Direct Answer
AnyLeak provides leak and moisture detection services in British Columbia using non-invasive methods — acoustic correlation, tracer gas, thermal imaging, and moisture metering — to find leaks without digging or damage. Every inspection includes a written, insurance-ready report. Call (604) 269-5325 for a free phone consult.
🔄 Reviewed and maintained by the AnyLeak team — October 2026. Rated 5 stars by BC customers.
Locate Stand-By Services During Excavation in BC
Locate stand-by services during high-risk excavation across BC — for HDD, deep excavation, and high-consequence projects.
Insurance-Friendly ReportsServing All of BC
Why Stand-by services Locating Matters in BC
Locate stand-by services place a qualified locator on site during excavation to refresh marks, re-locate as needed, and respond to anomalies in real time. The service significantly reduces strike risk on high-consequence projects.
Our stand-by service is structured for projects where the consequence of a strike is severe — HDD bores under critical infrastructure, deep excavation near HV, pile installation on dense utility sites. The locator is on site continuously during excavation and responds to operator queries immediately.
Common BC scenarios: HDD under critical infrastructure, deep excavation near HV cables or gas, pile installation on dense utility sites, and major project work in high-density utility zones.
Key points at a glance
- Multi-frequency EM locating + GPR verification on every stand-by services job
- Reports written for permit, insurance, and contractor use
- BC One Call coordination available
- ASCE 38 Quality Level B (geophysical) deliverable
- QL-A coordination through hydrovac partners
- Senior technicians since 1999
What We Detect Inside the Concrete
Concrete is rarely “just concrete.” Modern slabs in BC carry a tight grid of structural steel, electrical conduits, water lines, low-voltage cabling, and — in post-tensioned construction — high-tension cables that will fail catastrophically if cut. Our scans map every embedded element before any drilling, coring, or cutting begins.
Reinforcing Steel (Rebar)
#3 through #11 bars mapped by size, depth, and spacing. We mark the actual rebar positions on the surface so your crew can drill between bars, not through them.
Post-Tension Cables
Stressed PT tendons (often 270 ksi) are located and clearly flagged. Cutting one causes a violent recoil that can destroy a slab section and seriously injure workers — never drill blind in a PT slab.
Electrical & Low-Voltage Conduit
EMT, rigid, and PVC conduits up to 4″ trace routing across the slab. We identify branch lines, expansion fittings, and pull-box locations.
Domestic & Hydronic Water Lines
Copper, PEX, and embedded radiant-heating loops located non-destructively. We can also pressure-trace any line you suspect is leaking.
Voids, Honeycomb & Delamination
Hidden voids under the slab, honeycombing inside the pour, and delamination layers detected with GPR + impact-echo cross-check.
Slab Thickness & Cover
Verify slab thickness from one side, measure rebar cover for code compliance, and confirm pour quality before structural sign-off.
Common Scenarios We Solve On This Page
Pre-excavation locate
Pre-excavation stand-by services locating on commercial, industrial, and residential BC sites.
Pre-construction SUE
ASCE 38 QL-B stand-by services locating for engineering design.
Damage prevention stand-by
Stand-by stand-by services support during high-risk excavation.
Forensic post-strike
Post-strike stand-by services forensic investigation for insurance and regulatory submissions.
Capital project portfolio
Stand-by services locating across multi-site capital project portfolios.
Who Books This Type of Scan
General contractors and excavation subs book us routinely for stand-by services pre-excavation locating across BC.
Civil engineering and SUE consultants use our stand-by services locating as the QL-B geophysical layer in their integrated SUE deliverables.
Property managers and capital project teams commission stand-by services locating for portfolio damage-prevention and capital planning.
Insurance and forensic teams retain us for post-strike stand-by services investigation.
Our Concrete Scanning Process — Step by Step
1. Pre-scan briefing
Before we step on site we want your drawings, photos, the exact intent (“I need to core eight 4″ holes through this 8″ suspended slab”), and any constraints — live wiring, occupied tenant space, sensitive equipment below. A 5-minute call almost always saves a costly surprise.
2. Site walk & grid layout
On arrival the technician confirms safe access, marks a working grid (typical 1×1 m or 1×1 ft), and photographs baseline conditions. If the slab is dirty or coated we sweep and may light-sand to ensure good antenna contact.
3. GPR scanning passes
We run an orthogonal grid with our 1600/2000 MHz concrete antenna — one set of lines in the X-direction, one in the Y. The real-time image is reviewed on screen; hits are paint-marked on the slab directly as the survey progresses.
4. Verification & cross-check
For high-stakes work (PT slabs, deep cores, occupied buildings below) we cross-verify with a secondary method — electromagnetic locator, half-cell, or impact-echo — to remove false positives and pin down depths.
5. Marking, photos & report
Every embedded element gets a colour-coded mark on the slab (red = PT, blue = rebar, green = conduit, yellow = water/hydronic). Before we leave you receive on-site photos and, on the next 1-2 business days, a stamped PDF report with annotated drawings.
6. Standby for drilling/coring
For complex jobs we stay on site while your contractor drills the first 1-2 holes, so any unexpected reading can be addressed in real time. Once we’re confident, we hand off and you continue safely.
Equipment We Bring on a Concrete Scan
| Instrument | What It Sees | When We Use It |
|---|---|---|
| GSSI StructureScan Mini XT / Proceq GP8000 | Rebar, PT cables, conduits to ~18″ depth; voids; slab thickness | Default tool on every scan |
| 1600 MHz & 2600 MHz antennas | High-resolution imaging of upper 8″ of slab | Shallow drilling, tile/topping work |
| Electromagnetic locator (Hilti PS 1000-style) | Confirms ferrous rebar & conductive conduit | Cross-check on critical hits |
| Cover meter (Proceq Profometer) | Precise rebar diameter & cover depth | Code-compliance reports |
| FLIR T-series thermal | Hydronic loops, hot/cold lines, moisture | Radiant-heat slabs, suspected leaks |
| Impact-echo / ultrasonic (Olson, Pundit) | Voids, delamination, slab thickness from one side | Structural assessments |
| Acoustic correlator & pressure rig | Active water-line leak location through slab | Concrete-encased leak hunts |
Every instrument is calibrated and traceable. Calibration certificates can be supplied with the report on request — useful for tenders, insurance claims, and government work.
What Does a Concrete Slab Scan Cost in BC?
Concrete scanning is priced by the technician’s time and the scope of marking required. As a guide for budgeting:
- Small single-area scan (one room, 1-2 cores) — typically a half-day rate, suitable for residential or single-suite work.
- Medium scope (full floor plate, multiple drill zones) — full-day rate; includes orthogonal grid, marking, and PDF report.
- Multi-floor or PT slab survey — quoted by floor area; PT slabs require additional verification time.
- Stand-by during drilling — hourly add-on; recommended for any post-tension or occupied-suite work below.
- After-hours / weekend work — premium quoted upfront; common for retail and hospital scans where daytime access isn’t possible.
Every quote is itemised and emailed before we mobilise. There are no junk fees, no minimum subscriptions, and no surprise add-ons. Get an honest number at (604) 269-5325.
BC Building Code & Worksite-Safety Context
WorkSafeBC and the BC Building Code don’t mandate a concrete scan by name — but they do mandate that you not cut, drill, or core into a structural slab without first verifying what’s inside. Scanning is the standard of care, and any competent general contractor or strata council will expect to see scan documentation before drilling proceeds.
For post-tensioned slabs the bar is higher still: cutting a PT cable is treated as a near-miss safety incident even when no one is injured. Most municipalities (City of Vancouver, City of Burnaby, City of Surrey, District of West Vancouver, City of Victoria) will ask to see a scan report as part of any tenant-improvement permit involving slab penetrations.
Our reports include the technician’s name, scan date, equipment used, slab area covered, and a marked drawing. That documentation is enough for almost every permit, insurance, and warranty conversation in BC.
Service Areas Across British Columbia
We mobilise to Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, White Rock, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Squamish, Whistler, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops, Prince George, and most BC communities in between. For a full list see our service areas hub.
Outside the Lower Mainland we typically batch concrete-scan work with other inspections to keep mobilisation fair. Call (604) 269-5325 with your address and timeline and we’ll quote travel honestly.
Why BC Property Owners Choose AnyLeak for Concrete Scanning
- Since 1999 — over two decades of BC concrete work, from heritage West-End buildings to modern high-rises in Yaletown and Burnaby.
- One responsible technician per job — no junior left alone with your slab. Senior leads run every PT and high-risk scan personally.
- Written, stamped reports — every scan ends with annotated drawings, photos, and notes your contractor, architect, or insurer can act on.
- Insurance-friendly documentation — adjusters across BC accept our reports as expert evidence for water-loss, structural, and pre-renovation claims.
- BC-wide coverage — Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Sea-to-Sky, Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Kootenays, and Northern BC. Travel charges are quoted upfront, never hidden.
- Standby during drilling — for high-risk cores we stay on site through the first holes so any anomaly can be re-scanned on the spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is your utility locating?
Active EM locating typically achieves horizontal accuracy of ±10% of depth (e.g., ±5 inches on a 4-foot-deep line). GPR can achieve tighter accuracy in good ground conditions. Quality Level A (vacuum-excavation verification) is the only way to get exact positional certainty — we coordinate with hydrovac contractors when QL-A is required by the scope.
Can you locate every utility on my site?
We locate all conductive utilities (metallic gas, water, electrical, telecom, CCTV, cathodic protection) and most non-conductive utilities with GPR (PVC water, fibre optic in conduit, plastic gas). Direct-bury fibre with no tracer wire and abandoned utilities without records are the most challenging — we flag those limits in writing on every locate.
Do I still need to call BC One Call?
Yes — BC One Call (1-800-474-6886) handles public utility locates (BC Hydro, FortisBC, Telus, Shaw) for free and is mandatory before any excavation in BC. Our private locating service covers everything BC One Call doesn’t — private utilities, site lines, abandoned utilities, and utilities the public locator misses.
What deliverables come with a locate?
On-site spray paint markings using APWA colour code, optional pin flags for outdoor work, photos of all markings on the day of the locate, and a stamped PDF report on the next 1-2 business days that includes a site sketch, utility types found, depth estimates, and limits of the survey.
How deep can you locate utilities?
Active EM locating routinely reaches 8-15 feet for most conductive utilities. GPR depth depends entirely on soil conductivity — typically 3-8 feet in BC soils, up to 15 feet in dry sandy ground. Very deep utilities (>15 ft) may require specialised low-frequency GPR or vacuum-excavation verification at suspected depths.
Can you do a locate during winter or wet weather?
Yes — EM locating is unaffected by weather. GPR works in wet ground but signal attenuation is higher, reducing maximum depth. We schedule locates year-round across BC; winter and shoulder-season are often quieter scheduling windows.
Book a Stand-By Services Service
Speak with a senior technician about your concrete-scan requirements. We provide upfront quotes, written scope, photo/PDF deliverables, and reports your contractor, architect, or insurer can act on.
Written reportsInsurance accepted
A Closer Look at This Service
The cost of finding a leak is small compared to the cost of the damage it causes. A month of undetected leaking can wet insulation, rot framing, wash soil, and attract mould in the time it takes to book an inspection.
The best detection work is done by people who have seen the region’s buildings and buried systems fail in every common way. That experience is what turns a set of readings into a confident, cross-verified answer.
The technician works methodically through the checklist, explaining each step as it happens. Questions are welcome at every stage, and the approach is adjusted when the evidence points in a new direction.
How the Investigation Is Delivered
Every investigation follows the same disciplined sequence: consultation, survey, testing, cross-verification, marking, and documentation. The sequence is deliberate, and each step builds on the last.
- Step 1: Consultation to understand the situation and the history
- Step 2: Site survey and indicator mapping
- Step 3: Testing of the suspected systems with matched methods
- Step 4: Cross-verification of the finding
- Step 5: Marking and documentation
- Step 6: Written, dated report
A fourth mistake is hiring a repair contractor to find the leak. Contractors are paid to repair, and their interest is in the work, not in the precision of the location. An independent detection team has no repair to sell, only an answer to deliver.
What This Costs
The comparison that matters is not detection cost versus no cost; it is detection cost versus the cost of an undetected leak. One targeted repair, guided by an exact location, almost always costs less than exploratory work and repeated damage.
Pricing for this service in British Columbia depends on the scope of the investigation: the systems to be tested, the size of the property, and whether the finding is confirmed with a second method. A fixed quote is provided before any work begins, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Insurance and Documentation
The report produced after a this investigation investigation is written with insurers in mind. It documents the cause, the extent, the methods used, and the readings taken, so the adjuster has everything needed to process the claim.
Insurance claims fail most often because of missing documentation. A dated, photographed, method-by-method report removes that failure point and gives the adjuster a professional document they can rely on.
What the Report Includes
Reports are dated and structured so that any licensed contractor can take the marked location and proceed directly to the repair. They are also accepted by insurers, engineers, property managers, and, when needed, in dispute processes.
You keep the report. It documents the finding, the condition at the time of the investigation, and the guidance for the repair, which is useful for warranty, insurance, and future reference.
When to Call
Call when a repair contractor cannot find the source. Blind replacement of pipe, membrane, or roofing is expensive, and it fails when the true cause is elsewhere. The investigation answers the question the contractor could not.
Call when a decision needs documentation: an insurance claim, a real estate transaction, a strata dispute, or a warranty process. Those decisions run on evidence, and the evidence has to exist before the deadline.
How to Prepare the Property
Nothing else needs to be done. The investigation does not require demolition, preparation of the systems, or any work on your part beyond access. Showing up with the history is the whole preparation.
Nothing else needs to be done. The investigation does not require demolition, preparation of the systems, or any work on your part beyond access. Showing up with the history is the whole preparation.
Common Questions
Is this service non-invasive?
Yes. Every method used works from the surface and leaves no marks. Nothing is cut, dug, or permanently marked during the investigation.
How accurate is the location?
With cross-verified methods, locations are typically within a metre or less, and slab locations within inches.
Is the report useful for insurance?
Yes. The report documents the cause, the extent, the methods used, and the readings, structured for claims and engineering review.
How long does an investigation take?
Most property-level investigations complete within a day, and the written report follows within one to two business days.
Do you repair leaks?
No. Detection and documentation are the service. The report guides the repair contractor to the exact location.
What does this cost?
The quote is fixed before work begins, based on the scope defined in the free consultation. What you are quoted is what you pay.
Call (604) 269-5325 or email info@anyleak.ca for a free consultation. The report is dated, documented, and written to the standard insurers and engineers expect.
★★★★★
"Our flat roof developed a leak, and Anyleak responded quickly. They completed a temporary repair right away."
Sorin Silivestru
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