Indoor Locates and Concrete Scanning
Know What’s Inside Your Concrete Before You Cut or Core
Indoor renovation and investigation work often involves cutting, coring, or drilling concrete slabs where embedded or shallow buried facilities may be present and undocumented.
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Whether dealing with post tension cables, embedded rebar, electrical conduits, metallic water lines, or non conductive sewer lines, locating and scanning before cutting or drilling is essential to reduce risk.
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At Know Before You Dig Locates, we use ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic locating to identify conductive and non conductive materials within or just beneath concrete, providing a clearer understanding of subsurface conditions before work begins.
What Can Be Detected Indoors?
Indoor locating and concrete scanning can identify a wide range of embedded and shallow buried elements, depending on material type, depth, site conditions, and accessibility. Detection results vary based on whether facilities are conductive, non conductive, reinforced, or obstructed by interference within the slab or surrounding structure.
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The following are common elements that can often be identified or inferred during indoor locating and concrete scanning activities:
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Rebar and structural mesh
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Post tension cables
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Concrete grade beams beneath slabs
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Electrical conduits and cables
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Communication lines
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Metallic water lines such as copper, steel, or galvanized
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HVAC and chilled water lines when conductive
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Shallow public service feeds when within detectable range
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Non conductive sewer lines where conditions allow
When Should You Call for an Indoor Scan / Locate?
Indoor locating and concrete scanning should be completed before any cutting, coring, drilling, or penetration of concrete where embedded or concealed infrastructure may be present. Many interior strikes occur not because work was complex, but because subsurface conditions were assumed.
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An indoor scan is especially appropriate when planning work that could intersect embedded materials or services, including:
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Concrete cutting or coring
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Plumbing or electrical upgrades
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Underpinning work involving piers or polyurethane foam injection
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Mechanical room or boiler room retrofits
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Commercial tenant improvements or interior renovations
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Interior borehole drilling or anchoring
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Engineering assessments or building condition reports
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Any situation where slab or concrete penetration is planned and subsurface conditions are unknown
This proactive step helps reduce the risk of damage, delays, and safety incidents by identifying potential conflicts before work begins.
What You Can Expect From an Indoor Locate or Concrete Scan
An indoor locate or concrete scan provides practical subsurface awareness to support safer planning and execution of interior work. Our role is to identify and communicate detectable embedded or shallow buried features, highlight limitations, and document areas of uncertainty so informed decisions can be made before work begins.
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Deliverables typically include:
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Identification of detectable embedded and shallow buried features
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Marking of findings on the surface where appropriate
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Documentation of methods used and observed limitations
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Clear communication of unknowns or areas requiring caution
Know Before You Dig Locates is not a surveying or engineering firm. Our services do not replace engineering design, structural assessment, or destructive verification where required. Final decisions regarding cutting, coring, drilling, or construction methods remain the responsibility of the project team.
This approach supports safer work planning, reduced risk, and clearer communication before interior ground disturbance or concrete penetration begins.