Question 1

How can we determine how many available burial plots remain in our cemetery?

Accepted Answer

Commission a professional cemetery mapping survey. Sentry Mapping scans every grave with ground-penetrating radar, matches results to GPS, and builds an interactive GIS map. The digital map shows every occupied and vacant space, letting you see exactly how many plots are still available and where they lie.

Start with a complete cemetery mapping audit from Sentry Mapping. Our field crew walks every row with high-frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) and sub-inch GPS. The equipment detects both marked and unmarked burials, then ties each location to a unique grave ID.

Next, our drafting team draws plot boundaries over recent drone imagery, so every lot has a digital outline. The occupied graves are shaded; open spaces stay clear.

The finished GIS map is uploaded to Chronicle cemetery management software and to a free public web map. In one click you can filter by “vacant,” export a count of unused plots, or print a color plan for board meetings.

Because the survey covers 100 % of the ground surface, you avoid the risk of selling an already occupied space or wasting room between rows. We also give you a spreadsheet of availability that updates automatically as your staff assigns new burials.

Most small cemeteries receive results in two to four weeks with no on-site digging, no disruption, and no ongoing subscription fees. The result is a clear answer to “how many plots do we have left?” and a reliable tool to plan decades of future interments.

Question 2

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Ground Penetrating Radar?

Accepted Answer

Ground penetrating radar lets you see every burial without digging, saving time, money, and heritage. It is quick, non-destructive, and pairs with GPS to build precise digital cemetery maps. Downsides: clay or water-logged soils weaken the signal and careless reading can mislead, so its vital to hire trained experts like the technicians at Sentry Mapping.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is the core tool behind Sentry Mapping’s professional cemetery mapping service. Rolling a low-power antenna cart across the turf, the system sends radio pulses into the soil and records reflections from disturbed layers, vault fragments or voids—ideal for grave locating, unmarked grave detection and utility avoidance.

Key advantages include:

Non-invasive scanning that protects fragile monuments and heritage
High coverage—two technicians can scan several acres a day, turning decades of paper records into accurate digital cemetery mapping and a burial plot map tied to centimeter-level GPS
Immediate insights—real-time profiles show occupied versus open plots, supporting smart space planning and revenue protection.
Seamless integration—each radar hit flows straight into our cemetery management software, giving staff and visitors a searchable, web-based cemetery GIS map.

Disadvantages, and how Sentry Mapping manages them: heavy clay or saturated soils can weaken the signal, so surveys are timed for drier spells and antenna frequency adjusted; raw hyperbolas can mislead the untrained, so GPR-certified technicians cross-check results with GPS and drone imagery to ±6-inch accuracy; and standard 400–900 MHz antennas read best to about eight to ten feet—if a target sits deeper, alternate methods are recommended.

With the right expertise provided by Sentry Mapping’s experts, GPR delivers a fast, respectful and verifiable map of every marked and unmarked grave.

Question 3

What is the difference between a “burial-plot map”, a “web-map”, and a “GIS survey”?

Accepted Answer

A burial-plot map is the precise, static master layout of every grave and available space, produced from a one-time GPR/GPS survey. A web-map is the online, clickable version of that map that staff and families can access online to search from any device. A GIS survey is the underlying field data-collection process that feeds both products.

Think of the three deliverables as steps in one streamlined cemetery-mapping workflow.

1) During the GIS survey, Sentry Mapping technicians walk every row with survey-grade GPS and ground-penetrating radar equipment. The instruments record x-y coordinates, depth readings, and attributes—marked and unmarked grave locations, utilities, pathways, trees—creating a rich spatial database. This is the foundation of professional cemetery GIS mapping and integrates seamlessly with municipal or county GIS systems.

2) We produce the burial-plot map from the GIS survey data. This is the authoritative, to-scale master plan you can print, frame, or keep on the grounds. Every lot line, section number, and interment is plotted in its exact position, so you instantly see which plots are occupied, reserved, or available for sale.

3) We then publish the same data as an interactive web-map so your staff, grounds crew, and even visitors can zoom, search a name, or tap a grave for details on a phone or tablet. The web-map lives in the cloud, receives free updates when new burials are added, and links directly to Chronicle’s cemetery management software for digital record-keeping.

Together, the GIS survey, burial-plot map, and web-map turn outdated paper charts into a living, searchable, digital cemetery mapping system that eliminates double-sold plots, speeds grave locating, and preserves your cemetery’s heritage for generations.

Question 4

What training or qualifications should a cemetery-mapping service have for GPR work?

Accepted Answer

A qualified cemetery-mapping service employs manufacturer-certified GPR technicians, FAA-licensed drone pilots, and GIS/GPS specialists who follow OSHA safety rules and carry full insurance. Sentry Mapping meets these standards, offering cemetery-only expertise, high-frequency ground-penetrating radar, sub-inch GPS, and turnkey maps for every marked or unmarked grave nationwide.

Ground-penetrating-radar cemetery surveys are only as reliable as the people behind the cart. Look for a provider whose staff have completed manufacturer training—e.g., GSSI or Sensors & Software operator courses—so they can tune high-frequency (400–900 MHz) antennas, filter noise and interpret hyperbolas correctly for accurate unmarked grave detection. Survey-grade RTK GPS skills are equally critical; sub-inch positioning drops every reflection into the right burial-plot polygon, feeding precise digital cemetery mapping and burial plot mapping.

A top-tier team pairs GPR certification with formal GIS competency and can deliver ESRI-compatible shapefiles or load results straight into cemetery management software. Because projects also blend drone photos with radar data, at least one crew member should hold an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot certificate and understand photogrammetry. On-site work also calls for OSHA 10-hour (or higher) safety training.

Sentry Mapping meets every requirement. Our cemetery-only focus means each technician is factory-trained on world-class GPR, versed in heritage-preservation etiquette, and backed by precision GPS with drone imagery. The result is a printable master map plus a no-fee, interactive cemetery GIS web map that shows every marked or unmarked grave—giving you confidence to sell plots, plan future interments, and protect your cemetery’s legacy.

Question 5

What types of cemeteries (size, geographic region) are suitable for GPR mapping?

Accepted Answer

Any burial ground in the 48 contiguous United States, from a half-acre historic churchyard to a 500-acre municipal park cemetery, can be mapped with Sentry Mapping's ground penetrating radar. Our team tailors antenna frequency and GPS grid density to regional soils, climate, and terrain, delivering precise results without disturbing a single grave.

Ground penetrating radar works at any scale for cemetery mapping. Sentry Mapping’s professional field teams routinely survey tiny country churchyards measuring less than one acre, mid-sized 20- to 50-acre community cemeteries, and sprawling municipal sites of 300 acres or more. Because crews establish a sub-inch-accurate GPS grid before scanning, adding or subtracting acreage is simply a matter of extending the grid. No special preparation or staging area is required.

Geography is equally flexible. Our GPR crews travel to all 48 contiguous states and can produce clear subsurface images in Gulf-Coast sand, Appalachian clay, Rocky-Mountain till, and the high-moisture soils of the Pacific Northwest. Dry, sandy or loamy soils transmit radar best, but even heavier, wetter soils reveal the disturbed trench signature of a 3- to 6-foot-deep grave once the right antenna frequency and processing filters are applied. We bring a variety of equipment so technicians can match soil conductivity and burial depth.

Whether you manage a half-acre historic graveyard behind a rural church or a 500-acre metropolitan park cemetery, Sentry Mapping provides the same turn-key deliverables: high-density GPR coverage of every square foot, drone and GPS control points, a color-coded master map, an interactive digital cemetery GIS map with free public web access, and our optional cemetery management software. That means you get one reliable system for unmarked grave detection, preventing double sales, and planning future interments, regardless of size or location.

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