Clean Out Locating With GPRS – Florida

It can be hard to foresee all situations and plan accordingly for each scenario when constructing new buildings. Subcontractors come and go and you can’t always keep an eye on what every person does on a job site. A plumbing contractor had installed the necessary plumbing lines and also installed clean-outs for future lines to be installed at a new warehouse in Orlando, FL. Little to their knowledge that after they installed everything the concrete team cover the clean-outs and poured concrete over them. The problem was that there was no way of them knowing where the clean-outs would be for future use. They had a good idea of where they were but finding multiple clean-outs in a large warehouse can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, for this team they knew about Ground Penetrating Radar Systems. GPRS is a team of professionals that specializes in locating subsurface elements. This was a unique project for the Orlando team, but when it comes to problem solving GPRS shines. After a few conversations, it was decided that we could help their team find a solution to the problem.

After arriving on site, the plumbers had access already set up for the GPRS professional to use a lone clean-out on the outside of the building. The GPRS professional pushed a 225-ft. fish tape all the way into the sewer line. The fish tape was then energized and they were able to follow that sewer line through the building using a radio detection wand. All 225-ft. of the sewer line was marked out with blue tape. Once the line was detected they brought out the GSSI 1600 MHz antenna, which is used for scanning concrete to detect rebar, structural steel, post tension, electrical conduits and more. In this case they scanned directly on top of the previously marked sewer line and clearly identified where the clean-outs were. They located all four missing clean-outs. Once the clean-outs were identified the plumbing team was able to have them core drilled out, and accessed for future use.

Below, you will see a picture below depicting Nate Schmoe, of GPRS scanning for the sewer line with the radio detection wand. If you would like to receive a proposal for similar work please visit the “Contact-Us” page on our website.

GPRS does not provide geophysical, geological, land surveying or engineering services. If you need such services, please contact an appropriate professional.

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