Trained private locators
Our locators carry National Utility Locating Contractors Association training — the industry standard for private subsurface work.
About ETXMS
Built for the
East Texas dirt.
We're a small, specialist crew. Our job is to keep yours moving — by knowing what's under the slab, behind the wall, beneath the lake, or above the canopy before a tool ever leaves the truck.
Why we exist
811 stops where most jobs start.
Lone Star 811 marks public utility lines for free — to the meter or the property line. Past that, on private property, the landowner is on the hook for damages. And by some industry counts, more than two-thirds of the buried utilities on a typical site live in that private gap.
We started ETXMS because most damage-prevention contractors in this part of Texas were either drive-three-hours-from-Dallas operations or one-truck shops with one piece of equipment. East Texas deserves a local crew with the right tools — and a deliverable you can hand to your next subcontractor.
Today we run electromagnetic locators, ground penetrating radar, drone LiDAR, photogrammetry, and dual-frequency sonar. Same crew, same coordinate system, one report.
Credentials
Trained, insured, paperwork-ready.
Part 107 certified pilots
Every drone flight is conducted under FAA Part 107 with current LAANC authorizations where required.
$2M general liability + E&O
General liability with errors-and-omissions coverage specific to utility locating, plus aviation liability for drone work.
Survey-grade positioning
Our aerial and bathymetric work uses RTK / PPK GPS, tied to Texas State Plane (NAD83) and NAVD88 by default.
How we work
Four principles, every job.
Method01 / 04
Two technologies, every site.
Electromagnetic induction finds metallic conductors; ground penetrating radar finds the rest. We use both on every locate, because either one alone misses targets the other catches.
Documentation02 / 04
Marks fade. Files don't.
Paint disappears in a week. Every job leaves with photo documentation, reference measurements, and — when scope warrants — GPS-tagged digital sketches your team can pull up next year.
Scope03 / 04
Underground meets aerial.
We register subsurface locates and aerial topo to the same coordinate frame. What's above the dirt and what's below it land in the same drawing instead of in three different binders.
Response04 / 04
We answer the phone.
Most calls get scheduled within 24 hours. Emergencies, struck-line situations, and night-shift coring get prioritized — we keep equipment loaded and ready.
Service area
Where we work.
East Texas — Tyler, Longview, Marshall, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Texarkana, Athens, Henderson, Palestine, and surrounding counties.
Outside the 50-mile core radius, mileage is billed at the IRS standard rate. We mobilize statewide for repeat or large-scope clients.
Get a quote
Tell us where you're digging.
Email a job address, scope, and any drawings or aerials you have. Most quotes go out the same business day.