How much does GPR scanning cost in the UK?

UK GPR scanning costs depend on the scope of the work, but the market is competitive and the pricing is reasonably consistent across reputable suppliers.

Typical price ranges

• Small pre-drill scan, single area, half-day attendance. Typically a few hundred pounds, including reporting and travel within reasonable range of the surveyor’s base.
• Reinforcement-mapping survey of a typical slab area, full-day attendance. A higher day rate, with the on-slab markup, the report, and the CAD plan included.
• Post-tension floor scanning. Carries a small premium because the scanning density and interpretation skill are higher.
• Multi-element campaigns. Priced by total survey time, often with an efficiency discount for combined attendance.
• Large-scale GPR with vehicle-towed array. Priced per square metre or per hectare — generally far cheaper per square metre than concrete scanning despite the larger equipment.

What affects the price

The drivers, in roughly descending order of impact:

• Scope and area. Larger areas, more elements, or denser scanning all increase price.
• Specialist equipment. Multi-channel arrays, drone-mounted LiDAR, or other specialist kit cost more.
• Site location. Travel and accommodation surcharges apply for sites significantly distant from the surveyor’s base.
• Access constraints. Out-of-hours work, possession windows, height work, confined spaces, secure environments — all increase cost.
• Deliverable complexity. Standard reports are usually included; BIM modelling, advanced data integration, or multi-format CAD output may carry additional charges.
• Sector premiums. Rail, nuclear, and defence sectors carry inherent overheads (vetting, induction, escort) that show up in the quote.
• Reporting deadline. Standard turnaround is included; same-day or next-morning is often available; faster reporting may carry a premium.

What to avoid for budget reasons

A few apparent savings that are not:

• Skipping the survey because the budget is tight. The cost of a single strike or one major rework dwarfs the cost of any survey.
• Hiring a less-credentialled surveyor for cost. The deliverable is harder to defend, and the apparent saving rarely survives a single project’s worth of marginal cases.
• Reducing sample density. A test programme without statistical confidence is not a defensible deliverable.
• Cutting reporting scope. A full report — with method, calibration, findings, limitations, and sign-off — is the deliverable.

When a low quote is a warning

A quote that is dramatically lower than the rest is usually telling you something:

• The surveyor is less qualified.
• The scope has been compressed in ways that will compromise the work.
• The deliverable will be reduced in detail.

A reasonable price for defensible work, from a credentialled surveyor with calibrated kit, is what you should be looking for — not the cheapest line on the spreadsheet.

How to get an exact figure

For a precise quote on your project, send the location, the element to be scanned, the brief, and any drawings to a reputable scanning company. A defensible surveyor comes back the same working day with a quote that explicitly states scope, method, and deliverable.

For Corvus quotes, see our get a quote page or read our full article on GPR scanning costs in the UK.