GPR Services · Vancouver Island
Concrete Scanning in Nanaimo, BC
The full picture inside any slab, wall, or beam — rebar, PT cables, conduits, voids, thickness — imaged at 1.6 GHz before a single cut. Serving Nanaimo and the Vancouver Island region with certified technicians, non-invasive methods, and insurance-ready documentation — since 1999.
Free phone consult · No pressure · Mon–Sat 8am–6pm PT
Nanaimo ground conditions & what they mean for GPR
Local geology: Nanaimo sits on till and sandstone benches — with documented historic coal workings beneath parts of the city. Standard till performance at surface, but Nanaimo's defining subsurface feature is its coal-mine legacy: old workings and shafts underlie several neighbourhoods, making void detection a local specialty.
Local building stock: Harbour-city mix of heritage districts, mid-century suburbs, and rapid hospital-area densification.
Common concrete scanning work in Nanaimo
- Void scans over historic coal workings
- Pre-development due diligence
- Service leak tracing in mid-century suburbs
- Pre-coring clearance
- Structural investigations
- Renovation openings
How the Nanaimo site visit works
- 1
Define objectives
Coring clearance, structural QA, or full as-built — the objective sets grid density and coverage.
- 2
Grid scan
Orthogonal passes build a complete internal image; suspect areas get tightened grids.
- 3
Interpret on site
Targets identified and marked in real time — crews see results before we leave.
- 4
Imagery report
Annotated scans, depth tables, and marked photos delivered for the project record.
Nanaimo questions, answered
GPR vs X-ray for concrete — which is better?
GPR needs one side of the slab, no radiation permits, no area evacuation, and scans 10× faster at lower cost. X-ray wins only on sub-centimetre detail for congested embeds when both slab faces are accessible. For 95% of BC scanning work, GPR is the right tool.
Can GPR find voids inside the concrete itself?
Yes — honeycombing and consolidation voids reflect distinctly. Common finds in older pours and patch repairs; each gets boundary-marked for the engineer.
How fast can you clear core locations?
Single locations clear in 15–30 minutes including marking. A typical tenant-improvement scope of 10–20 penetrations clears in a half day, same-visit drilling included.
Is the equipment safe to use in occupied buildings?
Completely — GPR emits less RF energy than a phone. No evacuation, no permits, no disruption to tenants or hospital/lab equipment.
How deep can GPR scan in Nanaimo?
Nanaimo sits on till and sandstone benches — with documented historic coal workings beneath parts of the city. Standard till performance at surface, but Nanaimo's defining subsurface feature is its coal-mine legacy: old workings and shafts underlie several neighbourhoods, making void detection a local specialty. We select antenna frequency to match — and where local ground limits radar depth, we pair GPR with electromagnetic locating, acoustic methods, or tracer gas so the survey objective is met regardless of soil conditions.
Do you actually work in Nanaimo, or dispatch from elsewhere?
Nanaimo is part of our standing Vancouver Island service area — the same certified technicians and equipment that cover the rest of the region. Scheduling is typically within 24–72 hours, with same-day response often possible during business hours (Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm Pacific).
What does concrete scanning cost in Nanaimo?
Pricing matches our province-wide structure — no regional premium for Nanaimo. Most residential-scale work falls in the $350–$1,200 range depending on scope; commercial and multi-site projects are quoted after a free phone consult. Call 604-239-9934 and we will give you a tight estimate in five minutes.
Other GPR services in Nanaimo
Rebar & Conduit Locating in Nanaimo
Know exactly what's inside the concrete — rebar mats, electrical conduits, embedded pipes — before you drill into any of it.
View servicePost-Tension Cable Mapping in Nanaimo
Cutting a live PT cable releases tonnes of force instantly. GPR maps every cable before any coring, cutting, or anchoring on a post-tensioned slab.
View serviceCore Drilling Safety Scanning in Nanaimo
Every core hole cleared before the bit touches concrete — rebar, PT cables, conduits, and in-slab pipes mapped at each penetration point.
View serviceSlab Thickness & Void Detection in Nanaimo
Find the washout before it becomes the sinkhole. GPR measures slab thickness and images the voids beneath floors, decks, and pavements.
View serviceConcrete Scanning near Nanaimo
Need concrete scanning in Nanaimo?
Free phone consult with a certified GPR technician — we will tell you whether a survey is warranted and quote it in five minutes. No pressure.