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RAAC assessment in Ascot, Berkshire

RAAC Assessment in Ascot

Finding RAAC in a building in Ascot is the start of a decision, not the end of one. The RAAC assessment is the engineering judgement that follows: a panel-by-panel classification by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, based on the survey and scanning carried out by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals, and a clear statement of what should happen next.

  • 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. Ascot is local to us.

RAAC assessment in Ascot, Berkshire, by Structured Carbon
Thousands of m²of RAAC surveyed, with GSSI and Proceq radar and ultrasonic instruments read by the man who leads the national scanning standard
1 to 2 daysis usually how soon we can be on site in Berkshire; the report follows within five working days of the visit
Under 15%of replacement cost is where a bespoke CFRP scheme frequently lands across the RAAC tenders we cost
£10m PIprofessional indemnity held to a maximum of £10 million; every assessment signed by a Fellow of the IStructE

What a RAAC assessment in Ascot covers

The assessment takes the survey record for the building in Ascot, 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 Ascot sets out which route applies and why, so that you can take a costed decision rather than a default one.

From inspection to a management and remediation strategy in Ascot

Which school RAAC surveyors can also provide a management and remediation strategy following inspection? The answer is a team where the surveyor, the inspecting engineer and the designer of the strengthening are the same people. For schools, academy trusts, NHS estates, councils and building owners in Ascot, the engineering inspection and structural assessment end in a written strategy: what is managed, what is monitored, what is strengthened, and in what order. Priced per building; a visual survey alone starts from £395.

The buildings in Ascot this applies to

We know Ascot well: it is Ascot Racecourse and a stock of very large detached houses where basement and structural refurbishment work is routine, with schools and community buildings of the post-war period among the large houses, and around 24,000 residents under the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. St Francis Catholic Primary School, South Ascot, on the Department for Education published RAAC list and included in the School Rebuilding Programme, so RAAC is not a theoretical risk here. 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. Ask the RAAC assessment question of any flat-roofed building here that predates the mid 1990s, because that is where RAAC planks were used.

Prioritising buildings in Ascot

Not every building in Ascot needs a RAAC assessment, and we would rather tell you that than sell you one. The ones that do are flat-roofed, date from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, and have never had RAAC confirmed or excluded by scanning. Under the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead that generally means schools and community buildings of the post-war period among the large houses. Ranked by occupancy and by the consequence of a failure, that list usually puts schools, health buildings and places of assembly first, then offices and industrial units.

What you receive

You get one document you can act on and put in front of a board, a trust, a governing body or an insurer: the classification of every panel, what must happen now, what should be monitored, and whether the roof is a candidate for strengthening in place. It is signed by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. If your building has not yet been surveyed, start with our RAAC survey in Ascot; the assessment follows from it.

What you can rely on

Three things matter to the people who have to act on a RAAC assessment in Ascot: who signed it, how quickly it arrives, and whether the firm behind it is properly insured. Every assessment is signed by a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, which is what trusts, NHS estates, insurers and funders look for. The report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required, and we can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days. Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis.

Who does the work

Two named specialists, one team

Neil Smuts, MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP

Survey, scanning and monitoring. President, UK Concrete Scanning Standard

Neil 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 design

John 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

Meet the team

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.

Tell us about your RAAC

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Questions from Ascot

RAAC assessment FAQs

How quickly can you assess a building in Ascot?

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.

Will my trust, insurer or funder accept the assessment?

Every assessment is signed by a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, which is what trusts, NHS estates, insurers and funders look for. Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis.

What are the RAAC risk categories?

The Institution of Structural Engineers guidance places each RAAC panel in a risk category based on its condition, bearing, deflection, cracking and exposure to water, from panels needing no immediate action to panels needing action now. The assessment states the category for every panel in the building and what each category requires.

What does a RAAC structural inspection cost?

It is priced per building, because size, access and the level of detail required vary enormously; a large hospital estate and a village hall are not the same job. As a guide, a visual RAAC survey starts from £395. A full engineering inspection of a large or complex building, a hospital for example, is priced per building once we know its size, access and the level of detail required.

Who carries out the RAAC assessment?

John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. He carries out all of the structural calculations and assessments for Structured Carbon.

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 Ascot 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.

Found RAAC in a building in Ascot, or waiting on a survey? Send us what you know and a chartered RAAC engineer will tell you what the next step should be.