing, which is essential to the well-being of those in South Florida traveling to Miami Beach or Tampa Bay. This same great technology is in use by builders and contractors all over Florida, especially in South Florida. This concrete imaging has many uses for builders. Concrete imaging has become the norm for Naples, Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, all over South Florida and the state of Florida. 

First it helps to understand how concrete imaging is used. For instance, a Naples builder wants to ensure that the place where he wishes to build is not an ancient Native American burial ground. GPR can x-ray concrete or the ground to provide the data to disprove this claim. IA Ft. Lauderdale surveyer uses the technology to detect voids that can cause settling during or after construction. A builder in Fort Lauderdale locates utilities on his property before he makes the mistake of digging into them or building over them. This is true of builders anywhere in Florida whether its Miami or Orlando or Naples. GPR, which includes concrete imaging, makes the building process run much smoother. 

In Florida, forensics teams can use Ground Penetrating Radar to find buried clues. In South Florida, archeologists and geologists are using it to study the topography of the region. All over Florida, the military is training to use the x-ray concrete technology to find unexploded bombs and other dangerous, buried ordinances. Tampa and Orlando contractors are putting this same technology to work for them. Through the GPR’s ability to essentially x-ray concrete, they can see what’s buried on the building site. This technology is used by geologists, scientists and environmental researchers. Now that it is possible to x-ray concrete, the technology has achieved broad appeal. 

No matter where you build in South Florida, be it Naples, Orlanda, Tampa, Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, builders need GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to help them avoid costly mistakes and to put their buildings on the firmest possible foundations.

Welcome to the GPR Blog

Hello and welcome to MD Concrete Imaging's GPR Blog. We hope to bring you the latest information and stories about Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Concrete Imaging and locating post tension cables and rebar.