GPR Services · Metro Vancouver
Core Drilling Safety Scanning in Vancouver, BC
Every core hole cleared before the bit touches concrete — rebar, PT cables, conduits, and in-slab pipes mapped at each penetration point. Serving Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver region with certified technicians, non-invasive methods, and insurance-ready documentation — since 1999.
Free phone consult · No pressure · Mon–Sat 8am–6pm PT
Vancouver ground conditions & what they mean for GPR
Local geology: Vancouver sits on glacial till uplands with deltaic sands toward False Creek and Fraser flats. Till and sand image well — 400 MHz reaches 2–3 m across most of the city; signal shortens in fill zones around False Creek and the port lands.
Local building stock: Pre-1965 oil-tank-era homes on the west side, post-tensioned towers downtown, and some of BC's oldest buried services in Strathcona and Mount Pleasant.
Common core drilling safety scanning work in Vancouver
- Buried oil tank scans before west-side home sales
- PT cable mapping in downtown towers
- Pre-excavation locates on laneway-house builds
- Core-drilling clearance programs across tenant-improvement floors
- Mechanical/plumbing cores
- Electrical penetrations
- Structural testing cores
How the Vancouver site visit works
- 1
Scan each core point
Two-direction local scan at every planned penetration; embedded targets identified by type and depth.
- 2
Clear or offset
Clean points are cleared; obstructed points get the nearest safe offset marked — keeping the trade's layout intent.
- 3
Mark + photograph
Targets and safe windows painted and photographed; the record drives the report.
- 4
Stand by if needed
For dense embed zones we stay through drilling — re-scanning offsets in real time as cores advance.
Vancouver questions, answered
The drilling sub says they'll 'go slow and feel for steel'. Good enough?
Feel finds rebar after the bit is already in it — which still costs a bit and a patch, and does nothing for the PT cable or live conduit one centimetre deeper. Scanning costs a fraction of one damaged cable repair and removes the gamble entirely.
Can you clear cores through suspended slabs with services below?
Yes — and we pair the GPR scan with a look at the underside where accessible, because sprinkler mains and cable trays hung beneath the slab are the other half of core-strike risk.
How many cores can you clear in a day?
Routine TI scopes run 20–40 locations per day including marking. Congested mechanical rooms run slower because every point carries embeds — those are exactly the points worth the time.
Do engineers accept your scan documentation?
Yes — structural engineers regularly condition coring permission on our scan report. Marked photos plus depth tables per location is the format they expect.
How deep can GPR scan in Vancouver?
Vancouver sits on glacial till uplands with deltaic sands toward False Creek and Fraser flats. Till and sand image well — 400 MHz reaches 2–3 m across most of the city; signal shortens in fill zones around False Creek and the port lands. 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 Vancouver, or dispatch from elsewhere?
Vancouver is part of our standing Metro Vancouver 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 core drilling safety scanning cost in Vancouver?
Pricing matches our province-wide structure — no regional premium for Vancouver. 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 Vancouver
Concrete Scanning in Vancouver
The full picture inside any slab, wall, or beam — rebar, PT cables, conduits, voids, thickness — imaged at 1.6 GHz before a single cut.
View servicePost-Tension Cable Mapping in Vancouver
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 serviceRebar & Conduit Locating in Vancouver
Know exactly what's inside the concrete — rebar mats, electrical conduits, embedded pipes — before you drill into any of it.
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Core Drilling Safety Scanning near Vancouver
Need core drilling safety scanning in Vancouver?
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.