RAAC Assessment in Arborfield Garrison
A RAAC assessment tells you what the survey findings mean: which panels in a building in Arborfield Garrison are safe to keep in use, which need propping or monitoring, and whether the roof can be strengthened in place rather than replaced. At Structured Carbon the assessment is carried out by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, working directly from the survey by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals.
- Assessed by John Staves, CEng FIStructE MIoD, a chartered engineer who specialises in RAAC
- Built on survey and scanning evidence from Neil Smuts, MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP
- Panel-by-panel: what can stay in use, what needs propping, what needs monitoring
- Strengthen-or-replace answered honestly, with the cost picture
Based in Finchampstead, Wokingham. Arborfield Garrison is local to us.
How John Staves assesses RAAC
The assessment takes the survey record for the building in Arborfield Garrison, panel by panel, and turns it into engineering conclusions. Each panel is classified on its condition, bearing, cracking, deflection and exposure to water, with reference to the current Institution of Structural Engineers guidance on RAAC. The assessment states which panels can remain in use as they are, which need propping or restricted use now, which should be monitored, and which need intervention.
It then answers the question the budget depends on: can this roof be strengthened in place, or does it need to come out? Where strengthening is viable, the assessment says so and sets out what the scheme would need to achieve.
Strengthen or replace: the question the assessment must answer
An assessment that only says "replace" has not done its job. Some panels are beyond saving and the assessment will say so, but many roofs can be strengthened in place with carbon fibre reinforced polymer designed to the exact capacity required, and the building kept open while it is done. Across the RAAC tenders we cost, a bespoke CFRP scheme engineered for that exact roof frequently comes in at well below 15 per cent of the cost of full replacement. On one tender, a roof costed at around £40 million to replace was priced for strengthening at under £4 million.
The assessment for your building in Arborfield Garrison sets out which route applies and why, so that you can take a costed decision rather than a default one.
RAAC risk categories and what they mean for Arborfield Garrison
The Institution of Structural Engineers guidance places RAAC panels in risk categories from those needing no immediate action to those needing action now. The category depends on condition, bearing, deflection, cracking and exposure to water, which is why an assessment needs an inspection with measurements behind it, not a walk-through. For a school, academy, hospital or council building in Arborfield Garrison, the assessment sets out which category each panel falls in, what that requires, and how the roof can be managed, monitored or strengthened so the building stays in use. The assessment is signed by a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers and is priced per building; a visual survey alone starts from £395.
RAAC in Arborfield Garrison
Arborfield Garrison is the former REME garrison, now the Arborfield Green development of several thousand homes and a new district centre. With around 4,300 residents in the Wokingham Borough Council area, it has retained garrison-era buildings alongside a new secondary school and district centre. Frimley Park Hospital, which serves this part of Berkshire, is a publicly identified RAAC hospital and is being replaced under the New Hospital Programme, which has put RAAC on the agenda for every estates team in the area. Buildings of that period are exactly where RAAC turns up: flat or low-pitched roofs, sometimes floors and walls, in schools, halls, health buildings, sports centres and offices built between the 1950s and the mid 1990s.
RAAC assessment: how to get started in Arborfield Garrison
Three pieces of information get a RAAC assessment in Arborfield Garrison moving: the age of the building, the type of roof, and any drawings or previous reports you hold. With those we can say whether the building is a realistic RAAC candidate, what the visit would involve, and how long it would take. For estates spread across Arborfield Garrison, Finchampstead and Shinfield, we plan the visits as one programme so that nothing is missed and nothing is surveyed twice.
What you receive
The assessment is written to be used, not filed. For each panel in the building in Arborfield Garrison: what it is, what condition it is in, how it classifies against the Institution of Structural Engineers guidance, and what should happen to it. For the building as a whole: the immediate actions, the monitoring position, and the strengthen-or-replace recommendation with its reasoning. Signed by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. Where no survey exists yet, we start with the RAAC survey in Arborfield Garrison.
Practicalities
We can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days, and the report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required. Evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem, which matters for occupied buildings in Arborfield Garrison. Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis, and every assessment is signed by a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, which is what trusts, NHS estates, insurers and funders look for.
Two named specialists, one team
Neil Smuts, MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP
Survey, scanning and monitoring. President, UK Concrete Scanning StandardNeil leads the survey, scanning and monitoring side of every Structured Carbon project. He is President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard, a member of the Chartered Institute of Building and the Institute of NDT, and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals. LinkedIn
John Staves, CEng FIStructE MIoD
Structural assessment and CFRP designJohn is a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. He carries out the structural assessment and designs every strengthening scheme. John received both the Regional and the National Innovation Award at the HSBC Commercial Banking and Federation of Small Businesses Small Business Growth Awards for his work on RAAC repair. LinkedIn
Thank you, we have your enquiry
One of the team will come back to you within one working day. If it is urgent, call +44 118 430 8430.
RAAC assessment FAQs
Do I need a survey before an assessment?
Yes. The assessment is an engineering judgement on evidence, and the evidence comes from the survey. If your building in Arborfield Garrison has not been surveyed, we do that first, led by Neil Smuts, and deliver the two together.
Can you assess from someone else's survey?
Sometimes. If an existing survey records what the assessment needs, panel by panel, we can work from it. Where it does not, we will say what is missing rather than assess on thin evidence.
What guidance is the assessment based on?
The current Institution of Structural Engineers guidance on RAAC, which is the reference used across the UK for classifying panels and deciding actions.
Will the assessment tell me to replace the roof?
Only if that is the right answer. Some panels are beyond strengthening and the assessment will say so. Many roofs can be strengthened in place with bespoke CFRP at a fraction of replacement cost, and the assessment sets out whether yours is one of them. Where strengthening is right, it is done with the UK's first CFRP system designed specifically for RAAC, insurer approved and extensively tested.
Can the building stay in use while it is assessed?
Normally, yes. If the survey has found anything that needs immediate action, such as propping or taking a room out of use, we tell you on the day rather than waiting for the report.
What is the RAACSafe Protocol?
Our five-stage process for RAAC: Assess, Design, Manufacture, Install and Monitor. The assessment is stage one. If strengthening is the answer, the same team carries the building through the other four. Together they ensure safe, quality-controlled delivery throughout. Our instrumented monitoring devices are in active service on RAAC roofs today.
How quickly can you assess a building in Arborfield Garrison?
We are based in Finchampstead, Wokingham, so we can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days, and the report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required.
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