RAAC Assessment in Slough
Finding RAAC in a building in Slough 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. Slough is local to us.
How John Staves assesses RAAC
For a building in Slough, 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
The standard response to RAAC has been to prop the area and plan a replacement roof. For many buildings that is unnecessary, and for a school, clinic or hall in Slough it means decant, temporary accommodation and a programme measured in years. Where the assessment supports it, RAAC planks can be strengthened in place with bespoke CFRP, designed to the capacity the roof actually needs, with the building staying in use. 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.
Because Structured Carbon designs, manufactures, installs and monitors that strengthening, the assessment is not a hand-off to someone else's product. It is the first stage of our RAACSafe™ Protocol: Assess, Design, Manufacture, Install, Monitor.
RAAC risk categories and what they mean for Slough
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 Slough, 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.
Slough and the RAAC era
Slough is the Slough Trading Estate, the largest privately owned industrial estate in Europe, plus Elizabeth line stations and a town centre in wholesale redevelopment. With around 166,900 residents in the Slough Borough Council area, it has post-war schools, industrial sheds and civic buildings built at pace through the 1950s to 1980s. Pippins School, a primary school in Slough on the Department for Education published RAAC list, so RAAC is not a theoretical risk here. 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.
A practical starting point in Slough
If you are responsible for buildings in Slough, start with a list. Which of them have flat or low-pitched roofs, and which were built or extended between the 1950s and the mid 1990s? In the Slough Borough Council area that will usually take in post-war schools, industrial sheds and civic buildings built at pace through the 1950s to 1980s. Anything on that list that has never had RAAC ruled in or out is a candidate for a RAAC assessment. Send us the list and we will tell you which buildings justify a visit, and which can be cleared from the desk with drawings alone.
Deliverables
Expect a single signed assessment from John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, covering every surveyed panel and ending with a plain recommendation. It is the document your insurer, your funder and your board will ask for, and it is the document the CFRP design is built from if strengthening goes ahead. If the building in Slough has not been surveyed, the survey comes first and the two arrive together.
What you can rely on
Three things matter to the people who have to act on a RAAC assessment in Slough: 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.
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
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 Slough?
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.
Also in Slough
RAAC survey in Slough
RAAC survey in Slough, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC survey in SloughRAAC scanning in Slough
RAAC scanning in Slough, 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.