GPR Services · Metro Vancouver
Underground Utility Locating in Burnaby, BC
BC One Call stops at your property line. GPR + EM map everything inside it — water, gas, electrical, irrigation, drainage — before anyone digs. Serving Burnaby 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
Burnaby ground conditions & what they mean for GPR
Local geology: Burnaby sits on glacial till slopes with peat pockets around Burnaby Lake and Big Bend. Till slopes give clean 2–3 m penetration; peat and high water table near Burnaby Lake and Big Bend cut effective depth — survey design accounts for it.
Local building stock: Metrotown and Brentwood tower clusters on post-tensioned slabs, 1960s–70s walk-ups mid-slope, and heavy industrial along the Fraser.
Common underground utility locating work in Burnaby
- Parkade deck scans in Metrotown towers
- Utility locates on industrial Big Bend sites
- Slab leak tracing in aging walk-ups
- Concrete scanning for Brentwood high-rise penetrations
- Pre-excavation private locates
- Fence/deck/pool construction
- Service upgrades
How the Burnaby site visit works
- 1
Records review
Available drawings and BC One Call public locates are reviewed first — then treated as hints, not truth.
- 2
EM sweep
Energised and conductive utilities are traced with electromagnetic locating — fast and precise for anything carrying signal.
- 3
GPR grid
GPR finds what EM cannot: plastic water and gas lines, concrete duct banks, septic components, old abandoned services.
- 4
Mark + map
Paint and flags on the ground for the crew; optional CAD plan for the permit set or engineering record.
Burnaby questions, answered
Doesn't BC One Call already do this for free?
BC One Call locates public utilities up to your property line. Everything past the line — the gas run to the garage heater, irrigation mains, the old abandoned service — is private and unmarked. Striking it is the digging party's liability, which is why private locating exists.
How accurate are the surface marks?
Within 5–10 cm horizontally for most targets at typical utility depths, with depth estimates ±10%. We mark conservatively and recommend hand-digging the last 30 cm near any mark — the same rule professional excavators follow.
Can you locate utilities under driveways and slabs?
Yes — GPR scans through asphalt and concrete. Duct banks, conduits, and pipes under paved surfaces image well, which matters because that is exactly where most accidental strikes happen.
Do I get documentation for WorkSafe BC compliance?
Yes. The written locate report — marks photographed, targets listed with depths, methodology stated — supports your damage-prevention duty of care under WorkSafe BC excavation requirements.
How deep can GPR scan in Burnaby?
Burnaby sits on glacial till slopes with peat pockets around Burnaby Lake and Big Bend. Till slopes give clean 2–3 m penetration; peat and high water table near Burnaby Lake and Big Bend cut effective depth — survey design accounts for it. 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 Burnaby, or dispatch from elsewhere?
Burnaby 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 underground utility locating cost in Burnaby?
Pricing matches our province-wide structure — no regional premium for Burnaby. 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 Burnaby
Pre-Excavation Scanning in Burnaby
The last check before the bucket goes in — full-corridor GPR + EM sweep of the dig zone for utilities, tanks, and obstructions.
View serviceUnderground Infrastructure Mapping in Burnaby
Whole-site subsurface as-builts for campuses, facilities, and municipalities — every utility corridor mapped, depth-profiled, and delivered in CAD.
View servicePipe Tracing & Mapping in Burnaby
Lost drawings, renovated buildings, mystery valves — GPR rebuilds the as-built picture of where every line actually runs.
View serviceUnderground Water Leak Detection in Burnaby
GPR + acoustic correlation locates buried water service line and main leaks before any excavation — typically narrowing the dig to a 1-metre window.
View service← All about underground utility locating·All GPR services·GPR guide
Underground Utility Locating near Burnaby
Need underground utility locating in Burnaby?
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.