RAAC Assessment in Bracknell
Finding RAAC in a building in Bracknell 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. Bracknell is local to us.
Inside the assessment
For a building in Bracknell, the assessment answers four questions in order. Is it RAAC? What condition is each panel in, and how does that sit against the Institution of Structural Engineers guidance? What needs to happen now, whether that is nothing, propping, restricted use or monitoring? And what is the long-term answer: manage, strengthen or replace? John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, answers all four in writing, from the survey evidence gathered by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals.
Replacement is not the default
For a governing body, a trust board or a council property committee in Bracknell, the assessment is the document that decides between two very different futures for the building: months of strengthening with the building in use, or years of replacement with everyone decanted. We write it so that the reasoning is visible, panel by panel, and so that the strengthen-or-replace conclusion can be defended to an insurer, a funder or the Department for Education. 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.
From inspection to a management and remediation strategy in Bracknell
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 Bracknell, 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.
Bracknell and the RAAC era
Bracknell sits in the Bracknell Forest Council area, close to Binfield, Warfield and Crowthorne. It is a post-war new town whose 1960s town centre was demolished and rebuilt as The Lexicon, surrounded by concrete-era estates and office campuses, and it holds new-town schools, community buildings and estates built in exactly the decades when RAAC planks were a standard roof and floor component. 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. That is the building stock the RAAC assessment question applies to: anything with a flat or shallow roof from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, whether school, clinic, hall, leisure centre or office.
Where to begin if you manage property in Bracknell
The question is not "does Bracknell have RAAC" but "which of my buildings might". The answer sits in the construction dates. Buildings of the RAAC era in and around Bracknell, Binfield and Warfield typically include new-town schools, community buildings and estates built in exactly the decades when RAAC planks were a standard roof and floor component. Pull the dates for each, note which have flat roofs, and treat every one that fits as unconfirmed until a RAAC assessment says otherwise. We are happy to look at the list with you before anything is booked.
Deliverables
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 Bracknell; the assessment follows from it.
Turnaround, sign-off and insurance
For a building in Bracknell, 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. 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. Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire are local to us, and we work across the UK.
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
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 Bracknell?
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.
Also in Bracknell
RAAC survey in Bracknell
RAAC survey in Bracknell, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC survey in BracknellRAAC scanning in Bracknell
RAAC scanning in Bracknell, Berkshire: non-destructive identification of RAAC planks and their reinforcement by Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
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Related: RAAC strengthening, RAAC remediation in Berkshire, RAAC confirmed buildings register, RAAC in schools.