Private Utility Locating in Tacoma and Pierce County: Industrial Sites, Older Homes, and Slab Scanning

Tacoma gives us two very different kinds of work. On one end are the industrial and port properties along the Tideflats, where a century of process piping, rail, and abandoned services sits under the site and the records are incomplete. On the other are the older neighborhoods in North End, Stadium, and South Tacoma, where the houses predate the Second World War and the private lines in the yard have been added to and abandoned ever since. 811 marks the utility company's lines to the meter on both. We handle the rest.

Industrial and commercial sites

On a working industrial property, the private side is usually most of what is underground: fire lines, process piping, old fuel lines, site lighting, private storm and oil-water separators, and abandoned utilities from previous tenants. Public records do not cover any of it. Before you trench, drill, or drive pile, you will want the private side mapped, and you will usually want it on a drawing so the whole team works from the same picture. We locate with electromagnetic and ground penetrating radar, mark it in the field, and deliver a sketch or a GPS/RTK file (when selected at time of service) you can add to your site plan.

Wet fill and glacial till around the Tideflats and along the Puyallup River limit how deep GPR can see. We rely on electromagnetic locating first and tell you plainly when a reading is less certain.

Older homes in Tacoma and Lakewood

On older Tacoma and Lakewood lots, the private lines we find most often are:

• Side sewer from the house to the main (private, unmarked, often clay or concrete)

• Water service from the meter in

• Power and communications to garages, shops, and DADUs

• Abandoned heating oil tanks and their fill lines

• Irrigation mains and low voltage lighting

• Lines from previous owners that were disconnected but never removed

The side sewer causes the most damage. Driveway replacements, new foundations, and tree work strike it more than any other line, and the repair belongs to the owner. We use our equipment to find its path, so there is no guesswork.

Slab and concrete scanning

Coring, cutting, or anchoring into a slab in an occupied building means going through whatever is embedded in it. We scan the work area with GPR, mark rebar, post-tension cables, conduit, and radiant tubing on the surface, and give you a clear zone to work in. This is routine for tenant improvements and mechanical work in Tacoma, Puyallup, and Fife, and it costs far less than the alternative.

When to schedule a locate

1. Any excavation on a port, rail, or industrial property

2. Side sewer repair, driveway replacement, or foundation work on an older home

3. New service trenches for a shop, DADU, or EV charger

4. Coring or cutting in an existing slab

5. Fence and post work on a lot that has been developed more than once

What you get

Marks in the standard APWA colors, so your crew and 811 agree. We are able to give depth estimates when requested at the time of service or during scheduling. A sketch or GPS/RTK file of the findings (when selected at time of service).

Scheduling in Tacoma and Pierce County

Our Tacoma office covers Tacoma, University Place, Lakewood, Puyallup, Fife, Gig Harbor, and the JBLM area. Send the address and a description of the work.

Find your nearest office

Local contact: our Tacoma office covers this area. See the Tacoma utility locating page for phone numbers, hours and the full service area.