EM + GPR Locating · For plumbing & service-line contractors
EM + GPR utility locating for plumbers.
You're the trade that gets called when the water service fails — and the trade that has to dig to fix it. Finding the leak and finding the line are two different jobs, and digging up a yard guessing at the route of a buried service is the slow, expensive way that turns a repair into a landscaping bill.
Standing arrangements available · Free phone consult · Mon–Sat 8am–6pm PT
We locate the line before you dig: trace the water service (metal, or plastic via tracer wire or sonde), pinpoint the leak, mark the route and depth, and clear the dig box of everything else underground — so your excavation is one hole at the right spot.
What plumbers hit
- Buried service-line routes that don't run where you'd assume
- Plastic mains with no tracer wire — invisible to EM alone
- Other utilities crossing the trench you're about to open
- Leak location guessed from the wet spot, not the source
- Repeat digs when the first hole misses the line
How we fit your workflow
- Locate and trace the service line — metal, tracer-wired, or sonde
- Pinpoint the leak so the dig targets the fault
- Clear the trench route of crossing utilities with EM + GPR
- Mark route and depth for one clean excavation
The right services for plumbers
Sonde Drain & Duct Tracing
Trace plastic and clay drains and locate defects from a camera head.
ViewUnderground & Service Line Detection
Pinpoint the leak before you open the ground.
ViewTracer Wire Locating
Locate plastic mains via their tracer wire — and advise on installs.
ViewEM + GPR Clearance Survey
Clear the trench of everything else before you dig it.
ViewPlumbers ask
Can you locate a plastic water service with no tracer wire?
Yes — by sonde (pushing a small transmitter through the line) or by GPR imaging where the soil allows, since plastic carries no EM signal of its own. It's more involved than tracing a metal line, but it turns an 'unlocatable' service into a marked route so your dig is targeted. And for any new plastic service you install, we'll advise on tracer wire so the next locate is trivial.
Do you find the leak too, or just the line?
Both — and they're different jobs. Locating traces where the line runs; leak detection (acoustic, thermal, tracer gas) pinpoints where it's failing. We do both, so you get the route AND the fault marked, and your excavation targets the leak instead of the nearest wet spot. That's usually the difference between one repair hole and a trenched-up yard.
How does this save me money on a service-line job?
By eliminating exploratory digging. A located, depth-marked line with a pinpointed leak means one excavation at the right place — hours, minimal restoration — instead of trenching along an assumed route until water appears and then restoring everything you crossed. The locate costs a fraction of the landscaping a guessed dig destroys.
Other trades we locate for
← EM + GPR for pros hub·EM line locating hub·Clearance survey
Serving plumbers across BC
Set up locating that keeps your crews moving.
Free phone consult — your typical jobs, your schedule, and a standing arrangement that fits.