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RAAC assessment in Windsor, Berkshire

RAAC Assessment in Windsor

A RAAC assessment tells you what the survey findings mean: which panels in a building in Windsor 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. Windsor is local to us.

RAAC assessment in Windsor, 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 Windsor covers

The assessment takes the survey record for the building in Windsor, 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

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 Windsor 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.

From inspection to a management and remediation strategy in Windsor

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 Windsor, 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.

RAAC in Windsor

Around 31,600 people live in Windsor, a heritage town where listed fabric, hotel refurbishment and Thames-side residential work meet the Windsor Castle estate and Legoland. It falls under the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and it carries post-war schools, leisure and public buildings sitting behind the historic frontages. If a building in Windsor has a flat roof and dates from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, RAAC should be ruled in or out rather than assumed absent.

Prioritising buildings in Windsor

Not every building in Windsor 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 post-war schools, leisure and public buildings sitting behind the historic frontages. 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.

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 Windsor; 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 Windsor: 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

Free initial advice from a RAAC surveyor and a structural engineer, not a sales desk.

We reply within one working day. Your details go straight to our team and are not shared with anyone else.

Questions from Windsor

RAAC assessment FAQs

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 Windsor?

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.

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