Locating and surveying · Property
Pipe and utility detection beneath the property in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland as well as parts of Upper Austria and Styria
There is a pipe beneath the property and nobody knows where it leads. Before a pool is built, a fence or a carport put up or a tree planted, that question decides whether the excavator hits something. CFT traces the route non-destructively, marks it on the surface and hands over the documentation with it. Digging comes afterwards, and only where it is needed. Call +43 (0) 2252 53169 or write to office@cft.at, and we will settle access, appointment and method.
What we do on site
We start at an accessible point, follow the main from there metre by metre and mark branches and crossings separately. If no such point exists, we first settle whether one can be created. The route lies marked on your property on the same appointment, together with a sketch and documentation noting what is established and what is not.
Key facts at a glance
| Methods | Electromagnetic cable and pipe locating, sonde location, acoustic pipe locating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), survey with GPS and total station (on request) |
|---|---|
| Application range | Garden and driveway, terrace and pool area, fence and foundation lines, services in and around the building |
| Duration | One hour to a full day, depending on the effort. |
| Result format | Marking on the surface, route sketch as .pdf, documentation as required as .pdf, all measured points surveyed on request, worked-up plan as .dwg or .dxf on request |
| Service area | Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland as well as parts of Upper Austria and Styria from the Traiskirchen site |
For you as a private customer
You are planning a terrace, a pool, a fence, a carport or a tree planting and do not know what lies underneath. We start at an accessible point – a manhole, a distribution cabinet, the service intake room or an exposed pipe end – follow the service metre by metre and mark the route on the surface. The result is visible on your property on the same visit, and the excavator driver knows where not to go. Anyone digging themselves has the same basis to work from.
Old plans rarely help: the extension, the supply to the garage, the line to the garden shed – much of that appears on no plan at all. So we record what is actually there, and note with it what is certain and what is not.
How the job runs
1. Enquiry and preparation. You contact us on +43 (0) 2252 53169 (Monday to Thursday 8:00–16:30, Friday 8:00–12:00) or in writing to office@cft.at. Have any existing plans to hand and arrange access to manholes, the service intake room and distribution cabinets.
2. Recording on site. We look for the access points – manhole, distribution cabinet, pipe end – and decide which method will work. This is where it becomes clear whether a direct connection is possible or whether a sonde has to be inserted.
3. Tracing and marking. The route is walked, measured in across the line and marked point by point. Branches and crossings are marked separately; we take depth readings where they can be determined.
4. Handover. You receive the sketch and the documentation. We tell you what is certain and what is not, and hand over to your plumber or electrician. If the survey has been ordered as well, the worked-up plan follows as .dwg or .dxf.
Equipment and methods
Electromagnetic cable and pipe locating
An alternating current signal is applied to the service, connected directly, inductively or via a signal clamp; the receiver measures the magnetic field at the surface and traces the route. The method needs a metallic conductor, and in densely occupied routes the signal couples across onto neighbouring services.
Sonde location
A battery-powered transmitter sonde is pushed into the pipe, on the push-rod camera or on the rods. It radiates from a single point, so its position can be determined exactly at the surface, together with a depth reading – this makes non-metallic pipes locatable as well. Without an opening it can pass through, the sonde cannot be inserted.
Acoustic pipe locating
What is used is the noise a service produces itself or that is imposed on it; a ground microphone picks it up at the surface, and the maximum lies over the service. This helps where nothing can be coupled electromagnetically. Traffic noise and sound-absorbing pipe material set a hard limit to the method.
Ground penetrating radar
Where no point can be found at which a signal can be applied, the area-wide search with ground penetrating radar remains. It is the way to a plastic pipe with no access and no tracer wire – and at the same time the most difficult case, which we name as such beforehand.
Survey with GPS and total station, on request
If the detection work is to produce more than a marking, we record every measured point in addition: with GPS in the open, with the total station where satellite reception does not carry between house walls or under vegetation. From that we work the route up into a plan and hand it over in the format that designers and building contractors work with anyway – .dwg or .dxf. That is a separate item and only goes ahead if you order it.
What you receive
The marking on the surface is the result that counts at the point of excavation. In addition there are a route sketch referenced to fixed points on the ground and documentation as .pdf. Both stay with you even once the marking has faded after the next rain.
Anyone who has to plan further or submit an application orders the survey as well: all measured points are then recorded with GPS and total station and worked up into a plan that you receive as .dwg or .dxf – a file that carries straight on in CAD and GIS instead of having to be traced.
Costs and effort
We do not quote a flat rate, because the effort depends on the area, the length of route and the method; we agree the cost range by telephone before the job. Where the detection work is connected with an escape of water, buildings insurance usually covers the leak detection under trace and access cover.
The re-survey is part of the scope of work. If the service is not where we marked it, we come back and re-survey free of charge. If our marking is correct and the digging was done beside it or not deep enough, we charge for the call-out – there is then no measurement error on CFT’s part. This rule applies equally to cable locating, pipe locating and cable fault location.
Frequently asked questions
Can you locate plastic pipes as well?
Yes, but not electromagnetically. If the pipe can be entered, we push in a sonde and locate that. Otherwise ground penetrating radar remains. A plastic pipe with no access and no tracer wire is the most difficult case, and we say so beforehand.
How accurate is the marking, and does the depth come with it?
The route is marked on the surface. We determine depth readings where the method allows: at single points with sonde location, and as a calculated value with electromagnetic locating.
What happens if the service is not where you marked it?
Then we re-survey, and the re-survey is part of the scope of work. If our measurement was wrong, it costs you nothing. If the marking is correct and the digging was simply done beside it or not deep enough, we charge for the call-out, because in that case there is no measurement error on CFT’s part. This applies equally to cable locating, pipe locating and cable fault location.
What if there is no access point?
Then we first establish whether one can be created: an opened manhole, an exposed pipe end, a distribution cabinet. If none can be found, we work across the area with ground penetrating radar.
How long does the marking last?
Until the next rain, or until the lawn is mown. That is why the sketch is part of it: it references the route to fixed points on the ground and is still usable weeks later. Photograph the marking while it is fresh.
Do we also get the route as a CAD file?
If you order it, yes. We then record all measured points with GPS and total station and work them up into a plan that you receive as .dwg or .dxf. Without that order it stays with the sketch and the documentation as .pdf.
Do you also repair the point you find?
No. CFT locates, marks and records. The repair is carried out by your plumber or electrician, with our findings as the basis.
Related services
Locating concealed manholes
When it is not the route that is missing, but the access point: the manhole cover that has been surfaced over or has become overgrown.
Cable fault location on service and supply cables
When it is not the route that is unclear, but a service has failed and the fault position is being sought.
Sewer documentation for older networks
When it is not a single service that is being looked for, but the sewer on an older property stands there with no usable plan.
Burst and leak detection in and around buildings
When water is already escaping and it is not the route but the point of damage that is being sought.
Describe what you are observing.
Just describe what you see – add a photo, and we can often settle on the right method before we even call back.
What happens next
- We read your message and match the case to a method.
- We come back to you – usually with a question that shortens the appointment.
- We confirm the appointment and what it costs before anyone sets off.
Rather talk?
+43 (0) 2252 53169
Mon–Thu 8:00–16:30 · Fri 8:00–12:00
Describe your case.
Fastest by telephone – then we settle straight away which method fits and what you should prepare.
Outside office hours, write to office@cft.at.