RAAC Assessment in Twyford
Structured Carbon carries out RAAC structural assessments for buildings in Twyford and across Berkshire. Unusually, the surveyor and the assessing engineer are one team: Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals, gathers the evidence, and John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, assesses it. Nothing is lost in translation between the two.
- 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. Twyford is local to us.
Inside the assessment
For a building in Twyford, 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 Twyford 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 Twyford
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 Twyford, 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 Twyford
Twyford sits in the Wokingham Borough Council area, close to Charvil, Wargrave and Hurst. It is an Elizabeth line and Henley branch junction village with an active town centre, and it holds village schools and halls, several extended in the post-war decades. 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.
Prioritising buildings in Twyford
Not every building in Twyford 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 Wokingham Borough Council that generally means village schools and halls, several extended in the post-war decades. 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.
The assessment report
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 Twyford has not been surveyed, the survey comes first and the two arrive together.
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 Twyford. 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
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 Twyford?
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 Twyford
RAAC survey in Twyford
RAAC survey in Twyford, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC survey in TwyfordRAAC scanning in Twyford
RAAC scanning in Twyford, Berkshire: non-destructive identification of RAAC planks and their reinforcement by Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC scanning in TwyfordRAAC assessment near Twyford
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- RAAC assessment Wokingham
- All Berkshire towns
Related: RAAC strengthening, RAAC remediation in Berkshire, RAAC confirmed buildings register, RAAC in schools.