GPR Surveys London
GPR Surveys – what’s behind that wall?
GPR, or Ground Penetrating Radar, to give it it’s proper title is a non-invasive technology that allows us to scan existing walls to see what is behind them. GPR Surveys have many different uses but are particularly valuable for establishing the route of a flue when it disappears out of view from a fireplace. Turner Baker have specialist equipment and software to enable us to survey walls and establish in which direction a flue runs from a fireplace and also if there are any other flues or voids within a wall space.
In technical terms, Ground Penetrating Radar is a survey method that uses pulses of electromagnetic radiation to image the subsurface. It is non-intrusive and non-destructive and is, therefore, a useful surveying technique for the interior of a property. It can be used to locate a wide variety of metallic and non-metallic materials including:
- Concrete
- Metal
- Plastic
- Voids
Inspections
GPR surveys are non-intrusive and can be carried out without making holes in walls or compromising the decoration of a building in any way. The GPR unit used by Turner Baker ltd is a handheld device which is pressed against the surface of the wall to get a reading which we can then interpret using specialist software.
Why is a GPR test useful?
Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys have proved very useful in renovation projects, particularly for properties that may have been split up into different flats. Walls can incorporate several flues running to fireplaces on different floors of a building. If, as part of a redesign, you wish to remove a wall, it is important to understand whether that might affect neighboring properties either above or below.
Additionally, decommissioned flues can be used to accommodate cabling or pipework as it travels through a property. A GPR survey can facilitate this by establishing where the flues run from and to. Any kind of invasive work – knocking though walls or drilling into walls to accommodate services etc. will benefit from a GPR survey which will show very clearly what is behind a wall.
