New to metal detecting

[The Water guy]

Hi . I'm new to metal detecting. Got a metal detector for christmas and started researching it out and have learned that you have to follow the code of ethnics and in the past 3 months have searched some fields found old metal.only.
However I hope to metal detect a house and there's nothing that I have read yet discusses any procedure to metal detect house . Houses have service lines : water ,sewer and gas lines .
In search are they apart of the area or to be searched. I believe in dont "assume" and "kis"-Keep it Simple . Well any information reply would be appreciated.

 

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[robertk]

The lines for houses should be buried deep enough you won't detect them. But sometimes they aren't. If you get a signal that seems to keep repeating in a straight line, there's a good chance that's a pipe or wire.

 

[Bucket Lister]

However I hope to metal detect a house and there's nothing that I have read yet discusses any procedure to metal detect house . Houses have service lines : water ,sewer and gas lines .
In search are they apart of the area or to be searched. I believe in dont "assume" and "kis"-Keep it Simple . Well any information reply would be appreciated.

As robertk mentioned, depending on where you are geographically, most utilities should be too deep to detect, and they'll likely run in long lines (I have detected shallow electrical lines and drains).

Also be aware that above-ground utilities (electric, phone, cable, etc.) can produce EMI that can be picked up by your detector.

I'm not aware of any set "procedure" for detecting other than getting your permission squared away first. I'm doing an 1850 farmhouse now. Some lay out grids, some just pick a spot and start sweeping. Don't worry about going over the same ground twice; one never finds everything. Look for likely traffic patterns.

 

[cudamark]

Are you asking about searching INSIDE an old house? Or, the grounds of an old house? Inside a modern house isn't easy to do with all the pipe, electrical, nails, etc. interfering with a signal. Outside in the yard shouldn't be as much of a problem. Now, if this is a log cabin or some other structure without that metal interference, have at it....as long as you let the owner know what you plan to do and has given you permission.

 

[The Water guy]

No outside the house along the curb between the side walk and curb.

 

[Bucket Lister]

No outside the house along the curb between the side walk and curb.

Well, I think I just detected the buried lede... 😁

In that case, as long as you've got permission, just go for it. Buried stuff like utilities will most likely show up in lines. You want targets with defined boundaries. It's possible other targets may be near utilities, but most utilities should be buried below frost line (if applicable).

The house I'm doing has one of those strips. I haven't scanned it yet (the curb & road are much newer than the 1850 farmhouse) but I'll get to it. I'll pick an end and start sweeping...

 

[cudamark]

No outside the house along the curb between the side walk and curb.

In my area, the curb strip is owned the local government, but, "required" to be maintained by the homeowner. No prohibition to detecting that I'm aware of. Keep in mind that some homeowners think they own that strip, and will come out and read you the riot act if they don't like what you're doing. Making very clean recoveries might help, but, not always. If confronted just smile, tell them to have a good day, and just move down the block to in front of someone else's property. As for interference in that strip from pipes and whatnot, you'll just have to deal with it the best you can. I find most of my interference problems these days is EMI from WiFi signals from their houses. Underground electrical is another annoyance. The better detectors have ways to help negate those problems, but, it's not a 100% cure. The larger the coil, usually the worse the problem. Sometimes you just have to turn the sensitivity way down or hunt another area where it isn't quite so bad.