Every excavation carries the same risk: the drawing says the cable is three metres left of where it actually is. Municipal as-built records are often decades old, services get relocated without record, and the first indication of an error is a severed fibre trunk or a ruptured water main.
Ground penetrating radar sends pulses of electromagnetic energy into the ground and reads what comes back. Changes in material density — a pipe, a cable duct, a void, a disturbed backfill trench — reflect that energy differently to the surrounding soil.
Survey House Group delivers detection as a survey discipline rather than a standalone scanning service. Findings are positioned against project control and issued as coordinated data, so what we find integrates directly with your design and your as-built record.
GPR transmits electromagnetic pulses and records reflections from interfaces where material properties change. Electromagnetic locating is used alongside it for conductive services, which it detects more reliably.
Limitations are material and we state them plainly. Penetration depth depends heavily on ground conditions — dry sand and gravel allow substantially deeper returns than wet clay, which attenuates the signal severely. Higher-frequency antennas resolve smaller targets but reach less deep.
Detection is high-quality guidance for careful excavation. It is not a guarantee of a clear dig, and no competent contractor will offer one. Where further verification is required, it should be planned through the responsible site team using methods appropriate to the services, ground conditions and site procedures.
