A common way to reinforce concrete is to embed steel reinforcing bars, commonly known as rebar, into the concrete. The textured steel bars bond with the concrete as it dries to create a stronger, more durable structure that can support heavier loads, while using less concrete. Adding rebar can also help prevent cracking in the concrete. Rebar is typically placed in a grid pattern and then completely covered by the concrete.
The fact that the rebar is completely covered isn’t a problem—unless there comes a day when you need to disturb the concrete. Maybe you want to cut a trench in a concrete pad to run a new water line, or core into a concrete wall to run a new utility line. Before you disturb the concrete, you want to make sure to locate the rebar so you don’t hit it.
Not only can rebar damage your tools, it can also compromise the structural integrity of your concrete.
Locating Rebar Using Concrete Scanning Services
You will find people online who will tell you just to rent or borrow a metal detector to locate rebar, but metal detectors are not necessarily the best tools for the job. A standard metal detector can’t tell you how deeply the rebar is embedded, or its exact location.
A better option is to use ground penetrating radar (GPR) to locate rebar within a concrete slab or CMU wall. Unfortunately, you can’t just go to your local home improvement store and rent GPR equipment. What you can do, though, is hire one of the local concrete scanning services near you that will come to your property and thoroughly scan the area you wish to disturb.
Not only can they locate rebar, but they can also tell you what else might be embedded in your concrete, such as any utility lines.
Having your concrete scanned may seem like a hassle, but a bigger hassle is having your project come to a standstill when you damage your cutting equipment because you hit rebar, or worse, compromising the integrity of your entire concrete slab because you cut through the rebar completely.
If you’re in the Southern California area, Enhanced Scanning is one of the top companies offering accurate concrete scanning services. They offer prompt service, so even if you wait until the last minute to call them, they can come out quickly and get you the information you need to keep your project moving forward. They also invest in the latest concrete scanning technology and have highly trained technicians operating it at all times.
